Niagara Falls is crazy amazing AND it's even better when you and your family fly for FREE! I have had the Southwest companion pass (buy 1 flight, get a companion ticket FREE) for the past five years. It is one of the most valuable perks around and has saved me thousands of dollars. Besides Niagara Falls, I have used it to take two kids college shopping in the midwest and on the east coast, my husband and I went to Cuba, I am heading to New Orleans next month, my daughter and I went to New York twice, I took my daughter to see National Parks, we went to Seattle, Washington DC and probably more trips that I can't remember right now.
So to get the full two years of companion travel, now is the perfect time to apply for Southwest credit cards.
But be very careful to reach your minimum spend after January 1st, 2020.
If you reach your minumum spend on December 31st, 2019, your bonus points will count in the 2019 calendar year and you will only get the companion pass for one year. If you reach your minimum spend on January 1st, 2020, your bonus will count in 2020 and you will get the companion pass for 2020 and 2021, two full years!
So apply now, spend close to your minimum spend, but do not reach it until 2020.
In order to earn the companion pass, you must earn 110,000 Southwest points in a single calendar year so the closer you can do it to the beginning of the year, the longer you have the companion pass.
If you don't have any Southwest credit cards yet, then apply for one personal card and one business card. That will give you 100,000-120,000 points depending on which business card you choose.
The new offer for all personal Southwest credit cards is:
- 40,000 points for spending just $1,000 in the first 3 months
- 20,000 bonus points when you spend $12,000 in the first year
You can only hold one personal Southwest credit card at a time. The cards are the:
Southwest Priority - best deal!
- $149 annual fee for the first year
- $75 Southwest credit
- 7,500 anniversary points annually
- 2x on Southwest purchases
- 1x on everything else
Southwest Premier
- $99 annual fee
- 6,000 anniversary points annually
- 2x on Southwest purchases
- 1x on everything else
- $69 annual fee
- 3,000 anniversary points annually
- 2x on Southwest purchases
- 1x on everything else
Southwest also offers two business cards, the Performance and the Premier with 80,000 and 60,000 bonus offers respectively. The Performance has a $5,000 minimum spend and the Premier has a $3,000 minimum spend.
If you use my referral link, then you get the bonus and I get a few points for referring you. Thank you for your support and let us know what happens!