Southwest Pay Yourself Back
Chase has added Pay Yourself Back to the Southwest cards and it is now live. I was initially excited and figured it would be similar to what the Chase Aeroplan card offers. But, no, this is way worse. Not only does it have a super low cap but the redemption rates are atrocious. So much so that I wouldn't touch them with a 10 foot pole.
Southwest Pay Yourself Back Details
Here are the rates that you can redeem your Southwest points at, it varies depending on the option:
- 1 cent per points when redeeming them to cover the card's annual fee
- 0.8 cents per point to wipe off dining charges
- There is a cap of $200 in statement credits
- The end date for the promotion shows as 3/31/23 (although this could get extended like other Pay Yourself Backs have)
Why This Is A Horrible Redemption
I am very pro the Pay Yourself Back program for the Aeroplan card. That is because it is uncapped this year, works on travel charges and you get 1.25 cents per point this way. The other reason that option is better is because it works on transferred points into your Aeroplan account, including less valuable currencies than Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Since Southwest is only a transfer partner of Chase that isn't an option here. Not that you would want to anyway since you would only be getting 0.8 cents per point. That is less than what you could get cashing out your Ultimate Rewards to your checking account at 1 cent per point. Even if you have a healthy balance of Southwest points in your account you can get 1.3 – 1.5 cents per point using them on Southwest flights.
What really sticks in my craw though, is that Southwest used to let cardholders cash out their points to 3rd party gift cards at 1 cent per point before the pandemic. That should be the minimum value they give here as well.
I guess this could make sense for someone that has a huge balance of Southwest points and doesn't plan to use them. Maybe they moved out of a Southwest hub or the country. Even then with the $200 redemption cap it isn't going to do a ton for you.
Southwest Pay Yourself Back: ToP Thoughts
There is no value add here for cardholders. If anything this is a way for Southwest to get some liability off their books at a discount when their customers redeem at this putrid rate. Good thing we are here to tell you the truth, that this is a bad deal. Just like we did with the Southwest Companion Pass credit card offer.
HT: DoC
