Southwest just changed everything

☀️ Good morning and welcome back to Daily Drop — the perfect newsletter for anyone who can remember 52 airport codes but still somehow forgets every friend’s birthday.

Let’s finish off the week strong:

• 🛬 Major changes just landed for Southwest cards

• 🚗 Earn Alaska miles every time you ride Lyft

• 📱 Free global data with your Mastercard

• 😎 Stay salty, my friends

• 💳 Current Transfer Bonuses

🛬 Major changes just landed for Southwest cards

Southwest just dropped a major overhaul to its lineup of co-branded credit cards — and whether you’re a longtime fan or casual flyer, these changes are worth knowing.

Let’s talk perks

The airline’s consumer cards all received massive welcome offers of 100,000 points after hitting the minimum spend. 😎

All Southwest cardholders now get a free checked bag for themselves and up to eight people on the same reservation — that’s $35 saved per bag per trip (and a great way to mitigate the recent changes to Southwest’s baggage policy)

Some cards now come with annual promo codes for discounted flights, ranging from 10% to 15% off, depending on the tier (excluding Basic fares).

Earning rates got a glow-up

The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card now earns 4x points on Southwest purchases and 2x points at restaurants and gas stations, with no cap.

Meanwhile, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card still offers bonus categories like grocery stores and internet services — although some of those categories will disappear at the end of the year. 😭

Now, for the fine print…

Annual fees are increasing across the board — by as much as $80 — and several of the legacy perks, like EarlyBird Check-In, will disappear starting in January 2026.

That’s because Southwest is (finally) introducing seat selection, and co-branded cardholders will get priority access when that rolls out.

Overall, these changes are a mixed bag… Whether they’re good or bad depends on how often you fly Southwest. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Anyway, check out our article for a full breakdown of all of the other changes:

🚗 Earn Alaska miles every time you ride Lyft

Lyft just bumped up the rewards on Alaska Mileage Plan, and while a few miles per dollar might not sound like much at first blush… these can add up surprisingly fast.

In case you don’t know, it’s possible to link your Alaska and Lyft accounts to double-dip on rewards.

Here is how it works:

• Earn 2 Alaska miles for every $1 spent on everyday Lyft rides (Standard, Priority Pick‑up, XL)

• Earn 3 miles per $1 when you take airport rides or splurge on premium services like Extra Comfort, Black, or Black SUV

Keep in mind: Alaska allows award flights for just 4,500 miles each way — even on partner carriers like American Airlines. 👇

That means a few Lyft rides here and there could eventually get you a free one‑way flight.

Plus, you can stack this with some serious credit card earnings. For example, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card earn 5x Ultimate Rewards points per dollar on Lyft.

Overall, that’s a pretty epic return on your spend for rides you are already taking. Make sure you link your Alaska and Lyft accounts to start earning.

📱 Free global data with your Mastercard

Traveling abroad and scrambling for data is so 2012.

Yesterday, we showed you how to get a free eSIM through Visa — today, we’re diving into a similar perk for Mastercard holders. 😏

Thanks to a sweet partnership between Mastercard and FlexiRoam, you can get free international data just for holding the right credit card.

If you’ve got a premium World Elite Mastercard (like the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card), you’ll get:

• 3GB of data valid for 15 days, completely free

• 15% off all subsequent FlexiRoam plans when paying with your eligible card

Even if you have the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, you’ll still get a FlexiRoam Starter Pack and 15% discount — which is perfect for occasional travelers or those just dipping into the eSIM life.

Here’s why this is great:

FlexiRoam works in over 120 countries across 580+ networks — meaning you can land, toggle on your eSIM, and be connected instantly.

No more SIM-swapping or hunting for pocket Wi-Fi.

How to claim your free data:

It only takes a few minutes to set it up:

1. Download the FlexiRoam app

2. Enter your Mastercard details to verify eligibility

3. Follow the instructions to create an account and install your eSIM

If you’re already on a Mastercard World Elite tier (like with the Venture X), the data credit will apply automatically when you redeem.

Unlike the Visa/GigSky partnership, this one also gives you the option for a physical SIM card, making it valuable even if your phone isn’t eSIM compatible.

So whether you’re hopping between cafés in Lisbon, hiking in Patagonia, or just need backup in case hotel Wi-Fi drops, this is one of the easiest ways to stay connected without paying a dime.

Check out the best travel cards for some of our favorite Mastercard products. 👇

That’s gonna do it, folks! I hope you enjoyed this jam-packed week of points and miles fun — and make sure you tune in next week for even more.

Cheers,

43.5320° S, 172.6366° E

With contributions by Tiffany Eastham, McKay Moffitt, and Benji Stawski