How to Earn the Southwest Companion Pass in 2020

The Chase Southwest Companion Pass is one of, if not the, best airline perks out there. For people who fly domestically, it is an absolute must-have.

Even for people who don’t fly domestically that often, it can still provide incredible value and is probably worth getting.

Read on to find out what the Southwest Companion Pass is, how to get it, and our favorite ways to use it.

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What Is the Southwest Companion Pass?

The name of the card is not intended to fool; the Southwest Companion Pass is exactly what it says it is.

The pass allows a companion (spouse, mother, friend, favorite blogger) to fly free with you when you fly on Southwest.

And unlike many other airlines, Southwest does not make the rules super confusing. In fact, the process is fairly straightforward:

  1. Once a person earns the Companion Pass (how to earn it is discussed below) they will designate the individual they want as their companion.
  2. The Companion Pass arrives in the mail.
  3. When the person is booking their tickets online, there is an option to choose to use the Companion Pass. When the person is booking over the phone, they simply have to tell the representative they want to use the Companion Pass.
  4. The companion flies for free.

About as easy as it gets, right?

Here’s a closer look at how you can earn the Companion Pass:

How to Earn the Southwest Companion Pass in 2020

Technically, there are two different ways to earn the Companion Pass:

  1. By flying 100 qualifying one-way flights with Southwest in a calendar year.
  2. Earn 110,00 Southwest points in one calendar year.

Since 99% of people won’t fly enough on Southwest to earn it the first way, we will focus on how to earn 110,000 Southwest points in one calendar year.

At first glance, this may seem difficult, but in fact, it’s not hard AT ALL – below are all the options for earning 110,000 Southwest points in one calendar year.

Option 1: Open Two Southwest Credit Cards

Getting the Companion Pass is so easy because Chase is currently offering three different Southwest credit cards that EACH earn you Southwest points that count toward the Companion Pass.

The amount of points each credit card earns changes throughout the year, but you can generally get these cards with bonuses between 25-60k.

All you have to do is open up two of these credit cards and you’ll be at 110k Southwest points (and the Southwest Companion Pass) before you know it!

Plus vs. Premier Southwest Credit Cards

The first thing to be aware of is that there are two types of Southwest cards, the Plus and the Premier. These cards differ slightly:

  • The Plus has an annual fee of $69 and offers 3,000 Southwest points as an anniversary bonus each year you keep it open. Also, it charges a foreign transaction fee of 3%.
  • The Premier has an annual fee of $99 and offers 6,000 Southwest points as an anniversary bonus each year you keep it open. It has no foreign transaction fee, so you pay nothing extra when you use it abroad.

The second thing to understand is that Chase offers both a personal and a business version of the Southwest Premier card.

That means there is a Plus personal card, a Premier personal card, and a Premier business card — three opportunities to make the Southwest Companion Pass yours!

To ensure that you get the sign-up bonus for both cards (more than enough points to qualify for the Companion Pass), we recommend opening both a business and a personal card.

Since one is a personal card and one is a business card, you can apply for them at the same time without issues getting approved.

It is possible to reach the necessary number of points by opening two personal Southwest credit cards, but we don’t recommend it, as Chase is unlikely to approve an application for two personal credit cards so close together.

If applying for a business credit card feels intimidating, don’t worry. Here are some tips to get approved for a business card.

Other Ways to Earn Qualifying Points

If you only get approved for one Southwest credit card, or just want to apply for one of the cards, don’t worry, there are plenty of other ways to rack up points towards your Southwest Companion Pass.

Just a quick (but very important) heads-up: Not all the ways that you can get Southwest Rapid Rewards points to count towards the Companion Pass, so be careful.

For example, buying 6,000 Southwest points WILL NOT count towards the Southwest Companion Pass, nor will transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points directly to Southwest. Transferring points from hotel loyalty programs was also cut out of the equation early in 2017.

Option 2: Spend with the Southwest Credit Card

For each dollar you spend, you’ll earn one Southwest point, so if you spend $6,000, you’ll earn 6k points!

