Step #1 Towards Earning Your Southwest Companion Pass For 2025-26

 

It's the countdown towards earning the Southwest Companion Pass for 2025-26, yep, almost two full years. And I have challenged myself to help 25 people earn the pass. If you are ready, sign up here!  There is no cost to you, my coaching is totally FREE. 

Just in case you don't know what the pass is all about, here's a quick summary: 

• The Southwest Companion Pass is a BOGO flight pass for any flight, anywhere, anytime for you and one companion. No blackout dates, no restrictions. 

For comparison, Alaska Airlines offers its famous $99 companion pass which is good for one flight per year. 

American Airlines, British Airways, Aer Lingus and Delta Airlines offer a slightly different variation on the companion pass, but again it's just valid for one flight per year and costs up to $99. 

• Southwest is the ONLY airline that offers a companion pass for unlimited flights for up to two full years, it's an incredible deal. 

I have had the pass for 8 years and I estimate it has saved me thousands of dollars. I have used it to fly to Cuba, Costa Rica, Washington DC, New York, Puerto Rico, Florida, North Carolina, Washington State, Nashville, Chicago and so much more. 

• Southwest allows you to change your companion three times per calendar year. And your companion can be a partner, child, friend, family member or anyone else you would like to bring with you. 

So whether you have had the pass before or you are planning to earn it for the first time, let's talk about what we need to do now to get ready. You can also sign up to be one of the 25 people I am going to help for FREE to earn the pass. 

Step #1 Towards Earning Your Southwest Companion Pass For 2025-26

In very simple terms, in order to get the pass, we need to earn 135,000 Southwest points in a single calendar year. Once you earn the points, the companion pass will show up in your Southwest account and you can start using it immediately. The pass is good for the calendar year you earn it and the following year. Which means that if you earn the pass in January 2025, it is good for the rest of 2025 and 2026. 

That's the reason why we try to earn the pass as early in the year as possible. 

But if you are earning the pass for a second or third time or if you have received a Southwest credit card bonus before, you need to check a few things before you get started. 

1. IMPORTANT - Check the date that you last earned a Southwest point bonus. You can do that by logging into your Southwest account and checking your reward activity. You can see when I check my account, I earned a business card bonus in January 2023 and a personal card bonus in February 2023.  You can't apply for a new card until after those dates. So in my case, I cannot apply for another a Southwest Performance Business credit card until January 12th 2025 and I can't apply for another Southwest personal credit card until February 9th 2025.    

2. You earn 10,000 points on January 1st if you hold a Southwest Credit Card. These points are not valid for flights, but do count towards the companion pass. 

3. You can only hold ONE personal Southwest credit card at a time and you need to allow 30 days between closing the card you have and applying for another one. So now would be the right time to close your personal Southwest credit card if you plan to apply for another one in November. You can hold more than one Southwest Business credit card at a time so that's not an issue. 

4. Check your 5/24 status. Chase will only approve you for 5 credit cards every 24 months so confirm that you will eligible for a Southwest personal credit card. The business cards do not count towards 5/24. 

Step #1 Towards Earning Your Southwest Companion Pass For 2025-26

Make sure you do these steps so you are ready to hit the ground running in November to earn that pass. If you would like FREE coaching help, sign up to be one of the 25 people I am going to help earn the companion pass. 

Which is better? Alaska Companion Fare vs Southwest Companion Pass

 

Ah, Hawaii! So relaxing and pretty much top on everyone's bucket list. My neighbor just returned from Hawaii and was super excited to have scored a "free" ticket with her Alaska companion fare. The last time I went to Hawaii, I used my Southwest companion pass. 

So I decided to dig in and compare the Southwest Companion Pass with the Alaska Airlines Famous Companion Fare and see how they stack up. 

Which is tops? Alaska Companion Fare vs Southwest Companion Pass

Let's start with the Southwest Companion Pass. This is believed to be the best travel perk out there. It is good for buy one, get one FREE plane ticket for two years on every flight. I have had this pass for the last 8 years and it has saved me thousands of dollars. 

I have taken my family to Washington DC, Boston, Chicago and even Cuba. 

To get the pass, you need to earn 125,000 Southwest points in a single calendar year. Once you get the pass, it is good for the rest of that year and the following year. Your companion must fly with you on the same flights and you can change your companion three times per year. You can buy your ticket, which we don't recommend, OR use points and then add your companion. You still need to pay the taxes which are $5.60 per flight. 

You can add your companion to your flight right up until you fly. 

Earning 125,000 points may seem like a daunting task, but we share the secret here at almostfreefamilytravel.com about how to do it fast and easy. 

