How to use a Southwest credit card sign-up bonus to earn the Companion Pass

Information about the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.

Whether you're a frequent business traveler or planning some revenge travel to make up for lost trips during the pandemic, the Southwest Companion Pass is a great way to save money on flights, particularly if you tend to fly with a friend, family member or partner. In fact, it allows you to take a companion along with you on any Southwest flight for nearly free.

The requirements to earn the Companion Pass may seem daunting — you must fly 100 qualifying one-way revenue flights or earn 135,000 qualifying Rapid Rewards points in a calendar year. However, there are a number of tricks to go about getting the Companion Pass quickly, and if you time it right, you'll be able to keep this benefit through the end of 2024.

From utilizing lucrative credit card sign-up bonuses, to booking flights and racking up qualifying Rapid Rewards points, here's how to earn the Southwest Companion Pass in a hurry.

The Southwest Companion Pass allows you to bring your partner (or a friend or family member) along with you on any flight for just the taxes and fees, only $5.60 per person on one-way flights within the U.S. You can take advantage of the benefit regardless of whether you're paying for your ticket with cash or points, whether you're flying domestically or to one of Southwest's international destinations or how many times you use it while you're eligible. You can also change your designated companion up to three times per calendar year, so you don't necessarily need to bring the same person along each time you use it. The only major restriction of the Companion Pass is that your companion cannot fly without you.

Best of all, the Southwest Companion Pass can be used throughout the rest of the year you earn it as well as the whole next year. Meaning if you qualify for it at the start of 2023, you'll be able to use it through the end of 2024, giving you almost two full years of use. You'll need to time it just right to take full advantage of the timing though. Opening a new Southwest credit card account toward the end of the year, and not reaching minimum-requirement thresholds until after December 31 means all qualifying spending events will take place the following year, effectively locking you in to qualify for perks for the next year and the entire year after.

Keep in mind that you haven't officially earned your Rapid Rewards points until they hit your account, which can vary depending on when your credit card statement ends. Spending after a certain date in December, for instance, would end up on your January statement, so make sure you correctly time you're spending to ensure the welcome bonus hits your account at the beginning of a new year.

You'll need to rack up at least 135,000 qualifying Rapid Rewards points or take 100 qualifying one-way revenue flights in a calendar year to earn the Southwest Companion Pass. This can be done by taking advantage of large credit card sign-up bonuses offered by certain Southwest credit cards and using them to make qualifying purchases (more on that later); earning base points through Rapid Rewards Dining, Rapid Rewards Shopping or with Southwest's hotel, rental car, and travel partners. Additionally, starting in 2023, you can get an automatic 10,000-point boost each year simply by having a cobranded Southwest card.

According to Southwest, Rapid Rewards points that are purchased, transferred from other members (or by way of hotel and car rental loyalty programs) or are bonus points other than those earned via the carrier's own branded credit cards (i.e. those transferred from Chase Ultimate Rewards®) do not count as qualifying points and therefore cannot go toward earning the Companion Pass. In other words, you really need to stick to the rules and plan your accumulation strategy accordingly.

The trick to earning the Southwest Companion Pass quickly is by taking advantage of its credit card welcome bonuses. Southwest is currently offering new cobranded cardholders 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

The welcome bonus is currently available for these three branded personal credit cards:

1. Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card
2. Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
3. Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card

Each of the three Southwest personal branded credit cards also comes with points-earning rewards and other perks. Additionally, as of 2023, anyone with a Southwest credit card will automatically earn one boost of 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points each calendar year.

• The Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card lets you earn 2X points per dollar spent on Southwest® purchases, local transit, commuting, ridesharing, internet, cable, phone, and select streaming services, plus 1X points on other purchases made with the card.
• The Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card gives you 3X points per dollar spent on Southwest® purchases; 2X points per dollar spent on local transit, commuting, ridesharing, internet, cable, phone, and select streaming services; and 1X points on all other purchases.
• The Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card lets you earn 3X points per dollar spent on Southwest® purchases; 2X points per dollar spent on local transit, commuting, ridesharing, internet, cable, phone, and select streaming services; and 1X points on all other purchases—and throws in unlimited tier qualifying points (TQPs) that can be put toward earning Southwest Airlines A-list elite status.

Southwest's two branded business cards currently offer the below sign-up bonuses that can give you a much-needed head start if you're trying to rack up 135,000 points quickly:

• Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card: Earn 80,000 Rapid Rewards points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. You'll also be able to earn 4X points on Southwest Airlines® flight purchases, 3X points per dollar spent with Rapid Rewards® hotel and car rental partners, 2X points per dollar spent on rideshare services, as well as social media and search engine advertising, internet, cable, and phone services, plus 1X point per dollar spent elsewhere.

• Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card: Earn 60,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. You'll also be able to earn 3X points per dollar spent on Southwest Airlines® purchases, 2X points per dollar spent on local transit and commuting including rideshare, with Rapid Rewards® hotel and rental car partners, plus 1X points spent on other purchases.

You can sign up for both a personal and a Southwest card. However, since Southwest credit cards are issued by Chase, you'll have to adhere to its notorious 5/24 rule. In other words, if you've applied for five credit cards (from any card issuer, not just Chase) within the past two years, you'll likely be denied another until your card count decreases. Also, note that you won't be able to apply for a new personal Southwest credit card if you've already done so or received a sign-up bonus from one in the last 24 months (or another business Southwest Credit Card if you're already a business cardholder or have received a bonus in the last 24 months).

Unfortunately, you can only earn one boost of 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points each calendar year, regardless of how many Southwest credit cards you have.

If you time it out just right and take advantage of lucrative credit card sign-up bonuses, the Southwest Companion Pass can truly be one of the most valuable airline loyalty program perks. Just make sure you're following all the rules, like booking qualifying flights and earning qualifying Rapid Rewards points, and you'll have one of your own in no time.

Although the Companion Pass qualification requirements increased slightly at the start of 2023, the change does not affect Southwest credit cardholders because it is being offset by a new annual qualifying points boost.

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