How to Find Date That Companion Fare Is Available Again
If you're itching to voyage around the country and to bring a partner along on your adventures, the Southwest Companion Laissez passer is an incredible deal. Believe it or not, with the Companion Pass, you tin bring a friend or family unit member with y'all for free on every Southwest flight for upwardly to 2 years.
On Jan. i, 2020, Southwest officially boosted the points requirement for the Companion Pass to 125,000 points. This bump made the Companion Pass harder to earn for many less frequent flyers, though non impossible.
With travel interruptions caused past the coronavirus pandemic, earning the Companion Laissez passer in 2021 might accept seemed out of accomplish. Luckily, Southwest extended statuses for Southwest Companion Pass members twice, lasting all the fashion to Dec. 31, 2021.
Now, with travel on an uptick, Southwest has returned to business as usual. Though its requirements may seem out of attain, combining generous sign-up bonuses from Southwest credit cards and culling ways to earn Companion Pass-qualifying points makes the benefit even so achievable.
What is the Southwest Companion Pass?
The Southwest Companion Pass is a special benefit for elite members of Southwest's Rapid Rewards program. In one case yous earn 125,000 Rapid Rewards points or fly 100 qualifying flights in a year, you can designate a companion to bring with you for complimentary (except for taxes and fees) on any Southwest flying that you purchase – with either cash or points. The earlier in the twelvemonth that you lot earn the Companion Pass, the better, because it's proficient through the remainder of the year and the year after that.
The threshold for earning the Companion Pass is steep – amounting to thousands of dollars per month in airfare or multiple flights per week. However, y'all don't need to be a rabid Southwest flyer to earn the pass. In the post-obit guide, we'll delve into the details of the Southwest Companion Laissez passer and shortcuts to earning information technology.
The best menu for Southwest flyers
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card | |
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Southwest Companion Pass rules
- You must earn 125,000 qualifying points or fly 100 qualifying one-way flights each year to qualify.
- Qualifying points include: acquirement flights on Southwest, credit card points and base of operations points earned through Southwest partners.
- Qualifying points don't include purchased points, points transferred from other members, points converted from hotel and car loyalty programs, eastward-rewards, e-miles, Valued Opinions, Diners Club, points earned from programme enrollment, tier bonus points, flight bonus points and partner bonus points.
- You should designate a companion at least 21 days in advance to receive a Companion Pass menu before your flying. You lot'll need the menu to board your flying, and it's nontransferable.
- You may change your designated companion up to three times each calendar year.
- One time y'all qualify, you tin brainstorm booking flights with your Companion Laissez passer immediately, and it is skillful through the remainder of the year and the adjacent calendar year (up to ii years, depending on when you qualify).
- You must pay for your flying with greenbacks or points before you book your companion's pass.
- Your companion can't wing without you – they must be booked on the same flight and dates. If you abolish your ticket, their ticket will likewise be canceled. Also, he or she volition exist charged for the fare if you don't make the flight.
- You have to pay for your ticket to bring a companion (i.e., you tin can't use a Companion Pass to fly with a partner too using a Companion Pass).
How to get the Southwest Companion Laissez passer
Yous may be surprised to learn that Southwest flights aren't the only manner to earn points. In fact, in that location are faster ways to rack upward the points that yous need for the laissez passer. Here are some of your best options:
Credit bill of fare bonuses
The all-time way to earn a lot of Rapid Rewards points all at in one case is to sign up for a Rapid Rewards credit card and earn the menu's sign-up bonus.
However, you lot should be enlightened of Chase's rules on applying for Southwest credit cards before you hitting submit. Due to Chase'southward 5/24 rule, your application will likely be denied if you've opened more than than five credit cards (with any issuer) in the past 24 months. Y'all can't earn the bonus on a particular Southwest card if y'all've earned a bonus with that card in the by two years.
Besides, y'all're prohibited from owning two consumer cards at once – which means you can't sign upwards for, say, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card and the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Menu to earn two bonuses in a single year.
Fortunately, you tin can own a consumer card and a business carte du jour at the same time. If y'all can authorize for a business credit carte (which is not every bit difficult as you may retrieve – any sort of side income may authorize you), signing upwardly for a business carte du jour along with some other Rapid Rewards card may give you the points you demand to earn the Companion Laissez passer.
| Card | Sign-up bonus |
|---|---|
| Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card | Earn xl,000 points afterward y'all spend $one,000 on purchases in the first iii months |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card | Earn 40,000 points after yous spend $1,000 on purchases in the first three months |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Carte | Earn 40,000 points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the starting time three months |
| Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card* | 60,000 bonus points if you lot spend $iii,000 in first 3 months |
| Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card* | 80,000 bonus points if you spend $5,000 in first three months |
Note that Southwest changes the sign-upward bonuses on its cards often throughout the yr. Earlier you sign up for a particular bill of fare, you should check the history of the bonus on that menu to brand sure it is at its peak.
Referrals
Referral bonuses are another corking way to rapidly accumulate points toward the Companion Laissez passer. Chase offers 10,000 points per each friend who is approved for a Southwest carte du jour, up to 50,000 points per year.
Even improve, Chase recently updated its refer-a-friend offering for Southwest and so that you earn a bonus on whatever card that your friend chooses to use for, including the business cards, even if you don't own that item bill of fare. You tin can log in to the Chase site to grab your Refer-a-Friend link to share with friends, family and, of form, social media.
