The Chase Freedom currently has a $150 (15,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points) sign-up bonus when you complete the minimum spending requirements.
That’s a great deal for a card with no annual fee!
And if you also have the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Ink Plus, or Chase Ink Bold (no longer offered) card, you can transfer points earned from the Chase Freedom to terrific airline and hotel partners, like Southwest!
I love flying Southwest because everyone gets 2 free checked bags. And there are never any change or cancellation fees. Plus, the Southwest Companion Pass is the best domestic travel deal!
Take a Trip on Southwest Airlines With Your Chase Freedom Card Bonus When You Also Have the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Ink Plus, or Chase Ink Bold Card
I’ll show you how to use the Chase Freedom sign-up bonus for Big Travel on Southwest!
About the Chase Freedom Card
Link: Chase Freedom
I’ve kept the Chase Freedom card in my wallet year after year, because of its ongoing rotating category bonuses and no annual fee.
Having a card for a long time can boost your credit score. It also helps you keep a good relationship with Chase, which has some of the best travel rewards cards available!
And you can be approved even if you don’t have a long credit history.
With the Chase Freedom card, you’ll earn:
- 15,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points ($150) after you spend $500 on purchases in the 1st 3 months of opening your account
- 2,500 Chase Ultimate Rewards points ($25) when you add an authorized user who makes a purchase within the same 3-month timeframe
- 5X Chase Ultimate Rewards points (5% cash back) on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in rotating quarterly categories when you activate the bonus
- Unlimited 1X Chase Ultimate Rewards points (1% cash back) on all other purchases
Chase Ultimate Rewards points are worth 1 cent each when you redeem them for cash back.
But if you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Ink Plus, or Chase Ink Bold (no longer available) you’ll have the flexibility to transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to airline and hotel partners. Like Southwest!
How to Use Your Freedom Bonus With Southwest Airlines
You could get $150 cash back with your Freedom bonus. But you’ll get Big Travel if you 1st transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to your Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Ink Plus, or Chase Ink Bold account.
That’s because 1 Southwest point is worth up to ~1.7 cents when used towards the cheapest “Wanna Get Away” fares. So your 15,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points are worth up to ~$255 in Southwest flights (15,000 points X 1.7 cents per point towards Wanna Get Away fares).
That’s over $100 more than the $150 you’ll get by cashing out your points! And you don’t have to worry about finding available award seats on Southwest.
It’s Easy to Book Award Seats on Southwest – If There’s a Seat for Sale, You Can Pay With Southwest Points!
If there’s a paid ticket available, you can book it with points! Depending on the route, Southwest points are worth ~1.43 to ~1.7 cents each towards airfare.
And your Chase Ultimate Rewards points are almost twice as valuable when you have the Southwest Companion Pass (because you’re flying almost 2-for-1).
Here are 2 examples of Wanna Get Away fares you could purchase by transferring 15,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Southwest.
A Las Vegas Weekend Getaway
Let’s say you want to go to Las Vegas for a long weekend of… well, whatever folks do in Vegas! 
You can get there with your Freedom sign-up bonus!
Take a Fun Trip With Friends to Las Vegas With Your Freedom Bonus!
I found round-trip, non-stop flights from Denver to Las Vegas for 12,748 Southwest points.
Spend ~13,000 Southwest Points for a Round-Trip Flight Between Denver and Las Vegas
That same ticket would cost ~$224. And you’d have Chase Ultimate Rewards points left over from your Chase Freedom sign-up bonus!
To compare, you’d need to transfer 20,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points to United Airlines for an award flight on the same route. So this is a much better deal!
And don’t forget, you can earn another 2,500 Ultimate Rewards points with your Chase Freedom card. Just add an authorized user who makes a purchase within the 1st 3 months of opening your account.
With another 2,500 points, you’ll have a total of 17,500 points (15,000 points + 2,500 points) to transfer to Southwest. Here’s how you could use them.
Vacation in the Caribbean
You can use the 17,500 Ultimate Rewards points from your Freedom card to fly to the Caribbean. Southwest flies to Caribbean destinations, including San Juan, Puerto Rico!
Visit Historic Forts in San Juan, Puerto Rico, With the Chase Freedom Bonus
I found non-stop, round-trip flights between Ft. Lauderdale and San Juan for 17,422 Southwest points.
Add an Authorized User to Your Freedom Card and You’ll Have Enough Points for a Round-Trip Flight to Puerto Rico
You can buy this ticket with the 17,500 Ultimate Rewards points you’ll earn with the Freedom card. And still have a few points to spare. 
This same flight would cost ~$296. And this is a much better deal than transferring points to United Airlines for flights to the Caribbean, because they charge 35,000 miles round-trip!
Bottom Line
You can earn 15,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points ($150) when you sign-up for the Chase Freedom card and complete the minimum spending.
And you’ll earn another 2,500 Chase Ultimate Rewards points ($25) when you add an authorized user who makes a purchase within the 1st 3 months of account opening.
That’s a total of 17,500 points worth $175 in cash back. But if you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Ink Bold (no longer available), or Chase Ink Plus, you can get Big Travel with Small Money by transferring your points to partners like Southwest Airlines!
Getting a free domestic or international flight with Southwest is an even sweeter deal if you have the Southwest Companion Pass, because a friend or family member flies with you for almost free on paid and award tickets!
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