How to Earn the Southwest Companion Pass
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Opinions expressed here are the 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.
Get ready for some travel magic with the Southwest Companion Pass! 🎉 This awesome perk lets you bring a companion along for free on all your Southwest flights—just pay the taxes, which is usually just $5.60 (talk about a steal! 🤯). It’s like doubling the value of your points and making your travel dreams way more affordable!
To snag the traditional pass (there is a promotional offer for a shorter version of the Companion Pass that I’ll jump into later), you’ll need to rack up 135,000* qualifying Rapid Rewards points in a single calendar year. Once you do, you’ll be flying high with the pass for the rest of that year and the entire next year too.
And guess what? You still keep all those hard-earned points to use for your own flights!
*Southwest gives each cardholder 10,000 qualifying miles each calendar year, so you only need to earn 125,000 miles. Even better!
How to earn the Companion Pass
The quickest route to earning the standard Southwest Companion Pass is by strategically opening two credit cards and earning the welcome offers in the same calendar year. These cards come with generous sign-up bonuses that count towards the Companion Pass qualifications.
You are able to have only one personal Southwest credit card but you can have both of the Southwest business credit cards. For this reason, your two 2-card options for earning the pass are:
1 personal card + 1 business card OR 2 business cards.
🥵Hot tip: If you already hold one of the personal cards, and it’s been at least 24 months since you received the welcome bonus, you can close the card, wait 30 days, and then you can reapply!
Example strategies
IMPORTANT NOTES:
👉🏻With all of these strategies, it is important to remember that any welcome offers (or referral points if you are going to two Companion Passes) MUST post in 2025 (all in the same calendar year)!
👉🏻Card offers change frequently, so make sure to do the math to ensure the cards you are opening will add up to the required 125,000 points (135,000 with the 10,000 point cardholder boost).
👉🏻If you are opting for the 1 personal card + 1 business card strategy, if all offers are standard, I recommend opening the business card first since this will not count toward your 5/24.
Strategy 1: 1 personal card + 1 business card
Business card: Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card
Apply: Ideally you will apply mid-October so you can earn the pass as early in the next year as possible. But this can be done any time of the year as long as you plan for all bonus points to be earned/post to your account in the same calendar year.
Spending: Begin working on your minimum spend requirement right away (you will have 3 months from card opening). If opening your card near the end of the year, wait to meet minimum spend until January.
Points: 80,000 Rapid Rewards points after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months
AND 👇🏼
Personal card: Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card
Apply: 30 days after your last card was opened
Spending: Begin working on your minimum spend requirement right away (you will have 3 months from card opening) and ensure that this bonus is also earned in the same calendar year as the business card bonus.
Points: 50,000 points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months
Strategy 2: 2 business cards
Business card 1: Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card
Apply: Ideally you will apply mid-October so you can earn the pass as early in the next year as possible. But this can be done any time of the year as long as you plan for all bonus points to be earned/post to your account in the same calendar year.
Spending: Begin working on your minimum spend requirement right away (you will have 3 months from card opening). If opening your card near the end of the year, wait to meet minimum spend until January.
Points: 80,000 Rapid Rewards points after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months.
AND 👇🏼
Business card 2: Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card
Apply: 30 days after your last card was opened
Spending: Begin working on your minimum spend requirement right away (you will have 3 months from card opening) and ensure that this bonus is also earned in the same calendar year as the first business card bonus.
Points: 60,000 Rapid Rewards points after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months.
Strategy 3: 3 cards for 2 Companion Passes
Player 1 opens the first credit card in this 2 Companion Pass strategy.
Business card: Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card
Apply: Ideally you will apply mid-October so you can earn the pass as early in the next year as possible. But this can be done any time of the year as long as you plan for all bonus points to be earned/post to your account in the same calendar year.
Spending: Begin working on your minimum spend requirement right away (you will have 3 months from card opening). If opening your card near the end of the year, wait to meet minimum spend until January.
Points: 80,000 Rapid Rewards points after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months.
THEN 👇🏼
Player 2 will open their first card in January (or the same calendar year) using player 1’s referral link.
Business card: Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card
Apply: Using player 1’s referral link when the first spending requiremtn has been met or is close to being met.
Spending: Begin working on spending right away to earn the welcome offer
Points: 80,000 Rapid Rewards points after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months
NEXT 👇🏼
Player 2 will open their second card using player 1’s referral link again.
Personal card: Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card
Apply: When they are close to finishing minimum spend on their first card
Spending: Begin working on spending right away to earn the welcome offer
Points: 50,000 points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months
POINTS EARNED:
Player 1 will have earned 85,000 points from the welcome offer and minimum spend, and 50,000 points from two referral bonuses (referral bonus is currently 25,000 points per referral until 1/5/2025). This will be a total of 135,000 points total to earn the Companion Pass!
Player 2 will have earned 146,000 points from welcome offers and minimum spend and your 10,000 point cardholder boost!
Final thoughts
Just remember, offers can change pretty quickly, so check your strategy before completing those card applications. Timing is everything! ⏰ Keep a close eye on those minimum spend deadlines, and hold off on earning any welcome offers or referral bonuses until 2025.
But you need to know: you can go for the Companion Pass ANYTIME throughout the year! While this is a prime strategy for maximizing your perks early on, you don’t have to stick to a rigid timeline. So send me any questions you have and let’s chat about your path to earning one of the best travel perks for your points adventures! ✈️
Side note: I cannot say thank you enough for using my links to apply! I earn a commission for those applications at no cost to you, and it helps keep all the free resources and support coming! 🩷
EDITORIAL DISCLOSURE: Opinions expressed here are the 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.