Plus, any Southwest flights you purchase on the card earn you an additional point, making it that much easier to rack up those Rapid Rewards points! For instance, if you use your Southwest credit card to buy a $300 ticket, you’ll earn 600 points instead of just the regular 300.

I’d recommend this for anyone who has a big purchase planned or plenty of monthly expenses that you can pay with a credit card.

Your regular monthly spending could earn you your Southwest Companion Pass in no time!

Option 3: Book Hotels Through Southwest Hotels

If you are planning any travel in the near future, consider booking your hotel through Southwest Hotels.

The base rates for points will count towards your Southwest Companion Pass.

Generally, you’ll earn one point per dollar spent on hotels. This isn’t bad, but we can do better — some hotels give you up to 10k points!

For instance, a quick search for a one night stay in Las Vegas shows many hotels with 1-2k Rapid Rewards points per night. A $254 night at The Palazzo will earn you 7,000 Rapid Rewards points when you book it with your Southwest credit card.

Southwest Hotel Deals Vegas

And when you pay for the hotel with your Southwest credit card, and you’ll earn an additional two points per dollar. Meaning that, in the above example, your total earnings would be ($254 x 2) + 7,000 = 7,508 points.

Option 4: Shop Through the Rapid Rewards Shopping Portal

Everyone shops online – so why not earn something for it?

There are lots of stores on the Rapid Rewards Shopping Portal that you probably already shop at, so make sure you visit those shops through the portal and earn points towards your Southwest Companion Pass for buying what you were already going to buy!

Earn Rapid Rewards points at websites like Restaurant.com, Home Chef, Shutterstock, Bass Pro Shops, Lord & Taylor, Tumi, Apple, and Nike.

Buying a new iPad Pro? That’s 650 points towards your Southwest Companion Pass.

Buying $100 worth of clothes for the kids at JCPenny? That’s three points per dollar equalling 300 points!

The best part is that you can double dip when you pay with your Southwest credit card. This means iPad Pro purchase has turned into 1300 Rapid Rewards points and the clothing from JCPenney has become 400 points.

All of these points count towards your Southwest Companion Pass!

There are hundreds of websites listed, so make sure you check the Rapid Rewards portal before you click “buy” and you’ll be well on your way to the Southwest Companion Pass!

Option 5: Go out to Eat with Rapid Rewards Dining

If you go out to eat a lot, be sure to take advantage of this opportunity to earn points towards the Southwest Companion Pass.

Signing up for Rapid Rewards Dining Program will earn you up to three points per dollar towards your Southwest Companion Pass at participating restaurants.

That means a $20 dinner would net you 60 Rapid Rewards points!

If you use your Southwest credit card, you can double dip and earn even more!

Your $20 dinner just turned into 80 Rapid Rewards points just by using the right credit card. Who thinks double dipping is bad now?

Option 6: Fly Southwest Airlines

This might seem like a no brainer, but it really does make sense. You’ll earn miles for your fare, plus an additional two points per dollar when you book with your Southwest credit card.

You’ll earn Rapid Rewards points based on the fare you buy:

  • 6 points for Wanna Get Away
  • 10 points for Anytime
  • 12 points for Business Select

If you book a $200 Wanna Get Away fare, you’ll earn 1,200 Rapid Rewards points.

If you book that same fare with your Southwest Credit card, you’ll earn an additional 400 points for a total of 1600 Rapid Rewards points!

A $300 Anytime fare will earn you 3000 Rapid Rewards points (300×10=3000!)

If you’re a little short on Companion Pass qualifying points, spending a little extra on your next Southwest flight could bump you up to two for one travel for the next year!

5 Awesome Southwest Companion Pass Benefits

Still not convinced of the value of the Southwest Companion Pass? There are five things that make the Companion Pass especially awesome. Let’s take a look at them:

1. You Can Use the Pass Unlimited Times

This is not a one-time pass, but instead allows a companion to fly free with you EVERY TIME you fly Southwest.

