Updated September, 2023…
What if I told you,
What if I told you that you and your spouse, significant other (or any companion you choose) could fly anywhere in the United States for only $11.20 round-trip per person? Well, since 2018, that’s exactly what my wife and I have been doing! And the best part is, anyone can do it! The Southwest Airlines Companion pass is one of the most sought-after perks in the points and miles world and I help hundreds of people earn it every single year!
Let’s talk about what the companion pass is, how it’s different from other companion passes you might be familiar with, and how YOU can easily earn it for all of 2024 and 2025!
What is THE COMPANION PASS?
The Southwest Airlines companion pass works like this:
Once you earn it, you get to designate one person as your “companion”. Once they are officially designated as your companion, you can then add them to ANY Southwest flight that you are flying on for only the cost of taxes and fees; which in the US is only $5.60 each way.
So yes, that means you and your companion basically get BOGO roundtrip flights for $11.20! It’s valid Anywhere Southwest flies, and there are no blackout dates, or destinations that are off-limits, domestic or international.
Once earned, the companion pass is valid for the remainder of the year you earn it in, as well as the following calendar year (Jan-Dec).
How to EARN the Southwest Companion Pass
There are currently 2 ways which you can earn the Southwest Companion pass:
YOU CAN:
Fly 100 one-way (or 50 round trip) flights with Southwest in one calendar year.
OR
Earn 135,000 Qualifying Southwest Rapid Rewards Points in one calendar year (between January and December.)
Now this goes without saying, but unless you plan on flying a roundtrip flight somewhere once a week, all year long, then the first option is probably not realistic for you. (and if it is then I have questions!)
For most people, the second option is going to be significantly easier. Even if you were to fly that often, it would still take you all year long to earn the companion pass. Earning via points can be done much faster and I’m going to tell you how.
The companion pass is valid for the remainder of the year you earn it in, and the following year. This means if you spend an entire year earning it, you will most likely only get 12-13 months of use out of it. However, if you go the route of earning 135K points, you can actually get almost 2 full years of use from it.
EARNING THE COMPANION PASS WITH POINTS:
Currently Southwest has 5 different cards available through Chase. Three of these are personal cards, and two of them are business cards. In order to earn the companion pass using this method, you are going to need to open either one of each or two business cards.
Usually, around the end of the year, a few of these cards get elevated signup bonuses from their standard offers. Typically the points offered by these cards are enough that if you were to open one business and one personal, it would get you to or very very close to the needed 135K points. However, there is some nuance to the timing.
WHEN TO EARN THE COMPANION PASS
The timing of opening the cards is what trips people up year after year. It’s not complicated, you just have to be very intentional.
Here’s why:
Because the rules of the companion pass say that you have to earn the points within one calendar year, that means that after December 31st all of your companion pass qualifying points reset. This means that if you earn all of your points at the end of the year…they won’t count toward a companion pass for the following year. So what do you do?
The goal is to NOT have the points hit your account until AFTER January 1st of the year in which you want to earn the companion pass. That means that you can open the cards at the end of the year just fine, but you don’t want to meet the minimum spend and earn the sign-up bonus until AFTER January 1st.
Let’s walk through and example approach the steps and I’ll show you what I mean.
STEP 1: Open the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier or Performance Business Credit Card.
At the time I’m writing this, Chase is offering 80,000 Rapid Rewards points when you spend $5,000 in the first 3 months of opening the Performance Business card. Opening this card and earning the SUB will get you well over halfway to the companion pass…but remember, you do NOT want to spend that $5,000 until after January 1st. I usually recommend leaving a $500 cushion, which means you could spend $4,500 on the card before Jan 1st, but wait until after Jan 1st to spend the remaining $500 so that the sign-up bonus won’t be deposited into your account until January of 2024.
STEP 2: Open one of the Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Personal Cards.
You typically want to wait at least 30 days in-between Chase applications. So after you’ve opened the business card, wait about 30 days before moving on to step 2.
At the time of writing this, all 3 personal Southwest co-branded credit cards are offering 50,000 Rapid Reward Points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months. Again, it’s important that you do not spend the $1k required for the bonus before Jan 1st. If you do, those points will count towards the 2023 calendar year and will not be valid toward earning the companion pass in 2024. Leave a $300-$500 cushion and finish your spending AFTER January 1st.
If you’ve been following the math, the 80K points from the business card, plus the 50K points from the personal card has you at 130K points just from the sign-up bonuses. Now you’re only 5K points away from a companion pass!
You can also factor in the 1 point per dollar spent while earning the sign up bonuses. The more of those points that hit your account after Jan 1 will count towards your companion pass. If you made ALL of the $6K spend after Jan 1 you would then be at at least 136K points which means you’d be done! However any points that hit your rapid rewards account prior to Jan 1st will not count towards your companion pass total for 2024. Also note that on both of these cards, any money spent with SW airlines will earn you 2 points per dollar.
So how do you get the REMAINING points?
If the sign-up bonuses aren’t enough when you’re applying, sometimes you can find an in-flight, or in-airport offer for the personal cards that offer a higher sign-up bonus then the standard online offer. If you happen to apply using one of these offers, then you should have no problem earning it from Sign-up bonuses alone.
However, if you still come up a few thousand points shy, I would simply recommend putting all of your monthly expenses on those cards until you hit the necessary 135K points. If you have Southwest flights to book for later in the year, you could always book them early with cash in order to get the 2x points per $1 dollar spent, and once you have earned the companion pass you will still be able to add your companion to those flights you booked before you had earned it.
IF YOU REMEMBER ANYTHING: JUST DON’T HIT THE MINIMUM SPEND BEFORE JANUARY 1ST.
If you follow this guide to the T, you should earn the companion pass in January or February of 2024 which means it will be valid all the way until December 31st of 2025, almost 2 entire years. You’re welcome! 😎
Commonly asked questions:
Q: I don’t own a business, can I still get a business credit card?
A: The short answer is that you DO need a business in order to open a business card, but what qualifies as an “official business” might surprise you!
If you want to find out if you’re eligible and also be walked through the steps of opening a business card, you can download my free guide to opening business cards right here.
Q: Do I have to use the 135K points I earn to “buy” the companion pass?
A: Nope! You keep every last one of those points! Use them to purchase your flights then add your companion and you can get both of you anywhere in the US for $22.40 roundtrip!
Q: Can I ever change my companion?
A: Currently Southwest will allow you to change your companion up to 3 times. That means if you set your spouse as your companion, then you want to change it to one of your kids, that counts as 1 change. Then you want to change it back to your spouse, that’s the 2nd change. And you would still have one left over.
Q: Is there any type of flight I can’t use my companion pass?
A: Nope. Any southwest flight goes. Domestic, international, booked with cash or on points, you can literally add your companion ticket to any type of SW airlines flight.
If you have any other questions don’t hesitate to reach out to me at info@artoftravelblog.com !
Good Luck on this 2024 companion pass season!
~ Matt