Southwest flights
Besides credit card bonuses and referral bonuses, flying frequently on Southwest Airlines is your adjacent all-time bet for stacking up Rapid Rewards points. Depending on the fare, you tin earn between 6 and 12 points per each dollar that yous spend on Southwest airfare. Yous would need to spend between $ix,167 and $18,333 on airfare to earn enough points for the pass.
| Fares | Rapid Rewards points earned |
|---|---|
| Wanna Get Away fares | 6 points per dollar |
| Anytime fares | 10 points per dollar |
| Business Select fares | 12 points per dollar |
Rapid Rewards partners
Southwest has several travel and shopping partners through which you can earn Rapid Rewards points. For instance, many of Southwest'due south car rental partners offering 600 Rapid Rewards points per rental. Likewise, the Southwest hotels portal is a great manner to earn up to 10,000 Southwest points per dark – all of which authorize for the Companion Pass.
Credit card spend
Your spend with the Southwest credit cards besides earns points that count toward the Companion Laissez passer. Virtually of the Southwest cards offering like earning rates: 3 points per dollar on Southwest purchases (on top of your base indicate earnings), 2 points per dollar on Rapid Rewards hotel purchases and motorcar rental partner purchases, 2 points per dollar on local transit and commuting purchases, as well as on internet, cablevision, telephone services and select streaming purchases. All other purchases earn one point per dollar.
Unfortunately, the overall earning rate with most Southwest cards is very low – estimated around 1.sixteen% per dollar for the average cardholder. Still, using your Southwest credit card is a skilful mode to add incrementally to your earnings, especially for purchases that earn double points.
Additionally, the Southwest Rapid Rewards Operation Business organization Credit Carte* has a slightly higher earning rate than the rest of the airlines co-branded offerings.
The Functioning card earns iv points per dollar on Southwest purchases, three points per dollar on Rapid Rewards hotel and car partners, 2 points per dollar on rideshare, social media, search engine advert, internet, cable and telephone services and one point per dollar on all other purchases. That means pocket-sized business owners who spend a significant amount in these areas can get a bit more value.
Rapid Rewards shopping portal
Y'all can earn Rapid Rewards points that stack on top of your credit card points (as well equally other deals and discounts) by clicking on a retailer'due south link through the Rapid Rewards shopping portal. The Rapid Rewards site includes many major retailers, such as Best Buy and Bed Bath and Beyond.
The number of points that you earn varies quite a flake by retailer, but tends to range between 1 to 4 points per dollar. For instance, Bass Prop Shops is currently offering 4 Rapid Rewards points per dollar on online purchases. At that rate, you'd have to spend effectually $31,250 to earn 125,000 Rapid Rewards points.
Earning the Companion Pass on a moderate budget
While 125,000 points seems like a daunting number, when you add together all these earning opportunities together, it'south actually quite viable to earn the Companion Pass with a moderate amount of spend. The sign-upwardly bonus from any Southwest carte du jour gives you a prissy head start.
And then, you tin can maximize your Southwest points past using your card on planned, recurring payments like select gas purchases or certain utility bills. Plus, take advantage of shopping portal bonuses on the spending you'd do anyhow.
How to use the Southwest Companion Pass
Register your companion
Equally soon as y'all qualify, go to the Southwest website and designate a companion for your adjacent flight. Brand sure you register your companion well in accelerate of your flight – your companion needs the pass to lath the plane, and it takes up to 21 days to mail. You aren't stuck with one flying companion – you can change your designated companion up to 3 times per year. (You can exercise this online or instantly over the phone.)
Book a flight
To book a free flight for your companion, starting time, go to the Southwest Airlines website and book your own airfare with cash or points. Once your ticket is booked, you can add your companion to your reservation by clicking on the "Add Companion" pick on Southwest.com. (Or you lot can telephone call Southwest'due south reservations line to book your flight and have a companion added over the phone.)
Check-in at the airdrome
You must bring your Companion Pass to the aerodrome to bank check-in. You'll be asked to nowadays a photograph ID of yourself and your companion. Be certain not to stand up your partner upwardly at the concluding infinitesimal – if you don't evidence upwards at the airport, your companion volition be charged the full price of the fare.
Tips for earning the Southwest Companion Pass faster
- Sign upwardly for credit bonuses when they striking a peak – Wait until the bonus on a particular carte du jour hits a top, then apply for it.
- Sign up for two Southwest credit cards – Consider signing upward for both a Southwest business and consumer card inside the same year to earn all the points you need from sign-upward bonuses.
- Look for special deals – If you proceed an eagle centre on the Rapid Rewards programme, you can observe some incredible deals that can let you to get a big influx of points or even earn the pass with a much lower threshold. For instance, Southwest sometimes offers boosted points on airfare purchases. The credit cards have also occasionally offered the pass itself equally part of the introductory bonus, though these offers tend to be fleeting.
- Have advantage of all your point-earning opportunities – Stick to flying Southwest Airlines (even for business organisation trips) and make every car rental, credit card expense, online shopping experience and hotel stay count toward earning the laissez passer.
Bottom line
That Southwest Companion Pass is in closer reach than yous think. The sign-up bonus on the Rapid Rewards consumer cards, plus earning options like the online shopping portal, make the perk attainable for Southwest flyers.
By keeping a keen center on credit card sign-up bonuses and taking reward of all the earning opportunities, many Southwest enthusiasts successfully earn the pass each year.
*All information about the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business concern Card and the Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business concern Credit Carte du jour has been collected independently by CreditCards.com and has not been reviewed by the issuer.
Editorial Disclaimer
The editorial content on this folio is based solely on the objective assessment of our writers and is not driven past advertising dollars. It has not been provided or commissioned by the credit bill of fare issuers. Nevertheless, nosotros may receive compensation when you lot click on links to products from our partners.
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Source: https://www.creditcards.com/card-advice/how-to-get-southwest-companion-pass/
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