Southwest Companion Pass
How To Earn It For 2 Full Years
10/23/20246 min read
Affiliate Disclosure: This site is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers.
The Southwest Companion Pass® is one of the best deals in air travel today. It’s a game changer for frequent Southwest flyers like me, and I’m excited to be going for it myself for the first time here soon. So, let me share my strategy to help you score it too. Imagine getting a buy-one-get-one-free deal on every Southwest flight you take—yes, every flight, with just the cost of taxes and fees for your companion. And here’s the kicker: you can even use points to buy your flight, effectively doubling the value of your Southwest points.
Now, while it’s not easy to get the Companion Pass through traditional means, there’s a strategy using credit card welcome offers that will make it possible to earn the pass for a full two years. Better yet, you can keep repeating this process every couple of years if you play your cards right—literally! So, in this guide, I’ll take you step-by-step through my method to help you make the most of this fantastic opportunity.
Southwest Companion Pass Requirements
Before diving into the strategy, it’s essential to understand how the Southwest Companion Pass works and what it takes to earn it. There are two ways to qualify:
1. Fly 100 qualifying one-way flight segments in a calendar year, or
2. Earn 135,000 tier-qualifying points in a calendar year.
For most of us, the 100-flight requirement is tough to meet, especially considering that reward flights and connecting flights don’t count toward the total. That’s why the 135,000 points method is far more attainable, particularly when you leverage Southwest credit card welcome offers, which we’ll cover shortly.
Bonus Tip: Southwest Rapid Rewards™ Cardmembers will earn one boost of 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points each calendar year, reducing the required points total to just 125,000. Combine this with the right card strategy, and you’ll be well on your way to earning the pass!
Southwest Credit Cards Breakdown
Now, let’s break down each of the Southwest credit cards, all of which are issued by Chase. There are three personal cards and two business cards to choose from, each offering different benefits and annual fees. Your goal will be to combine one personal and one business card, or two business cards, to meet the points requirement.
Personal Cards:
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card
2x points per $1 on Southwest purchases
2x points per $1 on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners
2x points per $1 on local transit and commuting, including rideshare
2x points per $1 on internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming
1x points per $1 on all other purchases
Receive 3,000 points every year on your cardmember anniversary
Get 2 EarlyBird check-ins each year
Annual Fee: $69
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
3x points per $1 on Southwest purchases
2x points per $1 on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners
2x points per $1 on local transit and commuting, including rideshare
2x points per $1 on internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming
1x points per $1 on all other purchases
Receive 6,000 points every year on your cardmember anniversary
Get 2 EarlyBird check-ins each year
Earn 1,500 TQPs toward A-List status for every $5,000 you spend
Annual Fee: $99
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card
3x points per $1 on Southwest purchases
2x points per $1 on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners
2x points per $1 on local transit and commuting, including rideshare
2x points per $1 on internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming
1x points per $1 on all other purchases
Receive 7,500 points every year on your cardmember anniversary
$75 Southwest Annual Travel Credit
4 Upgraded Boardings per year when available
Earn 1,500 TQPs toward A-List status for every $5,000 you spend
Annual Fee: $149
Business Cards:
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card
3x points per $1 on Southwest purchases
2x points per $1 on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners
2x points per $1 on local transit and commuting, including rideshare
1x points per $1 on all other purchases
Receive 6,000 points every year on your cardmember anniversary
Get 2 EarlyBird check-ins each year
Earn 1,500 TQPs toward A-List status for every $5,000 you spend
$500 Fee credit for points transfers when you use your Rapid Rewards Business Credit Card to transfer points to another Rapid Rewards Member
Annual Fee: $99
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card
4x points per $1 on Southwest purchases
3x points per $1 on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners
2x points per $1 on social media and search engine advertising, internet, cable, and phone services
2x points per $1 on local transit and commuting, including rideshare
1x points per $1 on all other purchases
Receive 9,000 points every year on your cardmember anniversary
4 Upgraded Boardings per year when available
Up to 365 InFlight WiFi credits per year
Earn 1,500 TQPs toward A-List status for every $5,000 you spend
$500 Fee credit for points transfers when you use your Rapid Rewards Business Credit Card to transfer points to another Rapid Rewards Member
Up to $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS fee credit
Annual Fee: $199
While you might initially think choosing the lowest annual fee cards is the way to go, as you can see, the higher annual fee options provide many more perks and benefits than the low annual fee cards. So, instead of only considering the annual fees at face value, I'd calculate an effective annual fee for each card and choose which ones to go for based on that.
Application Rules for Southwest Credit Cards
When applying for these cards, keep the following rules in mind:
For All Cards:
Chase 5/24 Rule: You’re unlikely to be approved for any Southwest credit card if you’ve opened five or more credit cards (from any issuer) within the last 24 months, excluding most business cards.
For Personal Cards:
You can only have one Southwest personal card at a time. If you already have one, you must either cancel it or product-change it to a different card.
You won’t be eligible for the welcome offer if you’ve earned a welcome offer on any Southwest personal card within the past 24 months.
For Business Cards:
You cannot currently hold that specific business card.
You cannot have received a welcome offer on that specific business card within the last 24 months.
If you go the business card-only route, you must wait 31 days between applications.
The Best Card Combinations for Success
As we know at this point, to earn the Companion Pass, we need to combine one personal and one business card or two business card welcome offers. With the 10,000 qualifying points boost every year we hold a Southwest card, we only need 125,000 points total. So, let's take a look at the welcome offers currently provided by each of the Southwest credit cards:
Personal Cards:
All offer the ability to earn 50,000 points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Business Cards:
Southwest Premier Business: Earn 60,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Southwest Performance Business: Earn 80,000 points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Based on the current welcome offers, the only combination that doesn't automatically get you to the threshold needed to unlock the Companion Pass is the Southwest Premier Business with any of the personal cards. If you go for the Performance Business with any of the other cards, you'll be in the clear.
Timing Your Applications
The timing of your credit card applications is crucial. And the biggest thing to remember is to NOT hit the minimum spending requirements on any of these cards until after January 1st. Here’s the strategy I’ll be using personally:
Mid-October to mid-November: Apply for the Southwest Performance Business card. Start working toward the $5,000 minimum spending requirement, but don’t complete it before January 1. This card requires the most spending, so it’s best to start tackling it first.
Mid-November to mid-December: Apply for the Southwest Priority card. This card only requires $1,000 of spend, making it easier to meet after the new year. Be careful to not go over the minimum spending requirement before January 1st with how low the requirement is.
By spreading out the applications at least 31 days to maximize your odds of being approved and meeting both of the minimum spend requirements after January 1, you’ll maximize the length of your Companion Pass benefits, securing it for almost two full years. And don't forget that you can repeat this strategy every 2 years (or have your Player-2 do it) to extend your Companion Pass in perpetuity!
Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
Click here to get free weekly credit card insights and exclusive access to news/offers I can't always cover on YouTube.
Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the card links and other products that appear on this website are from companies which Daily Drop/YourBestCreditCards will earn an affiliate commission or referral bonus. Daily Drop/YourBestCreditCards is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). This site does not include all credit card companies, or all available credit card offers. The content in this website is accurate as of the posting date. Some of the offers mentioned may no longer be available.