Jackpot!
Between my wife and I, this is the 4th time we’ve earned the Companion Pass.
The Companion Pass allows you to take a “companion” with you anywhere you travel on Southwest, free of charge. Well, nearly free. You still have to pay their taxes, which ends up being around $11 for a round trip ticket. But it feels like free for sure!
So with all the points you rack up from earning the Companion Pass plus the Companion Pass itself, you & a family member or friend can take a bunch of nearly free trips together over the next 2 years.
I posted about this on Twitter recently and I had several people asking questions about how we earned it and how they can earn it as well.
I’ll share in this week’s newsletter the questions that I answered.
What is the Companion Pass?
For those that haven’t heard of it, the Southwest Companion Pass allows you to add an additional person for free on any flights you take with Southwest.
This is often considered the most valuable travel reward.
How do you earn it?
- Fly 100 one-way flights on Southwest (yikes!)
Or
- Earn 135,000 points in a calendar year (the easier way)
How can I earn 135,000 points?
- Welcome Bonus points on SW Personal Card (50k right now but can go up to 75k or 100k)
- Welcome Bonus points on SW Business Card (60k or 80k now but can get higher)
- Referring friends (20k per friend)
- Spending money on the card
What’s the easiest way to reach the 135,000 points?
Definitely applying for the cards when they are offering high welcome bonuses (usually end of year)
Personal + Business will usually get you all the way there
Personal + Referrals can get you there too
How long does it last?
The way the program works is once you get 135k points, you earn the pass for the rest of that year and all of the following year.
Because of this, your goal should be to earn it very early in the year so you effectively get it for 2 full years.
When should I apply?
I usually recommend applying in November or December and hitting the minimum spend for the bonus points sometime after January 1.
Make sure you don’t earn the points before January 1 or you’ll lose the 2 full years.
What if I already have a Southwest card?
You can only earn the welcome bonus points once every 24 months. If you’ve had the card longer than 24 months, you can get a new card and earn it again.
Anything else I need to know?
You need to be under Chase’s 5/24 rule to be eligible.
That rule says that you can’t be approved for another Chase card (Southwest is with Chase) if you’ve been approved for 5 or more other cards in the last 24 months (from any company).
You sure I can do this?
Yep! Positive.
I’ll help you get there.
I have lots of articles written on it and have a whole course put together to help pastors earn extra money by traveling free and keeping the vacation money in their pocket.
Let’s do this!
A few other articles I’ve written on this:
The Holy Grail of Travel Rewards
I’d love to help you get a Companion Pass also so you rack up a ton of Southwest points & one of the members of your family can fly free (or two fly free if you & your spouse both get it).
This is a great way to earn extra income because all of that money you would’ve spent on flights to take your next vacation is now back in your pocket!
