If you live in California, fly Southwest, and aren't locked out by Chase's 5/24 rule, then please take advantage of this insane offer.

California residents can open any one Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card and make one purchase with it before November 30, 2017, and they will qualify for a Companion Pass for all of 2018.

Sour you didn't win last month's giveaway? Here's another shot!

The ever so generous Caveman is once again offering one lucky reader a $49 Southwest gift card. Southwest gift cards are fully transferable and don’t expire. There are two ways to enter:

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GIVING AWAY A $49 GIFT CARD ON SOUTHWEST AIRLINES. FOLLOW AND RT TO WIN.

Southwest is having its twice-yearly big fare sale now through Thursday for flights from August to December. Fares start at $49 and include two free checked bags.

Because Southwest points have a (nearly) fixed value, awards are also on sale starting from 2,300 points + $5.60.

This sale is a great deal for anyone who wants to travel in the US, Mexico, Costa Rica, or the Caribbean this Fall, especially anyone with Southwest points or the ridiculously-easy-to-get Southwest Companion Pass.
How to Find the Deals
Click the deals page and look for your home airport.

You have two more days (including today) to transfer hotel points to Southwest for the purposes of earning a Southwest Companion Pass. Friday, March 31 is the cutoff. After Friday, any points transferred to Southwest will not count as "qualifying" towards the Companion Pass. That includes Marriott Travel Packages.

The Southwest Companion Pass, if you're unaware, is one of the best deals in travel. If you have the Southwest Companion pass, you can designate a companion who flies for just the taxes on every Southwest flight you fly.

This is the final post in a series about how to maximize value when transferring your Chase Ultimate Rewards to airline loyalty program partners. 
Maximizing Your Ultimate Rewards Series Index

Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: United MileagePlus
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Singapore Krisflyer #1
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Singapore Krisflyer #2 
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Korean SkyPass #1
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Korean Skypass #2
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Korean Skypass #3
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: British Airways Avios 
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Flying Blue
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Virgin Atlantic Flying Club #1
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Virgin Atlantic Flying Club #2
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Southwest Rapid Rewards
Maximizing Ultimate

The majority of us earn heaps of miles through sign up bonuses, maximizing category bonuses on credit cards, and flying. And at the end of the day, credit cards are the bread and butter that enable most of us to fly free in First Class.

But there are lots of other ways to earn miles, many of which are passive and all of which require little effort.

There are lots of obvious reasons why miles are better than cash, like the ability they give us to book mini palaces on planes that look like this...

...or the loose routing/stopover/open jaw rules of some programs that allow us to see more places on one trip.

But what about the smaller perks we often overlook? Like free or nearly free change and cancellation fees?

Southwest has mildly devalued its Rapid Rewards points by about 3%. What's alarming isn't the size of the devaluation, it's that:

Southwest gave no notice, only some sleuthing by FlyerTalkers sussed it out
This is the third devaluation in third years, something which is completely unnecessary for a revenue-based program like Southwest

The Devaluations
Southwest points used to be redeemable for any "Wanna Get Away?" fare at a rate of 60 points per dollar of the fare.

Longtime reader Caveman is offering one lucky reader a $51 Southwest gift card.

Southwest gift cards are fully transferable and don’t expire. There are two ways to enter, and you can enter both ways.

If you live at an airport served by Southwest, the Southwest Companion Pass is one of the best deals in travel. Every time you fly Southwest--whether on a cash or award ticket--your designated companion flies for free plus taxes: $5.60 one way in the United States and a little more internationally.

Here's how to open two credit cards and get the Southwest Companion Pass for almost all of 2016 and 2017.

The Southwest Companion Pass previously allowed three changes to your designation of the companion. Now you get three changes per calendar year.