how to earn the SOUTHWEST COMPANION PASS (BOGO FLIGHTS FREE FOR TWO YEARS)
Updated October 2024
What if I told you that you could fly ‘Two for One’ on Southwest Airlines for two years? That’s right. For every flight you book with cash or points, you can have your ‘Plus 1’ fly for just the price of taxes and fees (about $6). One of the best deals in points travel is the Southwest Companion Pass (CP). And since “Companion Pass Season” is almost upon us, I thought I’d share my best tips on how to earn the CP.
Your companion can fly to Hawaii for just $5.60 as your companion using the Southwest Companion Pass
WHAT IS THE SOUTHWEST COMPANION PASS?
The Southwest Companion Pass is a perk that allows you to bring a companion along for just the price of taxes and fees (most routes just $5.60) on any Southwest flight (whether you paid with cash or points) to anywhere Southwest flies, with no blackout dates.
HOW TO EARN THE COMPANION PASS:
There are two ways to earn the Southwest Companion Pass:
Fly 100 qualifying one-way flights in calendar year (even my business traveler husband would have a hard time with this one) or
Earn 135,000 Rapid Rewards points per calendar year.
While earning 135,000 points in one calendar year seems like a daunting task, it can be done fairly easily with just two credit card sign up bonuses. Now, Southwest has made this a little more difficult in recent years by taking away the ability to hold more than one personal Southwest card at a time. This means you will have to apply for one personal Southwest card and one business Southwest card or two Southwest business cards.
If you have been following me for a while on Instagram, I’ve shared lots of tips on how to qualify for a business card. Any side hustle that earns money (reseller on Facebook or eBay, dog walking, Uber driver, blogger, etc) qualifies as a business as a sole proprietor.
You can find details on current offers for all of the Southwest cards by clicking here. Keep in mind that you can only hold one personal Southwest card at a time, and you must wait 24 months in between receiving the welcome bonus. So, if you currently hold a Southwest card, you must close it and wait thirty days before applying again. Don’t forget that you must be under 5/24 to be approved.
New in 2023: As a new benefit, Rapid Rewards Credit Card members will receive a boost of 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points on the first business day of each year. These points will count towards CP qualification and cannot be used towards award t
TIMING IS EVERYTHING
To earn the Companion Pass for two years, you want to earn the 135k Southwest points as early in the year as possible. Once you earn the 135k points, you will earn the CP for the rest of the calendar year in which you earned the points, and for the entire following year. That’s why many people try to meet their minimum spend in early January so that they have the pass for almost 24 months.
STRATEGY:
Mid-Late October: Apply for one of the Southwest Business Cards. I will start working on meeting the minimum spend being very careful not to complete the minimum spend until after the first of January. I want the sign-up bonus to hit my account after January 1st. If you complete the spend too early and earn the points in December, you will not have the CP for two years.
I recommend starting with the business card first because it can be more difficult to be approved and you’ll know early on if you qualify to earn the Companion Pass.
November/December: Apply for a personal Southwest credit card. You have three months to meet the minimum spend. Be very careful not to complete the minimum spend until AFTER January 1st.
HOW IT WORKS
Unlike other companion pass programs where you can only use the companion pass once a year, or only on paid flights, Southwest makes it completely easy to use your CP once you earn it. Your companion can fly for just the cost of taxes and fees on any paid or award flight to anywhere Southwest flies - even to Hawaii, with no black out dates. That means any flight you book with points, you and your companion fly for just around $12 for two round trip flights.
Once you earn your Companion Pass, you must designate your Companion in your account. You can change this up to three times a year. I love this flexibility. Your companion will only pay taxes and fees for the flight which is about $5.60 each way on domestic flights and a little bit more for international flights.
When you are ready to book your flights. You will book your flight first (with cash or points), then go to the “My Trips Section” of your account, select your flight, then select “Add a Companion”. You can learn more on how to set your CP up here.
OTHER WAYS TO EARN POINTS:
Here are some other ways to earn Rapid Rewards Points:
Fly Southwest. Make sure that you are earning points on every Southwest flight you take. You’ll earn even more points if you pay for your flights with your Southwest card.
Referrals: Anytime someone applies for the Southwest card from your referral link you will earn 20k referral bonus points (up to 100k points a year). Just click here to generate your Referral link. You’ll need the last four numbers of your Southwest card. Try to refer friends and family in late December/early January so those referral points will count towards your CP.
Shopping Portals: You will earn points on all purchases made through the Southwest shopping portal. This is a fantastic way to earn a lot of Southwest points, but keep in mind, bonus points don’t always qualify towards the CP.
Rapid Rewards Dining: Create an account, register your card and anytime you eat at a participating restaurant, you’ll earn bonus points.
Southwest Hotels: Book a room through the Southwest Hotels portal and earn up to 10k points a night. Please do your research as oftentimes these price out higher than booking direct.
With the Companion Pass you can fly “Two for One” anywhere Southwest flies!
SOUTHWEST COMPANION PASS TIPS
Chase 5/24 Rule: Both the personal and the business Southwest cards are subject to Chase’s 5/24 Rule. You will not be approved if you have opened more than five cards in 24 months (from any bank). While getting a Chase business card doesn’t count towards your 5/24 status, you must be under 5/24 to be approved by Chase.
Bonus Rule: Chase will only allow you to hold one Southwest personal card at a time, so you are not eligible for the personal card if you currently hold a Southwest personal card or if you have received the bonus on a personal Southwest card in the past 24 months.
Timing: Although you’ll get the most value out of having the card for two years this strategy doesn’t work for everyone. I had one follower take advantage of the limited increased bonus on the Southwest card for 85k points and earned the CP in the middle of the year. They had a lot of travel planned over the holidays, so for them, it was worth it.
What doesn’t count: Points that do not count towards the 135k points needed for the Companion Pass include:
Points that you transfer from your Chase Ultimate Rewards account to Southwest
You cannot combine points from your spouse's account. All the points must be earned in your account only
Purchasing Southwest points does not count towards the Companion Pass
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Southwest Companion Pass is a great travel perk for families. Coupling the Companion Pass with Southwest’s generous bags fly free, no change or cancellation fees and no blackout dates policy makes this the best travel deal in the miles and points world.
Happy Travels!
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