How to easily earn the Southwest companion pass
What is the Southwest companion pass?
First off, let’s review what the companion pass is and why it’s so valuable to have. The Southwest companion pass allows you to fly someone for free (except taxes and fees, typically $5.60 one-way) on all of your flights during the year you earn the pass, plus the entire following year. It’s an incredible deal, especially for families like ours. Frankly, no other airline offers a program like this! This is just one reason why our family loves Southwest.
How do you earn the Southwest companion pass?
There are two ways:
Fly 100 flights in a calendar year (yikes, we love to travel, but that’s a LOT of flights)
Earn 135,000 Rapid Rewards points in a calendar year (this sounds hard, but it’s actually quite easy thanks to credit card welcome bonuses)
Today, we’ll be focusing on how easy it is to reach 135,000 points by leveraging credit card welcome bonuses!
Types of Southwest Credit Cards
Southwest offers several credit cards through Chase, each with generous sign-up bonuses that count towards the Companion Pass. And, Southwest grants you 10,000 bonus points each year just for being a cardholder, so technically speaking, you really only need to earn 125,000 points to obtain the companion pass. Here are the Southwest credit card options:
Personal Cards:
Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card: Lower annual fee ($69) and typically offers 50,000 points after meeting the minimum spending requirement ($1,000 in three months). Personally, we love this card because it offers the same amount of welcome bonus points as the other personal cards, but for a lower annual fee.
Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card: Similar bonuses to the Plus card, with additional benefits like no foreign transaction fees. The annual fee is $99 and the minimum spending requirement is also $1,000 in three months.
Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card: The highest annual fee ($149) but comes with the most perks, including additional points on your card anniversary. Also typically offers 50,000 points after meeting the minimum spending requirement ($1,000 in three months).
Business Cards:
If you assume you can’t qualify for a business card, hang on and read our blog post all about how easy it is to qualify!
Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Credit Card: Lower annual fee ($99), typically offers 60,000 points after meeting the minimum spending requirement ($3,000 in three months).
Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Card: Higher annual fee ($199), typically offers 80,000 points after meeting the minimum spending requirement ($5,000 in three months). Personally, we love this card because it comes with 4 free upgraded boardings each year and it reimburses you for in-flight Wi-Fi charges. It also easily allows you to reach 125,000 Southwest points when you pair it with one of the personal cards!
In terms of eligibility, Southwest only allows you to hold one personal card at a time, but you can hold one personal and one business card or two business cards simultaneously. For this reason, you’ll need to apply for at least one Southwest business card.
It’s also worth noting that Southwest only allows you to earn a personal credit card welcome bonus once every 24 months. This won’t factor into the equation unless you’ve opened a Southwest personal card within the past 24 months. If you have, bear in mind that the 24-month window must pass before you reapply.
Tips for applying for cards and earning welcome bonuses
If you want to prioritize having the companion pass for as long as possible (close to two full years), the timing of your credit card applications and welcome bonuses hitting will be important. You’ll want to apply for the cards during Q4 and hit your minimum spend on both cards in early January. This will ensure your welcome bonuses hit during Q1. Just be careful you don’t hit the minimum spend during Q4!
If you aren’t worried about earning the companion pass for two full years, you don’t need to concern yourself too much with the timing of things. For instance, maybe you aren’t planning to fly on Southwest until May or June, so earning the Companion Pass in January or February really wouldn’t benefit you.
Related reading:
Conclusion
Earning the Southwest companion pass may seem daunting, but with strategic planning and smart use of credit card bonuses, it’s entirely doable. By following these steps, you can unlock nearly two years of free flights for your favorite travel companion, making your adventures more affordable and enjoyable.
If you’re ready to start racking up Southwest points, we’d appreciate it so much if you use our referral link. You’ll see all five Southwest credit cards listed at the top of the page. Using our referral link won’t cost you anything, but it gives us a few referral points to add to our stash.
We’re here if you have any questions!
❤️ Liz
Friendly reminder: We are not financial advisers, we are simply sharing our method and approach with you. Of course, it's important to use credit cards responsibly. Pay off your balance in full each month to avoid interest charges, and never spend more than you can afford just to earn rewards.