Which is tops? Alaska Companion Fare vs Southwest Companion Pass

The Alaska Airlines famous companion fare is $99 plus taxes and fees from $22. You get the companion fare every year on your credit card anniversary. Your companion must fly with you on the same flight. In fact, you must book the two tickets at the same time. 

You cannot use points to book either person's flight. But both people will earn miles on the flights. 

The companion fare is good for 12 months from the date of issue. 

The Mileage Plan member who owns the companion fare must be one of the travelers or the purchaser of the flights with their Alaska Airlines credit card. 

So let's break it down: 

1. Easy to earn: Alaska Airlines wins because the fare comes with your credit card every year on the anniversary. It's automatic. 

2. Best deal: Southwest Airlines wins here because you can pay for the flights with points and the taxes are just $5.60. You can also use the Southwest pass on unlimited number of flights for two years and you can only use the Alaska companion pass once. 

3. Ease of use: Southwest Airlines wins again because you can add your companion at any time to the flight up until you actually fly and on Alaska, you have to book the two people at the same time. I have actually changed my companion while on my trip. A bit risky, but it worked. 

4. Flexibility: Southwest wins again. You can change your companion up to three times per calendar year. 

Though the Alaska Companion Fare is better than paying full price and if you are loyal to Alaska or if you are looking at a very expensive flight, then the Alaska companion fare might make sense for you. But hands down, the Southwest Companion Pass still reigns as the best travel perk out there. 

Stay posted because as we get close to the end of the year, it will be time to earn the pass again for the next two years. But timing is everything! So stay tuned. 

Why This Couple Should Take Advantage Of The New Southwest Companion Pass Offer

 

I flew Southwest Airlines this past weekend to Washington DC and met the nicest couple on board (I hope Bonnie is reading this 😀). We got to talking about points and miles and their future travel plans. 

I want to share their situation with you because it is the model scenario for when it makes sense to jump ON the new Southwest Companion Pass promotional offer that ends on March 19th. This offer is a Southwest Companion pass valid through February 28, 2024 and 30,000 Southwest points for opening one personal Southwest credit card and spending $4,000. 

The Southwest Companion Pass is the best travel perk out there. It is a BOGO on any Southwest flight as many times as you want for as long as the pass is valid. 

Usually, you need to earn 135,000 Southwest points in a single calendar year to get the pass. You can earn those points by opening credit cards, flights, shopping and more. 

Why This Couple Should Take Advantage Of The New Southwest Companion Pass Offer 

Bonnie's boyfriend earned the promotional Southwest Companion Pass last February through a similar offer and it expired Feb. 28th 2023. You are eligible to earn a bonus from a Southwest personal credit card just once every 24 months and you can only hold one personal card at a time. So in this case, Bonnie's boyfriend is NOT eligible to earn another bonus until February 2024 so our regular two credit card method to earn the pass won't work for him. 

But Bonnie's boyfriend shared with me that he travels for work and actually has more than 100,000 Southwest points in his account. 

So in this case, Bonnie could apply for the Southwest personal credit card promotion offer and get the Southwest Companion Pass and 30,000 points. She does not have a business and would not qualify for a business credit card. 

But when they go to book their flights, here's the go around. 

The boyfriend should book Bonnie's flight using his points and include her Rapid Rewards number in the reservation. Once the reservation shows up in Bonnie's Southwest account, she can actually add her boyfriend as her companion and he will fly for FREE using the companion pass. Make sense?

Once the promotional companion pass expires in February 2024, the boyfriend should be eligible to earn the bonus again. At that point, he can follow our plan, open two credit cards and get the regular companion pass valid for two years and lots more points OR if Southwest offers the promotional pass again, he could hop on that and they can keep trading off. 

For this couple, the promotional offer is a good one! If it is good for you too, please consider using my referral link. 

 

Want The Southwest Companion Pass for 2024-25? Do This Right Now

 

The Southwest Companion Pass is one of the best perks in travel! It's BOGO travel for up to two years for you and a companion. Did you hear me? BOGO on any Southwest flight anywhere Southwest flies. Costa Rica, yep. Belize, yep. No blackout dates. No blackout flights. All you do is pay the $5.60 for taxes. Amazing! 

I have had the Southwest Companion Pass for the past 6 years and it has saved me thousands of dollars. I have traveled to Cuba, Washington DC, Boston, New York City, Florida and a number of college visits, trips, family events and more and taken my companion with me for FREE.

You can even change your companion three times in a calendar year and your companion can be your spouse, child, sibling, cousin, friend, neighbor or whoever you want.  

It's Time To Earn The Southwest Companion Pass

The way to earn the Southwest Companion Pass is to rack up 135,000 Southwest points in one calendar year. Once you do that, you earn the pass for the remainder of that year PLUS the following year. 