Yes, you are hearing me correctly: EVERY SINGLE TIME you fly Southwest.

Theoretically, I could fly Southwest every day and my companion would fly free with me each and every time.

2. The Companion Pass Can Remain Valid for Up to 2 Years

You may think you are mishearing misreading me, but you aren’t. The Companion Pass is good for the year you earn it and the next calendar year as well.

Example: Let’s say you get your Companion Pass on October 1st. Your Companion Pass will then be good for October, November, and December of 2020 and then all of 2021, for a total of 15 months.

Of course, the way to squeeze maximum value out of it is to get it as early in the year as possible (like January) and then you’d have it for a full two years.

Bingo!

3. Your Companion Flies Completely Free

With most things in life, free doesn’t mean free, and a lot of times there is enough red tape and rules to make the “free” item not even worth it.

This is NOT the case with the Southwest Companion Pass.

In this case, free really does mean free.

The only thing that the companion will be required to pay is a government-mandated September 11th security fee and taxes which is about $5.60 one way.

Other than that, there are no costs for the companion whatsoever.

And in case you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last two years, you should be aware that bags fly free on Southwest (awesome commercial evidence here, here, and here), so the companion won’t even have to worry about that cost!

4. You Can Use the Companion Pass on Both Paid and Award Flights

Whether you pay out of pocket for your flight or use some of the Southwest miles you’ve accumulated to get an award ticket, your companion can still fly free with you.

This is basically unheard of in the airline world, as every other companion pass (that I’m aware of) requires the original person to pay for their ticket.

Not on Southwest.

So whether you pay $500 for a last-minute ticket, $150 for their normally cheap regular fares, or fly free yourself using your Southwest miles, your companion can come along as well.

What’s better than one person flying free on Southwest?

TWO PEOPLE FLYING FREE ON SOUTHWEST!

5. You Can Change Your Designated Companion Up to 3 Times Per Year

After you originally designate your companion you can change it and get a Companion Pass reissued with another person’s name up to three times a calendar year each year you maintain your Companion Pass.

This can be done instantly over the phone and is an awesome perk that often gets overlooked among all the other amazing things about the pass.

I’ll give you a good example of how I plan to use this to my advantage.

Naturally, Heather (my wife) will be my companion on many of my trips.

However, instead of designating her as my original companion, I plan on designating my best friend Jon because we are planning a trip together down to Florida.

After we take our trip and he flies for free (saving him anywhere between $150-300), I’ll call in and ask to designate Heather as my new companion.

Then, we’ll use the Companion Pass to fly all over this awesome country of ours.

You can even designate a new companion (i.e. Jon), change it to someone else (Heather) and then change it back to the original person (Jon).

FINAL WORD(S)

The Southwest Companion Pass is an amazing, amazing perk and even those who only occasionally fly domestic should consider it. Southwest is expanding its route network every year with flights to the Caribbean and Latin America already happening.

For anyone who flies a decent amount (or would if it was cheaper), it’s an absolute must.

Grab a personal and business card, find a good companion, and experience the joys of free travel!

If you’ve got the Southwest Companion Pass, weigh in below. Is my love for it justified? Where have you gone with it? If you don’t have it, how do you plan on getting it? Fire away!

What’s in MY Wallet (and how do I use each card)?

Just what is in that wallet of mine?

The first question I usually get asked when I begin regaling (or annoying) people with my tales of traveling around the world for free is “Are you rich?”.  As soon as the chuckle escapes my lips, the person immediately follows up with “Well, is your wife rich?”.

Again, I chuckle, and then begin explaining that I use frequent flyer miles to travel.  Question three is usually “how many freakin’ credit cards do you have?”.

As I enter my second full-fledged year in the the frequent flyer mile game, and prepare for my summer App-o-rama, I figured now was as good a time as any to take stock of the cards I have.

I’ll reveal which cards I prefer to use to maximize my points, and then ultimately decide which ones are worth keeping based on the anniversary bonus they offer and the annual fee they charge.

