Chase application pages for the Southwest business cards started showing new welcome-bonus eligibility wording this week, replacing a 24-month restriction with language that points at a once-per-lifetime rule. Then Chase told one of the outlets that reported it the whole thing was a website error. Both happened on September 28, so here's where it stands.
What the new wording says
Doctor of Credit reported on September 28 that some Chase application pages now carry this:
"The new cardmember bonus may not be available to you if you have ever had this card. We may also consider factors pertinent to your business in determining your bonus eligibility."
Doctor of Credit said the previous wording, on all links, read:
"This new Cardmember bonus offer is not available to either (i) current Cardmembers of this business credit card, or (ii) previous Cardmembers of this business credit card who received a new Cardmember bonus for this business credit card within the last 24 months."
The difference is the whole story. Under the old terms, you could hold a Southwest business card, take the bonus, close the card, wait out 24 months and take the bonus again. The new wording points instead at having ever held the card, with the bonus described as one that may not be available.
Why this lands harder on Southwest than on other cards
Southwest business cards aren't ordinary business cards. Their welcome bonuses count toward the Companion Pass, which lets one designated companion fly with you for taxes and fees.
Under the old terms, the 24-month window let someone who had already used these cards toward a Companion Pass come back for another bonus later. A lifetime restriction, if Chase enforced it, would close that door for anyone who has held the card before. Our Companion Pass guide covers how the timing of your earn decides how long you hold the pass.
Chase says it was a mistake
Upgraded Points updated its story on September 28 to say that, after publication, a Chase spokesperson attributed the new terms to a website error and to inaccurate information posted while the site was being updated.
Upgraded Points runs the statement as a one-line update at the top of its story, now headlined "False Alarm: Chase Says It's Not Adding a Once-Per-Lifetime Rule to Southwest Business Credit Cards." Its original report, including the advice to check Offer Details, still sits below the update.
So here's the record: Doctor of Credit reported the language, Upgraded Points reported the same language and then got Chase's explanation, and the Offer Details on the application page are still where you see which terms apply to you.
Where the terms stand
Here's what the two outlets reported, point by point.
Where the wording appeared. Doctor of Credit found the new language on some application pages, and Upgraded Points found the old 24-month wording still on at least one Premier Business application page. That was the picture before Chase called it an error.
Which card it covers. Both versions are written about the card you're applying for: the new one says "if you have ever had this card," and the old one refers to "this business credit card."
How Chase would apply it. The wording says the bonus "may not be available," not that it is unavailable, and adds that Chase may weigh factors about your business. That's discretion, not a rule. Doctor of Credit read it the same way, writing that the old 24-month language may mostly apply but that Chase and Southwest want some flexibility.
What to do before you apply
Read the eligibility terms on the page you are actually applying through, not a summary of them. Click Offer Details on the application and look for which version you are being shown: the one that talks about a bonus received in the past 24 months, or the one that says the bonus may not be available if you have ever had the card. The two have been live at the same time on different links.
If you are working toward a Companion Pass and the card is part of the plan, that check decides whether the plan works.
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