If you time it right, you could have the pass for almost two years. But that's a lot of points! How do you earn so many points? You could fly, but that would be very time consuming and expensive. You could shop through portals and that would help, but again, very expensive. 

The way to max out the two years is by opening Southwest credit cards. If you open a personal credit card and the bonus is 50,000 points and you open a business credit card and the bonus is 80,000 points then your total is 130,000 points plus 6,000 for the minimum spend and bam, you earn a companion pass. Follow me?

You can click here to see how we do this. And we are going to map out the strategy here and I hope you will come along with me on this journey. 

Want The Southwest Companion Pass for 2024-25? Do This Right Now 

Let's look at what you need to do month by month:

October 

• Cancel your personal Southwest credit card* 
• If you have both business Southwest credit cards, you will need to cancel at least one of them. 

*You can only hold one personal Southwest credit card at a time and you have to wait at least 30 days to apply for a new personal Southwest credit card. So in order to plan it right, you will need to cancel your Southwest personal credit card this month. I know it can be tough, but it has to be done. 

Also you want to confirm that it's been at least 24 months since you earned a bonus on a Southwest personal credit card because you can only earn this bonus once every two years. 

You are allowed to hold both business cards at the same time so if you only have one, you are good to go, but if you have both, you need to cancel at least one of them. 

I recommend waiting 30 days before you apply for the Southwest credit card again. 

November 

• Apply for your new personal credit card (you have 3 months to reach the minimum spend, but you can do it faster)
• Apply for your new business credit card (you have 3 months to reach the minimum spend, but you can do it faster)
• You can start using the cards immediately, but DO NOT reach the minimum spend before the statement closes in December or to be extra safe Jan. 1. 
• This is the biggest mistake people make and it could cost you a whole year of the companion pass because you earn the pass for the current year and the following year. If your bonus posts before your December statement closes or Jan. 1st then it counts for this year instead of next year. Ouch! 

December 

• Find out your statement close date on both cards
• DO NOT reach the minimum spend before the statement closes otherwise your points will count towards the current calendar year and not next year
• To be extra safe, hit the minimum spend after Jan. 1st 

January

• The goal is to meet your minimum spend as close to Jan 1st as possible, but AFTER your December statement closes. 
• Once you reach the minimum spend, your bonus points will deposit into your account 
• The deposit will trigger the earning of the Southwest Companion Pass 

And bam, BOGO travel for the next two years! Woohoo! 

Want The Southwest Companion Pass for 2024-25? Do This Right Now 

If you decide to come along with me on this journey or if this post helps you, please consider using my referral links to apply for your Southwest credit cards. Same bonus for you, but I also get a few points for referring you. 

The Priority credit card is my favorite! Even though it has a higher minimum spend at $149, it comes with a $75 Southwest credit. The credit can be used to offset the $5.60 fee charged on every ticket and it is applied automatically by the credit card as a statement credit. 

The Priority also includes 4 upgraded boardings which help if you forget to check in and get in that dreaded C boarding group. 

Now if this sounds great to you, but you would like me to personally walk you through earning the pass step by step, join the second cohort of my new Travel Coaching Program. It just opened and there are only 10 spots available. Don't wait, enroll now. 

Easy Way To Earn A Mini Southwest Companion Pass

One of the best perks around is the Southwest Companion Pass. The pass lets you bring a companion with you for FREE on any flight for as much as two years. I have had this pass for the past 8 years and wow, it has saved me thousands of dollars. Normally, you have to earn 125,000 Southwest points in a single calendar year to earn the pass, but right now, Southwest is offering a mini pass. 

Easy Way To Earn A Mini Southwest Companion Pass

To qualify for the mini pass, you need to take two one-way flights or one round trip flight during the promotional period. Pretty easy to qualify, however, the pass is a mini so it is only valid from January - March 2023. And you must buy your flights, you cannot use points for the promotion. 

I earned this pass last year by flying to Phoenix for the day to lunch with a friend. Cost me $100 round trip and then I used the pass so my daughter could fly with me to the East Coast in January. 

Sometimes the mini pass is a good way to bridge the gap while you are waiting for your long term companion pass to kick in. 

Easy Way To Earn A Mini Southwest Companion Pass

However, the regular Southwest Companion Pass is a much better deal because it lasts up to two years. I will begin posting about how to earn the regular companion pass in October since timing is everything. 

If you decide to jump on this mini pass, you need to purchase your flights today September 8th by registering here and flying by November 17th. Remember to purchase your flights with your Southwest Credit Card so you earn up to 4x points. If you don't have a Southwest Credit Card yet, you can apply here using my referral link and get 50,000 bonus points for the personal cards and up to 80,000 points for the business cards. 

