How To Maximize Your Southwest Companion Pass

 

You are either waiting for your new Southwest Credit Cards to arrive like I am or you are still on the fence thinking about applying for the cards. Well, let me show you how you can maximize your Southwest Companion Pass. Maybe that will persuade you to push the button on your application. 

I had the Southwest Companion Pass for 6 years and then let it lapse last year.

 So upsetting. 

Remember the Southwest Companion Pass is a BOGO on any Southwest flight anywhere Southwest flies. All you pay is the $5.60 taxes for the companion. To earn the pass, you need to collect 135,000 Southwest points in a calendar year. Then you get the pass for the year you collect the points and the following year. So the best plan is to earn the pass as early in the year as possible so you can use it for almost two years. We show you the best way to earn the pass here. 

In the six years that I had the pass, here's are some of the places I took a companion with me for FREE saving me thousands of dollars. 

How To Maximize Your Southwest Companion Pass 

Some of the trips I took with the BOGO pass: 

San Diego - Washington DC - several times 

San Diego - New York - several times 

San Diego - Cuba 

San Diego - Fort Lauderdale 

San Diego to Boston 

San Diego to Buffalo/Niagara Falls - six times 

San Diego to Chicago 

Detroit to Raleigh 

San Diego to Raleigh - several times 

San Diego - San Francisco 

San Diego - Salt Lake City 

San Diego - Seattle 

San Diego - Spokane

I'm sure there are more flights, but that's all I can remember right now. 

How To Maximize Your Southwest Companion Pass 

So when I get my next pass in January 2023, where am I planning to go?

Well, my youngest child is starting the college search so we will check out colleges, fly back again for admitted student days, fly back again for move in, and fly back again for family weekend. 

The next oldest will be graduating from college so the pass will help to get the family there for graduation. 

Then I looked at the list of countries Southwest flies to that I have not visited yet: 

Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Belize, 

Maybe I'll add a trip to those too to tick off more countries visited. 

Of course, Hawaii is always fun and Puerto Rico is on my list too. If you haven't been to Costa Rica, Southwest flies there too. Turks and Caicos and the Grand Caymans were intriguing, but they are British territories so they don't add numbers to my countries visited list. But I hear they are beautiful. 

New Orleans is, of course, always a winner! 

So many fun places to visit and once you have the pass, it's affordable and even almost FREE. Woohoo! 

If you are ready to apply, check out this overview of the cards to help you decide which one is right for you and please use my referral link. 

Last Chance To Apply For the 80,000 Bonus on the Chase Sapphire Reserve

It's the last few weeks to apply for the 80,000 bonus on the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card.  The offer ends December 1st. This is my favorite card and has saved me thousands of dollars on travel. 

Now this card is offering 80,000 bonus points when you spend $4,000 on the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card. 

What can you do with 80,000 Chase Ultimate Reward points? 

So many things. 

• For one, you can use them in the Chase Travel Portal where the Chase Sapphire Reserve makes the points worth 50% more. 
• You can also transfer them 1:1 to dozens of airlines including United, Jet Blue, Southwest and more. 
• You can transfer them to Hyatt, Marriott and IHG hotels at 1:1.
• Through the end of the year, you can use them to erase Airbnb and dining purchases. 

Chase says the value of 80,000 CUR points is $1,200 towards travel. But it could be more if you play your cards right. 

On my trip to Ireland last summer I used Chase Ultimate Reward points to cover my daughter's round trip flight which I booked through the Chase travel portal for 30,000 points. 

I erased all of our Airbnb stays at 50% value for 50,000 points and I erased most of our dining with another 30,000 points. 

The Chase Sapphire Reserve card also comes with a $300 travel credit so we used that to erase parking and a portion of the rental car. 

Now this card is offering 80,000 bonus points when you spend $4,000 on the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card. 

The other benefit is that you can transfer CUR points from your other credit cards to your Reserve card and then redeem them for 50% more. Woohoo! 

This card also comes with a $100 Global Entry credit, Priority Pass lounge access and FREE Dashpass membership, Instacart+ and $10 Go Puff monthly credit. 

The card does come with a hefty annual fee of $550, but as long as you use the $300 travel credit, Global Entry and lounge access, it will be worth it. 

