You may have heard me talk about the Southwest Companion Pass. We’ve previously had several in 2018-2019 and used it to fly around the country, to Hawaii, and even to Jamaica for half off. We saved over $3000 by having this pass. Typically, after flying a lot, you’ll earn a pass that lets you buy one get one free on any Southwest flight (minus taxes and fees, which is typically $5.60 for domestic flights). However, you can also get it for almost 2 years by doing some strategic credit card sign-ups.
Why We Love Southwest
First of all, this is really best for you if your airport flies Southwest. Some people don’t like the no-frills airline and dislike that there aren’t business or first class options. A few people have told me that they don’t like that you don’t have a pre-assigned seat. We think Southwest is great for families due to free bags and change fees for flexibility. In addition, we like the unique boarding situation where families with children 6 and under can board between the A (60 passengers) and B groups. Because of the seating, we’ve also had good luck with getting empty seats for lap babies and car seats. These are a little harder to plan for on typical airlines with pre-booked seating.
What is the Companion Pass?
The Southwest Companion Pass lets you bring a companion on any flight that you book and fly and only pay the taxes and fees. (Typically $5.60 for domestic flights.) It works on paid cash tickets and award tickets. If work pays for a trip and you have a companion pass, you can add on a companion for free. If there’s a seat, you can book your companion.
One of the most important things to note is that the companion pass is good for the rest of the year you earn it and the whole next year. They assume people work all year to fly and spend enough to earn their pass late in the year and reward them with the last few months and the next. However, if you earn it early in the year, it can be good for almost 2 years.
There’s some additional fine print, like you can’t add on a companion to a companion, and there’s a limited number of changes you can make to who your companion is. Your companion doesn’t even need to be your family member. You could temporarily put your bestie as your companion and treat them to a free flight and then change it back to your normal companion.
Requirements to Earn a Companion Pass
Basically, you must earn 125,000 Southwest points or fly 100 one-way flights. You cannot earn points from transferring from Chase. You can earn points from spending money on Southwest flights and some programs that include dining and car rentals. Most importantly, and most applicable to most of us, would be the option to earn points from credit-card sign-ups.
Open 2 credit cards
The Southwest Rapids Rewards Performance Business Credit Card currently offers a 80,000 point bonus after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months. In addition, the Southwest Priority card offers 50,000 points after spending $2,000 in the first 3 months. If you sign up for and get both of these bonuses, you will have your companion pass after your statement closes and the points post to your Southwest account.
You don’t need a “real” business to open a business card or put only business charges on our business card. There’s no way for them to know what a business expense is or isn’t. You don’t need revenue or employees. If you’ve ever done dog-walking, sold something on ebay or etsy, provided a freelance service, or worked as a consultant. you can qualify. When you sign up, list your social security number as the tax identifier.
Other Notes
You can’t earn the same bonus within 24 months, so this is not an everlasting cycle – although getting a partner involved could help. Another thing to note is that you get to use the miles you earned for flights as well. So you can use the points to get free flights and adding a companion on for free as well, making the whole cost of the first few trips free.
The timing of the sign-ups for the credit cards is important. Remember that the Companion Pass is good for the rest of the year you earn it and the whole next year. So the ideal time to earn the pass is January 1st. To maximize the timing, ideally you should start in November. You will need to sign up for the business card first, the personal card 30 days later, and then spend up to, but not hit, the thresholds for both bonuses prior to the end of the year. You can do this with your regular spending, or buy some Christmas gift cards or even some Visa gift cards if you have difficulty reaching the minimum spend thresholds. Then, right after the New Year, you’ll finish the minimum spend requirements for both cards and earn your pass. Make sure you don’t hit the thresholds in 2021 by accident, or you’ll earn the points but they won’t add to count for your 2022-2023 companion pass.
Other Questions
Does having too many credit cards affect my credit? Nope! As long as you’re responsible with their use and pay it off, more credit cards give you more credit and will raise your score as you show you can handle it.
Is it worth the annual fees and hassle? Will you fly Southwest in the next two years and have someone you want to bring along? Then probably. The 130,000 points from the sign-ups are worth $1500 themselves and getting to bring someone means you should be getting a minimum value of $3000 (plus the value of other trips you pay for without points and add a companion)
Can I purchase points or transfer from Chase? No
Do I get a physical Companion Pass? Yup. We’ve never needed it for anything.
Can my partner get a Companion Pass too for more savings? Yup. We did this at the end of 2018 and both Ellie and Carter could fly for free on our trips.
Recap
The Southwest companion pass is super awesome!
Now would be a good time to open a business card, and then 30 days later open a personal card.
Hit your minimum spend goals for both cards right after January 1, 2022
Use the points or cash and add your companion to bring them along for free (plus taxes)