Hopefully, this will help prove useful for the many of you out there who are facing many of the same decisions of closing or keeping open accounts and also deciding which cards you should add to your stable.

I’ll list the cards in chronological order of the date I got them.

Without giving away the answer, I will tell you to settle in and get comfortable, because the number is quite large.

Sooo….how many cards do I have?

1.  Citi/AAdvantage Visa

See Best Current Deals page for further breakdown of this card, how to get both the Citi/AA Visa and Amex at the same time, which I highly recommend doing, and the application links for these cards

Signup bonus: 75k when I got it, 50k now

Date approved:  July 29, 2011

What I use it for:  Nothing after meeting the minimum spend and getting the signup bonus.

Annual fee:  $85

Anniversary bonus:  Nothing

Odds of keeping it open after 1 year:  25%.  If I call in to cancel and they over me a great retention bonus (7,000 AA miles or more, an $85 statement credit, etc) than I’ll keep it open.  If not, thanks for the signup bonus but this card is history!

2.  Alaska Airlines Visa

Signup bonus: 40k when I got it, 25k now

Date approved:  August 8, 2011

What I use it for:  Nothing after making the first purchase and getting the signup bonus.

Annual fee:  $75 (not waived the first year)

Anniversary bonus:  $99 companion pass.

Odds of keeping it open after 1 year:  0%.  If I made good use of the companion pass than this card might be worth keeping open.  However, I didn’t use the companion pass this past year, so I’m assuming I won’t make use of it this upcoming year either.  Plus, you can “churn” this card and get the signup bonus again, so if I’m going to pay the fee, I might as well get the extra 25,000 as a bonus again!

3.  Chase Sapphire Preferred

Signup bonus: 50k when I got it, 40k now

Date approved:  August 22, 2011

What I use it for:  Almost all my everyday spending.  I especially focus on using it for travel and dining, which earns me 2x.  Since I live abroad, I use this card all the time because it has no foreign transaction fee.

Annual fee:  $95 (waived the first year)

Anniversary bonus:  7% bonus on all points earned, including the signup bonus.

Odds of keeping it open after 1 year:  100%.  This is my favorite card and my go-to for almost all of my spending.  I love that it has no foreign transaction fee and also that it gives me 2x for travel and dining.  I almost always transfer my Chase UR points to United miles, which I love.  The 7% bonus is nice too, although I wouldn’t consider just that enough to keep the card open.  I’ll keep it open because I love the everyday earning potential!

4.  American Express Premier Rewards Gold

Signup bonus: 75k when I got it (after my points eventually posted), 0k now, which is absolutely ludicrous!

Date approved:  August 22, 2011

What I use it for:  Occasionally, and sporadically, for groceries because it offers 2x on groceries and gas.  However, I don’t even usually use it for airfare, which it offers 3x on, because I’d rather the 2x Chase points (for travel by using the Sapphire) than the 3x Amex points.

Annual fee:  $175 (waived the first year)

Anniversary bonus:  None.

Odds of keeping it open after 1 year:  0%.  The 3x on airfare and 2x on gas and groceries could be lucrative for some people but I don’t really put much value Amex points because they don’t offer good transfer partners.  I’d rather use my Sapphire for 2x on travel and my Ink Bold for 2x on gas and build up a nice point balance through Chase and then transfer those points to United.  The $175 is too high a fee to justify the extra points I’d get for spending on groceries.

5.  Barclays USAirways Mastercard #1

Signup bonus: 40k

Date approved:  September 25, 2011

What I use it for:  Nothing after the first purchase to get my signup bonus and once every 6 months to adhere to the terms and conditions.

Annual fee:  $89 (waived the first year)

Anniversary bonus:  10k USAirway miles

Odds of keeping it open after 1 year:  100%.  The 10k USAirways miles are worth over $89 for me so this is a no-brainer.  I’ll whip it out every 6 months and use it once just to make sure I’m abiding by the terms and conditions, but other than that, it’ll collect dust on the shelf.

