Asia Eve

In less than 15 hrs I'll be on my way to Hong Kong, Bangkok, Hua Hin and Phuket.  There isn't a frenzy of activity surrounding me as everything is booked, packed and ready to go.  Flights checked, boarding passes issued and hotels confirmed.  Today is not about last minute this and that for the Asia trip, but that is not to say I haven't been swamped with things to do.  I have been very busy with acquiring future travel benefits for myself, things I may or may not need depending upon where my travels take me.

50,000 Point Southwest credit card now available!

In my post about the Southwest Companion pass detailed here. I talk about the need for acquiring two Southwest credit cards to accumulate 100K points toward the required 110K needed to be awarded the companion pass.  At the time of the post I advised readers not to sign up for the cards since the sign on bonus was only 25K per card.  That has now changed!  The offer has been bumped up to 50K points for each of the four cards offered, two personal and two business. The link to the personal card is available simply by clicking the Southwest ad appearing on this blog (look in the margin to your right).

Southwest Airlines Companion Pass

I believe the single greatest reward in this travel points game is the acquisition of the Southwest Companion Pass.  When we are talking about Southwest Airlines you fall into one of two places, love it or hate it.  However even the naysayers can’t deny the benefit of having a companion travel along with them for free.  There are many different companion products offered by various airlines but Southwest’s version is simply the best.  To acquire the card you need to accumulate 110,000 qualifying points or 100 one way flight segments.  I’m not even going to address the flight segment aspect because unless Southwest is your regular carrier and you fly them with regular frequency you’ll spend a lifetime acquiring the required number of segments to obtain the pass.  However, in a matter of months you can have the companion pass without ever having flown on a Southwest flight.