If you’ve been following me awhile, you know that we love to travel. We try to take at least one trip per month, so I am always looking for new ways to save money on travel. We frequently use points and airline miles to travel, but sometimes that isn’t enough. That’s why we decided to try to earn the Southwest Companion Pass.
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What is the companion pass?
- The companion pass allows you to choose one person to fly with you free of charge. Anytime Alex purchases a flight on Southwest, I get to come with at no charge. There are no restrictions on destinations or the number of flights you take. When you earn the companion pass, you have it for the remainder of the current calendar year and all of the following year. So, if you earned the companion pass in July of 2018, you would have it for the rest of 2018 and all of 2019.
How do you get the companion pass?
- In order to get the companion pass, you either need to have earned 110,000 Southwest points or have flown 100 Southwest segments. This needs to be completed within a calendar year.
What steps did we take to get the companion pass?
Obviously, 110,000 is a lot of points to acquire. Since we weren’t flying Southwest on a regular basis, we decided to take a different approach: credit cards. Southwest offers a variety of credit cards and each one of them can give you a huge point bonus. Below are the exact steps we followed to earn the Southwest Companion Pass for 2018-2019.
- In December of 2017, Alex applied for the Southwest Premier Credit Card and got approved. At the time, they were offering 40,000 Southwest points if you spent $1,000 in the first 3 months of opening the card.
- On January 1, 2018, we hit the $1,000 spending bonus and had the 40,000 Southwest points deposited immediately.
- On January 10, 2018, Alex applied for the Southwest Plus Credit Card and got approved. At the time, they were offering 50,000 Southwest points if you spent $1,000 in the first 3 months of opening the card.
- Sometime in February of 2018, we had spent enough on the second credit card to earn the 50,000 Southwest points. At this point, we had well over 90,000 Southwest points.
- By April or May of 2018, we had spent enough on the credit cards to reach 110,000 Southwest points.
How can I earn 110,000 Southwest points?
Unfortunately, Southwest and/or Chase changed their policy and you can no longer double-dip into these credit card bonuses. If you have already applied for a Southwest credit card and received a bonus, you cannot apply for a second card and get another bonus. So, while it much harder to earn the companion pass, it can still be done. Below are the steps I would take if you want to earn the companion pass for 2019-2020.
- Apply for the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card in December of 2018. Make sure to keep your spending under $1,000 during the month of December.
- As soon as January 2019 hits, make sure you have put $1,000 on the card. This is going to get you 40,000 points.
- Keep spending money on the card. After you have spent $15,000, you will receive another 25,000 points. At this moment, your points balance would be at least 81,000.
- From here, you would need another 29,000 points to earn the companion pass. Remember: You need to earn these points within the calendar year. You will get 1 point per dollar on most purchases, so you would probably need to spend about $29,000 more dollars on the card in 2019.
All in all, you are basically going to have to spend $45,000 on this credit card in a calendar year. Keep in mind, you will earn 2 points per dollar for any Southwest purchases. Your total spending needed could be under $45,000 if you make several Southwest ticket purchases.
If you know you spend at least $45,000 in a calendar year, I would seriously consider applying for the credit card. Just make sure to time it right so that you can hit the spending within a calendar year. Everything is going to reset after December 31.
FAQ
- Once you earn the 110,000 Southwest points, do you have to use the points to redeem the companion pass?
- No. Once you earn the 110,000 Southwest points, they are your points to keep. You can use Southwest points to pay for your flights.
- Can you use the companion pass for international flights?
- Yes. You can use the companion pass for any Southwest destination.
- Do you have to purchase the ticket to add your companion? Or can you book on points?
- If you use Southwest points to pay for your ticket, you can still add your companion!
- Can you change your companion?
- Yes. You can change your companion 3 times per calendar year.
- If you transfer points from Chase, do those qualify towards the companion pass?
- No.
I hope this is helpful if you are considering the companion pass sometime soon. This is one of the most valuable travel hacks out there, and it can save you thousands of dollars on airfare each year. We are trying to make the most of it, so I’m sure we will be traveling even more in 2019.
If you have any other questions about the companion pass, please leave a comment below. I love being a resource for y’all when it comes to travel, so ask away! No question is stupid.
Have you ever had the Southwest companion pass? If so, what was your favorite destination?
Catheryn – this is awesome – Thanks for the tips! Do you know if this all applies to Southwest business credit cards too, or only Southwest personal credit cards?
Hi Hesam….It does apply to the business card too! That is actually a loophole I didn’t know about. So, you can have a business credit card and a personal card open. So, you could easily get about 90,000 from the bonuses on those 2 cards!