Couple of important notes about this card. If you already hold the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, you are NOT eligible to apply for the Reserve card. You can only hold one at a time. However, your spouse, partner or other family member could apply for the Reserve card. You can also only earn the bonus on the Reserve only once every four years. 

If you decide to apply for the Chase Sapphire Reserve, please consider using my referral link. 

 

Did You Get Approved For The Southwest Credit Cards Yet?

 

Best news this week! Woohoo! Yesterday, I applied for the Southwest Performance Business credit card AND the Southwest Priority personal credit card. Hopefully, you did too! If not, you still have plenty of time. 

The Southwest Performance Business credit card comes with an 80,000 bonus when you spend $5,000 and the Southwest Priority personal credit card comes with a 75,000 bonus when you spend $3,000. I break down the difference between the cards here.

Hefty minimums for sure, but with property taxes, college tuition, holiday shopping and more coming up at the end of the year, it's doable. Plus we don't want to reach the minimum spend until after the December statement closes or January 1st so there's plenty of time. 

We are timing it so that we earn 135,000 Southwest points in the 2023 calendar year and earn the valuable Southwest Companion Pass for 2023 AND 2024. 

The Southwest Companion Pass is a BOGO on ANY Southwest flight as many times as you want for up to two years. And you can change your companion up to 3x per year. 

I applied for the Performance business card because I already have the Premier business card and got the bonus earlier this year. You can hold two business cards at the same time though before the annual fee comes up again, I will cancel the Premier business card. I also need to renew our Global Entry next year and this card comes with a $100 Global Entry credit. If you don't have the Premier yet, I recommend that one because the minimum spend is just $3,000. 

I applied for the Priority personal card because it's the best deal. The annual fee is $149, but you get a $75 Southwest credit so that brings the fee down to just $74 and you get 4 upgraded boardings. I will keep this card for two years so it's worth it for all those Southwest flights I plan to take. But all of the personal cards have the same bonus right now so it's really up to you which one you choose. 

Once I reach the minimum spends on these cards, I will earn 80,000+5,000 on the Performance card, 75,000+3,000 on the Priority card plus 10,000 bonus points for having A Southwest credit card. The total will be 173,000 Southwest points which puts me well over the 135,000 points needed for the companion pass. 

Woohoo! That's how we do it here at almostFREEfamilytravel.com. 

Now I just need to figure out where I'm going on my next trip! LOL

If you are playing along and earning your companion pass along with me, please let me know by emailing me at almostfreefamilytravel@gmail.com or posting a comment below. I would love to help you through the process. 

And please consider using my referral link when you apply for your new Southwest cards. 

It's Time To Apply To Earn The Southwest Companion Pass

 

If you are planning to earn your Southwest Companion Pass along with me this year, now is the time to apply for your Southwest credit cards.

The Southwest Companion Pass is the best perk in travel. It is BOGO for up to two years on any Southwest flight. You need 135,000 points in a single calendar year to earn the pass. 

Hopefully, you cancelled your old personal card at least 30 days ago. I find it takes about 30 days for the system to process the cancellation. 

But if it hasn't been 30 days, you may still get approved or you can wait a bit longer. The deadline for the increased bonus offer ends December 5th so you have time. However, it would be nice to have your new card for those Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. :) 

Remember you can start charging your new card, but DO NOT reach the minimum spend until after your December statement closes or January 1st. 

Now the question is which card to apply for. All three personal cards have the same bonus offer right now: 75,000 bonus points for a $3,000 minimum spend. Each card has different benefits and a different annual fee which could make a difference for you. So let's take a look:

Plus card - this is the basic card with an annual fee of $69. It includes 2 early bird check ins, 2x points on streaming, rideshare, Southwest, hotels and cars and 1x points on everything else plus 3,000 anniversary points. 

Premier card - annual fee of $99. It includes 2 Early Bird check ins, 3x points on Southwest, 2x points on streaming, rideshare, hotels and cars and 1x points on everything else plus 6,000 anniversary points. 

Priority card - annual fee of $149. It includes 4 upgraded boardings, $75 Southwest credit, 3x points on Southwest, 2x points on streaming, rideshare, hotels and cars and 1x points on everything else plus 7,500 anniversary points. 

