The popular on-again, off-again Southwest offer is back. For a limited time, new Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card cardholders will earn 50,000 points after spending $2,000 in the first 3 months. 50,000 points can be redeemed for $833 in Wanna Get Away fares, which should be enough for at least 2 round-trip flights. The points can also instead be redeemed for $500 in gift cards.

The $2,000 in minimum spending required to earn the bonus, while an increase from what has been offered in the past, seems to be the new, normal amount for this offer when it does appear.

Southwest Premier Credit Card benefits
The Southwest Premier card does carry a $99 annual fee which is largely offset by a 6,000 point anniversary bonus. (Your 6,000 point anniversary bonus is worth about $100 when applied towards Wanna Get Away fares.) In addition, the Premier card also helps you gain elite A+ status faster, as you’ll earn 1,500 Tier Qualifying Points (TQPs) for each $10,000 of net purchases on the card, with a maximum of 15,000 TQPs earned from credit card spend per year.

Additional benefits include:

• You’ll earn 2 points per $1 spent directly with Southwest, AirTran and Rapid Rewards Hotel and Car Rental Partners and 1 point per $1 on all other purchases.
• No foreign transaction fees

Update 3/28/13: This offer has expired.