If you’re thinking about getting a Southwest credit card because you want up to two years of free flights with the Southwest Companion Pass now is the time.
All three personal Southwest credit cards are offering a 75,000 point bonus after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months of opening your account.
But the high bonus ends soon on the Southwest credit card 75k point offer. This deal ends on December 11, 2023 at 9 am EST.
Update: The credit card offer in this post is no longer available. The new offer is 85,000 points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months.
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card 85K Point Bonus
You can earn 85,000 points after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of opening the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card.
If you fly or plan to fly Southwest a lot and already have a flexible points currency card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card, here’s why you want to get the Southwest Priority Card.
Each year you get a $75 travel credit on Southwest. You can use your credit to pay for flights or pay for the taxes and fees on free flights.
Read my review of the Southwest Priority card to learn the secret trick to “saving” or rolling over your $75 travel credit.
In addition to the travel credit, you also get free four upgraded boarding passes. These automatically give you an A1 to A15 spot. You’ll have the first pick of any seat.
When you use your Southwest Priority Credit Card to pay for Southwest purchases you earn 3 points for every dollar. Plus you get 25% back on in-flight purchases such as Wi-Fi and adult beverages.
For Rapid Rewards® hotel and car rental partner purchases, rideshare, transit and commuting, internet, cable, phone, and certain streaming you’ll earn 2 points per dollar spent. You earn 1 point for each dollar spent on all other purchases.
With no foreign transaction fees, you can use this card when you travel internationally.
For every $10,000 (only $5,000 starting January 1, 2024) you spend (up to $100,000) in a year you earn 1,500 tier qualifying points towards A-List and A-List Preferred status.
Every year you keep this card you get 10,000 Companion Pass® qualifying points and 7,500 points each year on your card anniversary. The 7.5k points count towards the Southwest Companion Pass!
Pro-tip: If you recently had the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card and aren’t eligible to apply for it again, here are ways to earn 75,000 points and more while sleeping.
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card 85K Points Bonus
You can earn 85,000 points after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of opening the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card.
As with the Southwest Priority Card, the signup offer points and those earned from your minimum spend count are Companion Pass qualifying points.
The Southwest Premier card is a good choice if you fly Southwest, want a card that gives you extra perks, earns lots of Southwest points, helps you avoid the middle seat, and don’t need Wi-Fi.
Each year you get 2 free EarlyBird Check-in®. This frees up your time because it checks you in 36 hours before your flight. You’ll get a “B” or a “A” boarding position, depending on how many A-Listers are on your flight.
You earn 3 points for every dollar spent on Southwest purchases when paying with your Southwest Premier Credit Card.
When paying with your card on Rapid Rewards® hotel and car rental partner purchases, rideshare, transit and commuting, internet, cable, phone, and certain streaming you’ll earn 2 points per dollar. You earn 1 point for each dollar spent on all other purchases.
You can use your card when traveling to other countries because there are no foreign transaction fees.
With the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card, you earn 1,500 tier qualifying points towards A-List and A-List Preferred status for every $5,000 you spend (up to $100,000) in a year.
You get 10,000 Companion Pass® qualifying points and 6,000 points each year on your card anniversary. These points count towards the Southwest Companion Pass!
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card Southwest 85K Points Bonus
You can earn 85,000 points after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of opening the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card.
The Southwest Plus card is the right Southwest credit card for you if you want a low annual fee, will sit anywhere on the plane, and want the least expensive way to earn a Southwest Companion Pass.
As with the other two Southwest cards, the points earned from the welcome offer and minimum spend count towards earning your Southwest Companion Pass.
Like the Southwest Premier card, you get 2 free EarlyBird Check-in® every year. You can use these to get a “B” or “A” boarding position and avoid having to check in before your flight.
You earn 2 points for every dollar spent on Rapid Rewards® hotel and car rental partner purchases, internet, cable, phone, certain streaming, rideshare, transit and commuting. You earn 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
Every year you get 10,000 Companion Pass® qualifying points and 3,000 points on your card anniversary. All of these points count towards the Southwest Companion Pass.
Southwest Companion Pass
With the Southwest Companion Pass, your companion flies for free every time you fly on Southwest.
The Companion Pass is an unlimited pass. Think of it as an all you can fly (AYCF) flying pass.
Additionally, there are no blackout dates on Southwest! So you and your companion can fly any day, any time, including holidays, during the summer, etc.
If you time it right, you can get two years of free flights everywhere Southwest flies including Hawaii, Belize, and Cancun.
With the 75,000 point offer, that time is now. The credit card bonus counts towards earning the Southwest Companion Pass. Update: The credit card offer in this post is no longer available. The new offer is 85,000 points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months.
To get a Companion Pass, you need to earn 135,000 Southwest points in a calendar year.
Chase Ultimate Rewards points transferred from cards like the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card do not count towards the Pass.
But you combine the welcome offer from the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card or the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card with one of the personal Southwest credit cards. This gives you enough points plus extra for a Southwest Companion Pass.
You can earn 80,000 points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months using the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card. Combined with one of the personal cards, this earns 136,000 points.
With the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card, you can earn up to 120,000 points: 60,000 points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of opening your account. And another 60,000 points after spending a total of $15,000 in the first 9 months. Combined with one of the personal cards, you’ll earn 175,000 points.
When to Meet the Spending
You should time your spending to maximize the value of your Companion Pass. Points from the bonus and credit card purchases count towards the Companion Pass in the year they’re earned.
If you wait until January to use your card and meet the minimum spend, your points will post in 2024. This guarantees that all points are earned in the same calendar year.
Your Southwest Companion Pass is valid for the year you earned it and all of the following year. When your 135,000 points post in January or the first part of 2024, it’s valid for all of 2024 and 2025. You’ll enjoy two years of free flights!
Who is Eligible
You are eligible to apply for these cards if you currently don’t have a Southwest credit card and haven’t received a bonus from a Southwest card in the last 24 months.
Additionally, all of the Southwest cards are subject to Chase’s 5/24 rule. This means, if you’ve opened 5 new credit cards in the past 24 months (5/24), you might not get approved
Conclusion
You can earn a Southwest Companion Pass that lets your companion fly free with you for up to two years.
The quickest way to earn a Companion Pass is to get one personal Southwest card and Southwest business card.
But remember to time your spending so that it posts in 2024. You may want to wait until January to use your card to prevent any mistakes.
Read this post if you aren’t sure which Southwest card to get.
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