My favorite is the Priority card because once you deduct the Southwest credit from the annual fee, the card really only costs $74. So for $5 more than the Plus card, you get four upgraded boardings per year and 3x points on Southwest. 

Once you are approved for the personal card, then go ahead and apply for a Southwest business card. You have two choices here:

Premier Business - the offer is 60,000 bonus points for a $3,000 minimum spend. It's a $99 annual fee and the card comes with 2 Early Bird check ins. 

Performance Business - the offer is 80,000 bonus points for a $5,000 minimum spend. It's a $199 annual fee and the card comes with 4 upgraded boardings plus $100 Global Entry credit. 

Since the personal card has an increased bonus offer of 75,000 points, either business card will earn you the companion pass. So it just depends on whether you want to reach a $6,000 minimum spend or $8,000 minimum spend, want the Global Entry credit or upgraded boardings. And you can hold both of these business cards at the same time! 

For all of these cards, please consider using my referral link to apply and keep me posted! 

How The Southwest Bonus Offer Increase Plays Into Our Plan

 

Chase just announced an increased offer on the Southwest personal credit cards....all of them. The offer is 75,000 points for a $3,000 minimum spend. The offer is valid on the plus, the premier and the priority cards. We will talk about the difference a bit later when we are ready to apply.  

So how does this increased offer play into our strategy to earn the Southwest Companion Pass? The Companion Pass is the best travel perk in the industry. It allows you BOGO on any Southwest flight for up to two years. You can change your companion three times per year. 

How The Southwest Bonus Offer Increase Plays Into Our Plan

If you are following along with me, you have not applied for your cards yet. We cancelled our old Southwest Personal Card in October and are waiting 30 days before we apply for a new one. Since we do not want to reach our minimum spend until after our December closing date or January 1st, we have time. However, we will apply soon so we can put all of that holiday shopping on the cards. 

Remember, you can only hold one personal credit card at a time and you need to wait 30 days between cancelling and applying for the new one. You also have to wait at least 24 months between bonuses. 

So how does this increased offer affect our strategy? It doesn't. 

After the 30 day waiting period, we will apply for one personal credit card and one business credit card. 

I usually apply for both at the same time. 

How The Southwest Bonus Offer Increase Plays Into Our Plan

Under the old offer, we would get 50,000 points for a $1,000 minimum spend for the personal credit card and either 60,000 points for a $3,000 minimum spend OR 80,000 points for a $5,000 minimum spend. So we would be looking at 110,000 bonus points or 130,000 bonus points and a $4,000 minimum spend or $6,000 minimum spend respectively. 

Under this new offer, we will get 75,000 bonus points for a $3,000 minimum spend for the personal credit card and the same for the business cards. So that means if you go for a personal credit card with a $3,000 minimum spend and the 60,000 bonus point business card, you are looking at a $6,000 minimum spend. If you go for the 80,000 bonus point business card, you are looking at $8,000 minimum spend. 

So yes, you may be in for a bit more spend, but you will get 25,000 more bonus points which means FREE travel. And with the increased offer, any personal card and any business card earn the companion pass. 

If the increased minimum spend is overwhelming or out of your reach, Southwest has posted an end date for the new offer of December 5th. You can just wait until that date passes and jump on the new decreased offer which will most likely carry a lower minimum spend. My referral link also seems to still be pointing to the old offer so you may be able to get in on that one for a few more days.  If your 30 day waiting period has passed and you prefer the old offer, go ahead and apply. Just DON'T reach the minimum spend before January 1st or before your December statement closes. 

So the increased offer really doesn't affect our strategy at all. Stay the course and be patient. And hold off making any big purchases! 

How Your Holiday Shopping Can Earn You A FREE Vacation

Now that Halloween is over, the holiday shopping season is on! And when you do your holiday shopping, you can be earning your next vacation at the same time! It's all about shopping portals. Yes, I know it's an extra step and you have to remember to do it, but you know what, when you book that next vacation for FREE, it will be well worth it. 

How Your Holiday Shopping Can Earn You A FREE Vacation

Here's how it works! The major airlines United, Southwest, Alaska, Delta and American have shopping portals. You can use cashbackmonitor.com to see which airlines are participating. Now they always offer bonus miles for using the portal, but right now, there are bonuses to be earned. Thousands of extra miles in bonuses are up for grabs. 

