The Southwest Companion Pass is one of the best travel deals available!  With the current limited-time offer, you can earn the pass quickly and start enjoying free airfare for your companion. Don’t miss out on this opportunity! 

Typically, we recommend waiting until October to strategically earn this pass for almost 2 full years of use (see our blog for the traditional year-end strategy here), but right now there is a quicker and easier way!  But, act fast – this is a limited time offer.

What is the Companion Pass:

The Southwest Companion Pass lets you add a designated companion to your ticket and that companion flies for free (excluding taxes). You can add a free traveling companion whether you pay for your ticket with points or cash. The pass is highly coveted due to its ease of use and minimal restrictions. You can use the pass as many times as you want during its validity, and you can change your designated companion up to 3 times per year.

How to earn the Companion Pass:  

To earn the Companion Pass, you need to accumulate 135,000 Southwest Rapid Reward points in a CALENDAR year.  Points earned through credit card bonuses, credit card spending, or revenue flights all count towards the required points.  Additionally, if you have a Southwest Airlines credit card, you’ll automatically receive 10,000 points towards the pass, reducing your requirement to 125,000 points.  Typically, the quickest way to reach 135,000 points, without extensive travel, is obtaining welcome bonuses from two different Southwest Credit Cards.

HOWEVER – With this Limited Time Welcome Bonus, you can earn the companion pass with just one credit card!

For a limited time, Southwest Airlines is offering an increased welcome bonus on their business credit cards, enabling you to earn the pass by meeting the minimum spend requirement on just ONE credit card.   But hurry, this offer is scheduled to end September 24, 2024.

How to take advantage of this limited offer:

Southwest offers two Chase Business co-branded credit cards, and each one is currently offering a 120,000-point welcome bonus, which is sufficient to get you to Companion Pass (when combined with the points from your actual spend). 

However, each card is structured differently regarding the welcome bonus requirements (more on this below.)  If you can meet the minimum spend requirement on just one of these cards, the points you earn from purchases, along with the bonus, will earn you a companion pass. The companion pass will be valid from the end of the statement cycle of the month you completed the spend requirement through end of 2025. This means, if you act quickly and can meet the spend, you can use the pass for almost 16 months!

Specifics and Requirements:

The Companion Pass must be earned within one CALENDAR year. If you don’t earn all 135,000 points in 2024, you’ll start from zero on January 1st, and any points earned in 2024 will not count towards the welcome bonus requirement.

These are business cards, but you can qualify even with a small business, such as a clothing reseller, tutor or a content creator.  If you are unsure on how to qualify for a business card, read Travel Freely’s guide.

Card Descriptions:

Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card:  Earn 80,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on eligible purchases within 3 months of being approved for card membership. Then, earn an additional 40,000 points when you spend $15,000 within the first 9 months of being approved.

Card Features:

• Annual Fee $199
• Comes with 4 upgraded boarding reimbursements per year
• Daily flight credits for WiFi
• Global Entry or Pre-TSA annual reimbursement
• 3x point earning on Travel
• 2x point earning on ridesharing and social media, search engine advertising, internet, cable and phone services
• 4x point earning on Southwest Airline
• 1x point earning on everything else

Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card:  60,000 bonus points if you spend $3,000 on eligible purchases within 3 months of being approved, Then, earn an additional 60,000 points when you spend $15,000 within the first 9 months of being approved.

Card Features:

• Annual Fee $95
• 2 Early bird check-in reimbursements per year
• 6,000 points awarded at card renewal
• 2x point earning on Travel
• 2x point earning on ridesharing
• 3x point earning on Southwest Airline
• 1x point earning on everything else

Each card earns at least 1X point per dollar spent on eligible purchases. That means by spending the $15,000 required to earn the welcome bonus you would earn 15,000 points plus the welcome bonus! Viola-you have earned the 135,000 points needed for the companion pass and you have 135,000 points to apply to free flights on Southwest Airlines!!

Click on this link to find out more about the Southwest cards and to apply:  

1. Bonnie’s direct link to apply: Southwest Referral 
2. Robin’s direct link to apply: Southwest Referral

(we might receive compensation if you use our links-Thank you)

Or, visit our credit card page.

Chase’s Credit Card Application Restrictions:

• 5/24 rule: If you have opened 5 or more consumer cards from any provider in the last 24 months you probably won’t be approved (see our Free guide for more information, which you can download below).

• 24 Month Rule: If you’ve previously had a card before, you can only get a welcome offer on that card again if you no longer have the card AND if it has been more than 24 months since you last received a welcome offer for that card. 

• You can hold 2 Southwest business cards at one time, so if you already have one of their cards, you could be eligible for the welcome bonus on the other card.

• Reconsideration: If denied, call (800) 453-9719 for business cards, and ask for your application to be reconsidered. Sometimes its merely a matter of moving some credit card limits around or clarifying that you are an authorized signer on someone else’s card and which should not count towards your 5/24 limit.

If you have any questions or want help deciding which card is best for you, we offer free credit card consultations by emailing us travelmore@360traveltips.com and write consultation in the subject line.