How to Quickly Earn the Southwest Companion Pass

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You can quickly earn the Southwest Companion Pass from one credit card bonus. With the Companion Pass, you can bring a partner, family member, or friend, and they get to fly with you for free!

Southwest offered this promotion last year. It’s a quick easy way to travel for free. Here’s what you need to know and how to maximize this offer.

Update: The credit card offer in this post is no longer available. The new offer is 50,000 points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening. Check our credit card page for the latest offers.

One Card Earns Companion Pass

You can earn the Southwest Companion Pass from one Southwest credit card.

All of the three personal Southwest cards are offering a bonus of a Southwest Companion Pass and 30,000 points when you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.

Update: The credit card offer in this post is no longer available. The new offer is 50,000 points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first three months of opening your account.

This means you can earn a Companion Pass from only one card!

• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card

Learn more: How to decide which Southwest card to get.

You can earn the Southwest Companion Pass and 30,000 points after you complete the minimum spending requirement.

From buying groceries to dining out, there are easy ways to meet your minimum spending.

You can use your Southwest credit card and other travel rewards cards to pay your rent or mortgage, cable, cellphone bill, car insurance, student loan.

You earn miles and points when you pay your taxes with your credit card.

You can also buy grocery store, restaurant, Starbucks, gas station, and Netflix gift cards. Stock up for later use or give as graduation and holiday gifts.

There are also creative and unusual ways to meet the minimum spending.

Pro-tip: This pass is valid through February 28, 2023.  Update: This pass is valid through February 28, 2024.

But you can extend your Southwest Companion Pass through December 31, 2023, with a few simple travel hacks.

Learn more: How to choose a Southwest Business card.

Southwest Companion Pass

The Southwest Companion Pass gets you 2 years of free flights for your companion. The only cost for your travel buddy is airport taxes. For flights in the US, that’s only $5.60 each way.

For about the same cost as a fancy coffee, your companion can fly for free.

What’s great about the Southwest Companion Pass is that it’s unlimited. You could fly every weekend or every day. As much or as little as you like.

How cool is that!

Best Companion Pass ever.

Normally, you have to earn 125,000 points in a calendar year to earn the Southwest Companion Pass. Update: You now have to earn 135,000 points.

For most folks, this means signing up for two credit cards: a personal Southwest card and a Southwest business card. This means meeting two minimum spending requirements.

But with this offer, you avoid that. You can get a Companion Pass sooner with less of a spending requirement.

Which is great if you don’t have a business or qualify for a business card.

Who Should Take Advantage of This Offer

Earn Companion Pass Faster

You should take advantage of this offer if you want to earn your Southwest Companion Pass faster so your companion can travel for free now vs later.

Because you earn a Companion Pass after meeting your minimum spending on one credit card: Southwest Premier Credit Card, Southwest Priority Credit Card, and Southwest Plus Credit Card.

Uncomplicated and Easy

This is the best bonus if you like things uncomplicated and easy.

With this offer, earning your Southwest Companion Pass from the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card, and Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card is easy.

You don’t have to stress trying to earn 125,000 points in a calendar year. about earning the right amount of points. Update: You now have to earn 135,000 points.

You only have to meet the minimum spending on one card.

Lower Spending Requirement

With the previous offer, there was a lower spending requirement to earn your Southwest Companion Pass. The current offer is a Southwest Companion Pass valid through February 28, 2024 and 30,000 points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months.

Update: The credit card offer in this post is no longer available. The new offer is 50,000 points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.

The minimum spending to get the Pass is $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.

If you have a large tax bill, tuition, student loan payments, or a big mortgage, you could easily meet your minimum spending with one payment.

You Don’t Have a Business

If you don’t have a business or can’t qualify for a business card, you should take advantage of this offer.

Chase 5/24 Limit

If you’re nearing the Chase 5/24 limit (5 credit cards in the past 24 months) and plan to get the Companion Pass this year then you should take this offer.

Who Shouldn’t Take Advantage of This Offer

You Don’t Fly Southwest

If you don’t fly Southwest, plan to fly Southwest, or live near an airport where Southwest flies, you shouldn’t take this offer.

A great deal is awesome. But it doesn’t mean it’s the right deal for you.

Your Schedule Isn’t Flexible

If your schedule isn’t flexible and you only get one vacation a year, this might not be the deal for you.

You have to do the math to see if it’s worth the minimum spending to earn a Companion Pass that you will only use once.

It might be cheaper to just buy your ticket.

You Don’t Have Any Southwest Points

You shouldn’t apply for this offer if you don’t have any Southwest points.

Because you only get 50,000 points, if you’re traveling with family, that will only get you so many trips.

Chase 24 Month Rule

If you’ve earned a bonus on any of the personal Southwest cards in the last 24 months, you aren’t eligible for this offer.

How to Maximize This Offer

You can maximize this offer if you can qualify for a business card.

The Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card has an 80,000 point bonus after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.

So you could apply for one of the personal Southwest cards: Southwest Priority, Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier, or Southwest Plus AND the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card.

As you would normally without this jump-start Southwest Companion Pass offer.

You’d earn 136,000 points. (50,000 points from a personal card + 80,000 points from the business card + 6,000 points from the minimum spending.

Which meets the 135,000 point requirement to earn a Companion Pass for the year earned and all of the following year.

This means that you’d have your Pass through December 31, 2023.

Plus, you have more points to use to travel more.

Here are some quick easy ways to earn Southwest points.

Pro-tip: You can transfer points from a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card to Southwest.

These are all the cards that earn points you can transfer to Southwest and other airlines.

Those points won’t qualify for the Companion Pass but you can use them to book flights.

Conclusion

During this limited time offer, you can earn a Southwest Companion Pass fast.

When you get one of the three personal Southwest cards: Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card, or Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card and meet the minimum spending of $5,000 on purchases in the first three months, you’ll earn a Companion Pass that’s valid through February 28, 2023.

Update: The credit card offer in this post is no longer available. The new offer is 50,000 points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first three months of opening your account. Check our credit card page for the latest offers.

Your companion flies for free with you every time you fly on Southwest as often or as little as you choose.

With a few simple travel hacks, you can extend your Southwest Companion Pass through December 31, 2023.

Are you going to earn a Southwest Companion Pass from this offer?