Like the one in the picture above from United Airlines. When you spend $150, you earn 500 bonus miles. So when you buy that dog food from Petsmart.com or Chewy.com, instead of going to the retailer's website, use the portal. You can even stack bonuses if your credit card has an offer too. 

How Your Holiday Shopping Can Earn You A FREE Vacation

And it's cumulative. So you can spend $50 at Chewy.com and then $100 at Staples.com and bam, 500 FREE bonus miles. The bonus takes about 6-8 weeks to credit to your account. 

Be very careful that you click from the portal to through to the retailer so you get the credit. 

Each airline sets its own criteria for the bonus so be sure to shop around and of course, consider which airline you are trying to collect points for. 

Here are the holiday bonus offers: 

 United Shopping Portal  - Ends November 18th. Spend $150, earn 500 bonus miles. Spend $600, earn 2,000 bonus miles. Spend $1,200, earn 5,000 bonus miles. 

Southwest Shopping Portal - Ends November 21st, Spend $100, earn 500 bonus miles. Spend $500, earn 1,000 bonus miles. Spend $1,000, earn 3,500 bonus miles. 

Alaska Shopping Portal - Ends November 20th, Spend $150, earn 300 bonus miles. Spend $350, earn 750 bonus miles. Spend $650, earn 1,500 bonus miles. 

Delta Shopping Portal -  Ends November 18th, Spend $200, earn 500 bonus miles. Spend $400, earn 1,000 bonus miles. Spend $800, earn 2,000 bonus miles. 

While you are taking advantage of these holiday shopping bonus offers, you should also be working your way towards your minimum spend and bonus offer on your new credit card. 

If you are joining me in earning the Southwest Companion Pass, then we are about to apply for the Southwest credit cards. Don't do it quite yet, but when we are ready here is my referral link if that's your plan. 

If you are not joining me in earning the Southwest Companion Pass, then you should be taking advantage of the increased offer on the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card. This is my favorite card because Chase Ultimate Rewards points are super flexible. You can transfer the points to dozens of airlines and few hotel chains, you can use them in the Chase travel portal and to erase purchases. Now there is an 80,000 bonus offer on this card, that's worth at least $1,200 in travel. 

Southwest Rewards Changes Coming, Don't Worry

 

You may have seen this email this morning in your inbox. We are going to break down the changes coming in 2023 and yes, we saw the increase in the number of points needed to earn the Southwest Companion Pass. We will address that since many of us, including myself, are planning to earn the pass in January 2023.  

Just a reminder, the Southwest Companion Pass is the best travel perk out there. It is a BOGO pass good for up to two years on any flight Southwest operates. 

So the changes are as follows: 

1. Points needed to earn the Companion Pass will increase from 125,000 to 135,000. However, if you have a Southwest credit card, you will receive a 10,000 point boost every year to help you reach that goal. Existing card members will get the boost at the beginning of the year and points will post by January 31st, new card holders in 2023 will get the boost 30 days after opening their credit card. Only one boost per Rapid Rewards account. More on how this affects our strategy below. 

2. Companions will now board with the companion pass holder. When the pass holder checks in, the companion will be given a sequential boarding pass number. However, if the pass holder is A-list, purchased an upgrade or Business Select ticket, the companion will not be upgraded. 

3.  You must cancel your flight at least 10 minutes before departure in order to get your points returned to your account. Starts summer 2023. 

Now back to the increase in points needed to qualify for the Southwest companion pass. For our purposes, the change to the Companion Pass is important. This year, you will get the 10,000 point boost so really there is no change at all. Your goal is still 125,000 points since Southwest will gift you the extra 10,000 points to reach the new tier of 135,000. 

If you are working towards getting the pass with me, you can relax and stay the course. 

Remember you will only get ONE boost even though our strategy includes applying for two Southwest credit cards. And the boost starts in January 2023 so the timing of opening your Southwest card will not be affected THIS year. However, if you follow this strategy next year, you will need to pay very close attention to the timing of opening your Southwest cards so the boost posts after your December closing date. 

If you are following our strategy, then you are not opening a Southwest card yet so I am not including any referral links here.