How To Earn the Southwest Companion Pass

Did you know Southwest Airlines has one of THE best loyalty programs out there? Their ticket prices are already some of the lowest in the industry, I honestly don’t know how Southwest makes any money! In their Rapid Rewards loyalty program, Southwest offers what’s called a “Companion Pass” where you can book your own flight using either cash or points and another person can fly with you for just the price of taxes and fees, which is usually less than $6 each way! SIX DOLLARS. That’s less than my Starbucks order. Yeesh. And there is no limit to how many times you can use your Companion Pass and no blackout dates or seat restrictions.

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But here’s the craziest part: you can use your Companion Pass during the year you earn it as well as the following year! So, if you time things right, you could fly your Plus 1 for nearly free anywhere Southwest flies for almost 2 whole years! Bananas. Both my husband and I will have Companion Passes next year, so our 2 kids will be flying with us for about $12 each time!

There are two different ways to earn the Southwest Companion Pass. You can either fly 100 qualifying one-way flights in a calendar year (which is daunting for most) OR earn 135,000 Rapid Rewards points in a calendar year (much easier to achieve). You can earn those points by flying Southwest, using their shopping portal, dining at Rapid Rewards participating restaurants, or booking a room through the Southwest hotel portal, but those ways can be slow-going and confusing. The more straightforward way to earn those 135,000 points is with just 2 Southwest credit card sign-up bonuses.

And guess what… if you’re interested in earning the Southwest Companion Pass, then NOW is the best time to do it! I’ve put together a PDF that shows a clear timeline of when to open up which cards so you’ll be able to use the Companion Pass early on in the year and get almost 2 years worth of (almost) free flights. It’s all about maximizing our efforts, amiright?!

Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Card
- Welcome offer: earn 80,000 points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
- $199 annual fee.
- Comes with free Global Entry or TSA PreCheck benefit.
Southwest Personal Credit Card (there are 3 to choose from – compare the different benefits on each card)
- Welcome offer: earn 50,000 points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
- $69, $99, or $149 annual fee.

By opening a Southwest business and personal card, you’ll have earned a total of 136,000 points (welcome offers + minimum spend). And just for holding a Southwest card, you’ll also get a 10,000-point boost.

Not only will you now have a Companion Pass, but you’ll be able to redeem those 136,000 points for flights! Isn’t that amazing?! (The 10k boost is meant to help you reach the 135k-point Companion Pass threshold and isn’t redeemable for flights.)