All About the Southwest Companion Pass
The Southwest Companion Pass has to be the most coveted travel hack for airfare out there.
But did you know it's easier to get than everyone thinks?
In order to achieve this the “regular” way, you have to fly 100 times, or earn 135,000 points in one calendar year.
There is NO WAY we can fly 100 times OR spend enough to earn the 135,000 points in order to get the pass!
I'm going to tell you a way to get the pass without doing either of those things. Well, you do need to earn the 135,000 points, but there’s a much easier way to do it.
All you need to do is open two cards: a personal and a business Southwest credit card.
Make sure you get a card where the business will give you 80,000 points upon completing the minimum spend, and the personal card gives you 50,000 points upon completing the Sign-Up Bonus (or SUB).
(Chase doesn’t allow you to have more than one personal Southwest card)
These points added together in your account, plus the points you get from spending on the card to meet the SUB, will get over 135,000 points, which is enough for the companion pass. Plus, Southwest gives you an additional 10,000 points towards it. Once we met both minimum spends on the cards, it took a few weeks before we received the pass.
If you and your spouse want to do this method, you both can get the companion pass, allowing two people (we have our oldest two daughters) to fly free with you until December 2026! See that trick below
Once you open a card, refer your spouse, and you’ll get additional points just for referring them if they get approved. Pretty sweet deal!
Now some people see the annual fees, and they freak out. The business is $199, and the personal is $69. However, you also get benefits such as Global Entry (worth $120) or TSA Precheck, upgraded boarding credits, WIFI credits, and the flights alone that are paid for with the points you earn are well worth thousands of dollars vs. the $270 fee you pay! My family saved over $10,000 on just our 2024 trips alone. I would definitely hand someone $270 if they gave me back $10k.
Always open cards with annual fees at your own discretion.
You can do this method any time of year to get the pass, but we like to get it as close to the two years as possible for our family, which I will explain below.
Just remember: Southwest resets your points every calendar year when it comes to the pass. For example, if you have 130,000 points in your account all year, then January 1st hits, those 130k poinst will still be in your account, but will NOT count towards the companion pass. You must accumulate all 135,000 points within the same calendar year to qualify for the pass.
The trick to getting this for close to two years is this:
Start with opening the business card first (since it doesn't count towards your personal credit) around November or December, meet the minimum spend, then open the personal card and meet that minimum spend.
Be sure to meet both minimum spends AFTER JANUARY 1st!
That’s why you open it later in the year. This ensures you get those points in the 2026 Calendar Year, and it will roll the Companion Pass over into December 2027. If you meet the minimum spend before Jan 1st,2025, the points will count for this year and not your 2026 total points count.
You are also earning points when you spend on your card to meet the sign-up bonus, so you will definitely get over 135k points, then VOILA! Have fun deciding on your next destination!
It really is a valuable asset to anyone’s travel journey.