6.  American Express Hilton HHonors

Signup bonus: 60k when I applied, 40k now

Date approved:  November 9, 2011

What I use it for:  Nothing after meeting the minimum spend and getting the signup bonus.

Annual fee:  $0

Anniversary bonus:  None.

Odds of keeping it open after 1 year:  75%.  Normally, this would be 100%, as it never really makes sense to close a card with no annual fee.  However, it is being reported that some people have had success getting this card and the signup bonus again after closing their original card.  If that is the case, I may close this card so that I’m eligible to get the bonus again.  If not, then I’ll just leave it open indefinitely.

7.  Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Visa

If you apply for this card, the application page will show a 50k signup bonus.  Many people have reported that Chase will honor the 70k offer if you ask them to “bump the bonus” through a secure message after applying.

Signup bonus:  70k + 1 free night in a category 1-4

Date approved:  November 9, 2011

What I use it for:  Nothing after making the first purchase and getting the signup bonus.

Annual fee:  $85 (waived for the first year)

Anniversary bonus:  1 free night at a category 1-5 each year.

Odds of keeping it open after 1 year:  65%.  This one will be a tough decision.  If used right, the one free night can easily be worth up to $150, which more than makes up for the annual fee.  However, I usually prefer to stay at locally run boutique hotels and hostels when I go on vacation.  If I needed to “go out of my way” to use the free night, then it wouldn’t be worth it.

Odds are that I’ll keep this open, not only for the free night but also because keeping cards open helps your credit score and having this card open will give me more leverage with Chase when trying to get other Chase credit cards…Ok, basically I just talked myself in to keeping it open!

8.  Chase Ink Bold Business (old version)

Signup bonus:  50k

Date approved:  November 9, 2011

What I use it for:  Nothing after making the minimum spend and earning the signup bonus.

Annual fee:  $95 (waived for the first year)

Anniversary bonus:  None.

Odds of keeping it open after 1 year:  0%.  Now that I have the new Chase Ink Bold card (which is much better), there is no point at all for me to keep this card open.

9.  Citi Thank You Premier

Signup bonus:  50k

Date approved:  November 9, 2011

What I use it for:  Nothing after making the minimum spend and earning the signup bonus.

Annual fee:  $125 (waived for the first year)

Anniversary bonus:  1% on all Citi TY points earned through purchases (does not include the signup bonus)

Odds of keeping it open after 1 year:  0%.  There are a few reasons I won’t be keeping this card open;  the $125 is super high for a card of this (low) caliber, the anniversary bonus is of little value since I don’t put any spend on this card, and Citi TY points are not that valuable compared to Chase UR points.

Lastly, I had to fight tooth and nail with Citi not only to get this card, but also for them to credit me with the signup bonus (think 10+ emails and even snail mail letters) so needless to say, I’m not a fan of their company or their customer service.

10.  Barclays USAirways Mastercard #2

This is the exact same card as #4.  

Signup bonus:  40k

Date approved:  April 3, 2012

What I use it for:  Nothing after the first purchase to get my signup bonus and once every 6 months to adhere to the terms and conditions.

Annual fee:  $89 (waived the first year)

Anniversary bonus:  10k USAirway miles

Odds of keeping it open after 1 year:  100%.  The 10k USAirways miles are worth over $89 for me so this is a no-brainer.  I’ll whip it out every 6 months and use it once just to make sure I’m abiding by the terms and conditions, but other than that, it’ll collect dust on the shelf.

11.  Chase United Explorer

Signup bonus:  65k. See this post on how to make sure you get the higher, targeted 65k offer.

Date approved:  April 3, 2012

What I use it for:  Nothing after the first purchase to get my signup bonus.  However, if I were to purchase United tickets, I would use this card to get the 3x on United purchases.

Annual fee:  $95 (waived the first year)

Anniversary bonus:  2 free United Club lounge passes each year.

