You don't want to miss the limited-time Southwest Airlines Companion Pass promotion. If you apply by March 31, 2025, you can get a sign-up bonus of 30,000 points and a Companion Pass good until 2/28/26.
The Companion Pass is amazing because someone can fly with you for free on EVERY ticket you purchase. I guess you do have to pay $11.20 in fees for round-trip domestic flights, but that's basically free. You can apply using my link and you'll need to spend $4,000 on that card in the first three months to get the bonuses. The annual fee is only $69 and it will be on your first month's bill.
I love Southwest because can usually find cheap flights and their website is easy to navigate whether you’re searching for flights using points or dollars. I love it because they don’t play any games with the points, if it’s available for cash, it’s available for points. Prices are released about 7 months ahead, but I like that because the pressure is off to plan trips too far in advance.
My family flew from Salt Lake City, UT to Kahului (Maui), HI for 21,691 points each. Fees are only $11.20 for round-trip domestic flights, including Hawaii. The fees to Mexico are quite a bit more because they are international flights, but we’ve flown to Puerto Villarta, Cabo San Lucas, and Cancun for less than $150.
Offers change all the time and for some reason, Southwest has three different personal cards and two business cards. It can be confusing, but take a deep breath and I'll walk you through it. When I'm deciding which card to apply for, I look at the number of points earned vs. the annual fee. The Plus usually is the best personal card because it has the lowest annual fee and the same sign-up bonus as the Premier and the Priority cards. For the business card, I’m willing to pay the higher annual fee, because there is a higher sign-up bonus with the Performance Business Card.
How the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card Helps You Earn A Companion Pass
The very best thing about Southwest is the Companion Pass. If you missed the March 31 application date or you want to have a Companion Pass for almost two years, you can get one by earning 135,000 points in one calendar year.
First, you’ll want to open a business credit card in mid-October. BUT, make sure you do NOT meet the minimum spend until January. This will be the third month you have the card open. If you meet the minimum spend too early, your points will be added to your account in December and the plan won’t work.
Next, you’ll open a personal card in January. If you get the sign-up bonus from the business card in January and the sign-up bonus from the personal card in March you’ll earn 135,000 points in the same calendar year. The coveted Companion Pass is yours, commence evil genius laugh.
Not only will you have buy one get one free tickets for the rest of the year, but you’ll also have it for the next calendar year. And you can use the 135,000 points to “buy” your tickets, so you won’t have to pay cash for your tickets for quite some time.
You can change your “companion” up to 3 times a year. You used to have to call and wait on hold to do this, but now you can easily change the person who will fly with you for free online. I went to New York with my daughter as my companion, then I changed it to my husband for our family trip to Maui, and then I changed it to my sister when we went on a girl's trip to Florida. One year, my sister took each of her kids on a solo trip, what a fun Christmas present that was for them.
Do not add anyone as an "authorized user" when you are applying for a credit card. If you add someone as an authorized user they won't be able to get a sign-up bonus for their own card. Because it lasts for almost two years, I'll earn a Companion Pass and then two years later I'll refer my husband. Then he can earn his own. So every two years we alternate who has a Companion Pass. Yes, they will give you another sign-up bonus every two years, crazy I know.
Big Changes for Southwest
Southwest recently changed some of the long-standing perks that made them stand out, but credit card holders can still get a free checked bag. They are also doing away with open seating, but some people see this as a positive change. One last thing I love about the Southwest Credit Card is that your points are not associated with Chase or your credit card. I like to close my credit card 11 months later so I don’t have to pay another annual fee, but the points stay in my Rapid Rewards account so I can keep them even after I close the credit card.
Here’s a Summary of The Best Southwest Credit Card Offers:
Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business (use this link when you apply)
- The sign-up bonus is usually 80,000 points (apply in mid-October)
- The minimum spend is $5,000 in the first 3 months (be sure NOT to meet this before January)
- The annual fee is $199
- Also apply for the personal card to get the Companion Pass for the next two years
- The sign-up bonus is usually 40-60,000 points
- The minimum spend is usually $4,000 in the first 3 months
- The annual fee is $69
- Apply in January after you meet the minimum spend on the Performance Business card
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