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YESTERDAY, reporters briefly got excited about the return of the “Gang of Six”, a bipartisan group of Senators, who seem to be proposing a grand-bargain-like plan worth $3.7 trillion over the next decade. It manages the neat trick of raising revenue through the reform of the tax code, in a way that can be interpreted as both raising and lowering tax revenues. President Obama endorsed the plan yesterday, and a few economics reporters pointed to a dip in long-term government bond yields as evidence that markets believed the plan would happen.

Colour me sceptical. Ezra Klein says a plan of that ambition probably can’t be completed in the brief window left before the government runs out of money. House Republicans are distinctly cool to the plan, and Mr Obama’s endorsement is unlikely to encourage their support. Yields dropped yesterday…all the way back to their July 12th level, and they’re up again today.

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Even though I’ve done my fair share of traveling over the years, I’m not a frequent flier by any stretch of the imagination.  I’ve infrequently flown Continental, United, American, Delta and JetBlue but never the airline I’ve always wanted to try … Southwest.   Well that’s all going to change in early October, as I’ve finally booked my first Southwest flight.  In fact, I was able to book two round-trip tickets to Chicago, only having to pay a small fee $10 fee per ticket.  This is because a few weeks ago, I signed up for the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card from Chase and received a limited time 50,000 bonus point offer.

The Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card is actually the first credit card I’ve chosen to sign up for (or have been able to sign up for) in years because of my poor credit.  I’ve worked my way up the credit  ladder and finally decided to cash in on savings around $700.  All cardholders will be able to earn 50,000 bonus points after making just one purchase, which is good enough for two round-trip “Wanna Get Away” flights, minus the government fee and taxes.  The savings can be as great at $850, which qualifies as one of the best bonuses available on a credit card today.

Owners of the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card will also receive rewards points when making purchases, and when your purchases involve Southwest or their partners, double points are earned.  All other purchases receive 1 rewards point per dollar spent and the points earned never expire.  There is also no limit to the amount of points you can earn, and points can be redeemed for a variety of flight options.

The purchase APR on the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card is a very reasonable (when compared to others) 14.24% variable.   This rate is provided to all approved cardholders but there is one glaring negative.  An annual fee of $99 must be paid, including right away but every year you renew the card, 6,000 bonus points can be obtained (worth $100 in Wanna Get Away flights).  This means that if you actually use your Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card, the annual bonus points contradict the annual fee, making this card a keeper.

It’s also important to note that Southwest is the only airline I’m aware of that doesn’t charge for the first or second bag and if a flight needs to be changed, it can be done so free of charge.  If all goes well with my upcoming flight, I can’t imagine why I wouldn’t look to Southwest first for all future flights and owning the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card should do a good job of saving me hundreds of dollars every year.  If you plan on taking a trip soon or are a Southwest Airlines frequent flier, consider applying for the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card.