Chase Ultimate Rewards has just launched a new transfer bonus to Southwest Rapid Rewards, which is the first time in five years that we’ve seen a transfer bonus between the two programs. This is something that I would actually read into a bit, and I think it’s pretty telling of the current state of Southwest.
Chase offering 25% bonus on Southwest points transfers
Between October 23 and November 6, 2025, you can receive a 25% bonus when you transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Southwest Rapid Rewards.
Points ordinarily transfer at a 1,000:1,000 ratio, so with this offer, points transfer at a 1,000:1,250 ratio. You can take advantage of this an unlimited number of times. Transfers from Chase Ultimate Rewards to Southwest Rapid Rewards are typically instant.
For context, while Chase frequently offers transfer bonuses to many of its partners, we rarely see transfer bonuses to Southwest Rapid Rewards. The last time that we saw such a transfer bonus was in October 2020, and that was for 20% (obviously that was at a time where airlines were really struggling).
This is a noteworthy and rare transfer bonus!
Southwest Rapid Rewards is a revenue based frequent flyer program. Historically, each point has gotten you roughly the same amount toward the cost of a redemption. However, along with all the other changes we’ve seen at the airline, we’ve also seen Rapid Rewards award pricing become more dynamic.
The idea is that you get better value with your points on low demand flights, and worse value with your points on high demand flights (in other words, the goal is to lower the opportunity cost of redemptions).
So while Rapid Rewards points historically got you around 1.3-1.4 cents per point toward the cost of a redemption, I find that redemptions are now typically closer to 1.1 cents per point, with some situations where outsized redemptions are possible.
With a 25% bonus, you’re safely looking at getting around 1.4 cents of value per Ultimate Rewards point, though there’s also some upside, with situations where you can get significantly more value.
I wouldn’t say this is some amazing, slam dunk promotion. However, if you fly Southwest frequently, it’s definitely not a bad way to redeem your points either. That’s especially true when you consider that Chase is devaluing the ability to redeem points directly toward the cost of airfare, so you can no longer consistently get up to 1.5 cents of value per point.
Since this is the first such promotion in five years, I also find this to be interesting in terms of the bigger implications. I have to imagine that this is only being offered due to Southwest’s general struggles and desire to fill seats, given that being a primarily domestic all-economy airline isn’t really proving to be the best business model nowadays.
Bottom line
Chase Ultimate Rewards is offering a new transfer bonus, as you can get a 25% bonus when you transfer points to Southwest Rapid Rewards. This is the first transfer bonus we’ve seen between the programs in around five years, and it’s the biggest transfer bonus we’ve ever seen between the programs.
This can safely get you around 1.4 cents of value per Ultimate Rewards point, and potentially even more value than that. It’s not some amazing deal, but if you fly Southwest frequently, this is a decent way to cash out those points, especially with redemptions toward ticket costs otherwise being devalued with Chase.
Do you plan on transferring Chase points to Southwest with this bonus?
