Chase Ultimate Rewards is running a 30% transfer bonus to Southwest Rapid Rewards from May 15 to June 5, 2026, its biggest ever to Southwest. The honest cents-per-point math on whether to transfer, who should, and the Companion Pass catch.
Quick take: Chase is running a 30% transfer bonus from Ultimate Rewards to Southwest Rapid Rewards from May 15 through June 5, 2026. Every 1,000 Chase points you move becomes 1,300 Southwest points. It's the largest transfer bonus Chase has ever offered to Southwest, and only the second between the two programs in more than five years. The deal is genuinely good if you actually fly Southwest, worth about 1.82¢ per Chase point. But it isn't free money, and the bonus points won't help you toward a Companion Pass. Here's the math.
Chase Ultimate Rewards and Southwest Rapid Rewards normally transfer 1-to-1. During this promotion they transfer 1,000-to-1,300, a 30% bump on every point you move.
The terms, straight from the offer:
Chase almost never does transfer bonuses, which is part of why Ultimate Rewards points hold their value so well. A Southwest bonus specifically has happened only once before in the last five-plus years, and that one was smaller. So 30% is the high-water mark for this pairing.
One thing to know up front: you can only transfer Ultimate Rewards points to Southwest if you hold a Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, or Ink Business Preferred. The Freedom cards earn Ultimate Rewards, but they can't transfer to airlines on their own. The points have to live with one of the three transfer-enabled cards first.
Southwest is a revenue-based program. A Rapid Rewards point is worth a roughly fixed amount toward a Southwest fare. We value it at about 1.4¢. There's no award chart to game and no peak or off-peak sweet spot. The point is worth what it's worth.
So here's a single transfer, start to finish:
That works out to 1.82¢ of travel per Chase point. For comparison, those same 1,000 Chase points are worth exactly $10 as a statement-credit cash-out. The transfer bonus turns a penny-a-point cash-out into roughly 1.8 cents of Southwest flying, about 80% more value, if Southwest is where you'd spend it.
In real terms: a $200 Southwest fare runs about 14,300 Rapid Rewards points. During this promo you can cover that with roughly 11,000 Chase points. Without the bonus you'd need about 14,300 Chase points for the same seat. That's the deal in one sentence.
Transfer if you have a Southwest trip you're actually going to book, and you'd otherwise pay cash or book through the Chase Travel portal. At 1.82¢ per point, the bonus beats a cash-out, and for most cardholders it beats the travel portal too.
Don't transfer just to stockpile. This is the part people get wrong. Ultimate Rewards points are flexible. They move to United, Hyatt, Air Canada, and a dozen other partners, or convert to cash. Rapid Rewards points are stuck at Southwest, at a fixed value. Moving points you don't have a near-term plan for trades flexibility for nothing. Only transfer what you'll book in the next several months.
Power-user note: the highest-value home for Chase points is usually World of Hyatt, where a single point can stretch well above what you'll get from Southwest. If you're sitting on a big balance and chasing maximum value, Southwest at 1.82¢ isn't your top option. But for the average traveler who flies Southwest a few times a year, this is a rare and genuinely good deal.
If you're working toward a Southwest Companion Pass, the perk that lets a companion fly with you for just taxes and fees, read this carefully: points transferred from Chase do not count toward Companion Pass qualifying points. They also don't count toward A-List or A-List Preferred status.
So if your reason to transfer was "this'll push me over the Companion Pass line," it won't. The transferred points are spendable on flights like any other Rapid Rewards points. They just don't move the needle on status or the Companion Pass.
The trap is the deadline. The bonus is based on when the transfer is submitted, and it has to be in by 11:59 PM ET on June 5, 2026. Transfers are effectively one-way and can take up to seven days to fully settle, so don't leave it to the last hour. If you know the flight you want, transfer the points a few days before you book, and only transfer once you've confirmed the fare you're after.
Is the Chase-to-Southwest 30% bonus the biggest ever? It's the biggest transfer bonus Chase has ever run to Southwest, and only the second between the two programs in more than five years. Chase runs transfer bonuses rarely, so 30% here is notable.
Do the bonus points count toward Companion Pass? No. Points transferred from Chase Ultimate Rewards don't count toward Companion Pass qualifying points or A-List status. They're only good for booking flights.
Which cards can transfer to Southwest? Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, and Ink Business Preferred. If you only have a Freedom card, move your points to one of those first.
When do I need to transfer by? Transfers must be submitted by 11:59 PM ET on June 5, 2026. Give it a few days of buffer, since transfers can take up to a week to settle.
Is transferring to Southwest the best use of Chase points? For a Southwest flyer, at about 1.82¢ per point, it's a strong use and clearly better than cashing out. For maximum value, Hyatt transfers usually win. Match the points to the trip you'll actually take.
Sources verified: Chase Ultimate Rewards points-transfer terms (chase.com); Southwest Rapid Rewards program terms (southwest.com); rewardsguru.club Southwest Rapid Rewards point valuation. Offer dates and ratio are current as of publication; confirm the live offer in your Chase Ultimate Rewards account before transferring.