Chase Ultimate Rewards has just launched a new transfer bonus to Southwest Rapid Rewards, which is only the second time in over five years that we’ve seen a transfer bonus between the two programs. On the surface this is even better than the previous transfer bonus we saw, though admittedly the value of Rapid Rewards points has probably declined a bit.
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.
A great solo travel tip spotted this week on One Mile at a Time.