Odds of keeping it open after 1 year:  60%.  I’m completely on the fence about this one.  The lounge passes are nice (and $100 retail value) but I debate how much I actually value them.  Sure, its nice to have lounge access for a day, but I normally wouldn’t pay $50 for that privilege.

However, the card does also offer a free checked bag ($50 value) on United flights and like the Marriott above, gives me leverage with Chase when I go to apply for other cards.  Those two reasons will probably be enough to push it over to the “keep” side, but I’m glad I have a while to decide!

12.  Chase Southwest Rapids Reward Business card

Signup bonus:  50k

Date approved:  April 3, 2012

What I use it for:  Nothing after the first purchase to get my signup bonus.

Annual fee:  $69 (NOT waived the first year)

Anniversary bonus:  3,000 Southwest points ($50 value).

Odds of keeping it open after 1 year:  60%.  I know I sound like a broken record, but I’m slightly leaning towards keeping this open just to have leverage with Chase.  The 3,000 points aren’t enough to justify the annual fee (although it’s close), so what I’ll most likely do is keep this card open for the time being.

When I go to apply for other Chase cards, they may say I have too many accounts open with them, and that time, I’ll happily give up my Southwest account in order to get a new card and the signup bonus.

13.  Chase Ink Bold Business (new card)

This card is no longer available. The Ink Plus is still available.

Signup bonus:  50k

Date approved:  April 23, 2012

What I use it for:  Cable, cellphone, and internet bill (5x points), gas (2x) and gift cards from office supply stores (5x) that help me earn a TON of Chase UR points.  I also flip-flop the Ink Bold and the Sapphire Preferred for everyday spend items that don’t fall in those categories.

Annual fee:  $95 (waived the first year)

Anniversary bonus:  None.

Odds of keeping it open after 1 year:  100%.  I absolutely LOVE this card.  The fact that I can buy gift cards at office supply stores for all types of products and get 5x for them is amazing and keeps the points continually rolling in.

The only downside to this card is the high minimum spend in the beginning (although there are tons of ways to make it easier than you think), so now that I’ve hit that, I’ll keep using the awesome earning power of this card for years to come!

Recap

As do I! If it’s a good bonus, I’m there!

If you’ve been tallying the cards up mentally, you’ll see that I currently have a total of 13 cards.  Many people ask me how I manage to have all those cards and not get confused, but if you break it down, you’ll see that I have:

  • 2 that I use for everyday spending (Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Ink Bold)
  • 1 that I pull out very occasionally (Amex Personal Rewards Gold)
  • 10 that basically go unused after making the minimum spend

In reality, I’m not juggling 13 cards, but really only 2.  Most of the time I’ll carry one of them and my wife will have the other.  Pretty simple.

People also always ask me how I keep track of all of them and how I know when to cancel them.

I employ a simple system that even a caveman could understand; I use a really basic Excel spreadsheet (feel free to EPoP Credit Card Tracking Template) which lists when I need to cancel each card.

Additionally, if you do App-o-Ramas it is easier to keep track of your cancellation dates because a bunch of the cards fall on the same day!  Yet another perk of the AoR!

Lastly, here is the breakdown of which cards I will and won’t keep after the 1st year and pay the annual fee for:

  • 4 Definite Keepers- Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Ink Bold, both Barclays USAirways cards
  • 4 On the Fence- Chase Southwest, Chase United Explorer, Chase Marriott, Amex Hilton
  • 5 Definitely Closing- Citi Thank You Premier, Chase Ink Bold (old), Amex PRG, Citi/AA Visa, Alaska Airlines Visa
As you can see, having a large amount of open accounts doesn’t have to be scary or difficult to manage.  Pick a few cards that you prefer to use for everyday spending and then supplement them with cards that you’ll use for the signup bonus and then close after a year.
That way, it only takes a tiny bit of brain power and small amount of organization to keep you on top over everything.
(photo courtesy of icedsoul, simonQbrutalworks, ladycynamin)
Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuer. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer. This site may be compensated through the credit card issuer Affiliate Program.

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