If you want the regular companion pass, don't apply just yet. Keep watching for my posts about why and how to time this so you get the max use out of the companion pass. 

Offer ends 9/8/2022–don’t let it pass by!

Here is how:

1. Register and purchase a round trip or two one-way flights by 9/8/2022.
2. Travel by 11/17/2022.
3. Companion flies free* with you 1/4/2023 – 3/4/2023.

Not valid on flights purchased with Rapid Rewards® points.

Is The New Southwest Companion Pass Offer Right For You?

 

If you are dreaming about visiting someplace like Yosemite National Park this summer, you might be tempted to jump on Chase's new Southwest Companion Pass offer. But let's talk for a minute about whether this offer is the right one for you.

The Southwest Companion pass is a BOGO on any Southwest flight anytime for up to two years. You earn it by accumulating 135,000 Southwest points in a calendar year. 

We recommend applying for two Chase Southwest credit cards, one personal and one business, to earn the pass. I have had this pass for 6 years and have saved thousands of dollars. Last year, I didn't have the pass and I regretted it greatly. 

The new offer is to apply for the Chase Southwest Plus personal credit card, spend the $4,000 minimum and then earn a bonus of 30,000 points and the companion pass for one year. 

Is The New Southwest Companion Pass Offer Right For You? 

So let's compare the new offer with the regular companion pass method we recommend and see how it stacks up so you can decide if it is right for you. 

There are three Chase Southwest personal credit cards, the Plus, Priority and Premier. The bonus offers on these cards range from 40,000 points up to 75,000 points. The minimum spend ranges from $1,000 to $3,000. The cards range in annual fees from $69 to $149. There are varied benefits on each card. 

You can only hold one personal card at a time and you can only get the bonus offer once every 24 months. Chase will also only approve you for 5 cards every 24 months.  

There are also two Chase Southwest business credit cards, the Performance and the Premier Business. The bonus offers range from 60,000 points to 80,000 points and the minimum spend ranges from $3,000 to $5,000. The annual fees range from $99 to $199. 

Is The New Southwest Companion Pass Offer Right For You? 

Usually I recommend applying for one personal card and one business card to earn the companion pass. The minimum spend for the two cards can be as low as $4,000 and as high as $8,000 depending on the offers. You can earn as many as 155,000 Southwest points and as few as 110,000 points. The annual fee for two cards can be as low as $168 or as high as $348. The companion pass is valid for up to two years. 

This new offer is only for the Chase Southwest Plus credit card with an annual fee of $69 and a minimum spend of $4,000. The bonus offer is 30,000 points plus the companion pass. The pass is valid through February 28, 2024. 

So is this new offer right for you? Like everything we talk about, it really depends on you and your travel plans. The pros of this offer are that it is simple, one card, one minimum, one bonus. The cons are that the pass is only good for one year instead of two years. You only earn 30,000 points instead of lots more. 

Let us know what you decide to do. And if you decide to jump on this offer, please consider using my referral link.  

It's Time To Plan For Your Southwest Companion Pass

 

The Southwest Companion pass is by far the best travel perk around. It's a BOGO plane ticket on any Southwest flight for up to two years. Did you hear me? BOGO on any Southwest flight anywhere Southwest flies. Costa Rica, yep. Belize, yep. No blackout dates. No blackout flights. All you do is pay the $5.60 for taxes. Amazing! 

I have had the Southwest Companion Pass for the past 6 years and it has saved me thousands of dollars. I have traveled to Cuba, Washington DC, Boston, New York City, Florida and a number of college visits, trips, family events and more and taken my companion with me for FREE.

You can even change your companion three times in a calendar year and your companion can be your spouse, child, sibling, cousin, friend, neighbor or whoever you want.  

It's Time To Earn The Southwest Companion Pass

The way to earn the Southwest Companion Pass is to rack up 125,000 Southwest points in one calendar year. Once you do that, you earn the pass for the remainder of that year PLUS the following year. 

If you time it right, you could have the pass for almost two years. 

But that's a lot of points! How do you earn so many points? You could fly, but that would be very time consuming and expensive. You could shop through portals and that would help, but again, very expensive. 

The way to max out the two years is by opening Southwest credit cards. If you open a personal credit card and the bonus is 50,000 points and you open a business credit card and the bonus is 80,000 points then your total is 130,000 points and bam, you earn a companion pass. Follow me?

We are going to map out the strategy here and I hope you will come along with me on this journey. 

Let's look at what you need to do month by month:

October 

• Cancel your personal credit card 

*You can only hold one personal Southwest credit card at a time and you have to wait at least 30 days to apply for a new personal Southwest credit card. So in order to plan it right, you will need to cancel your Southwest personal credit card this month. I know it can be tough, but it has to be done. 

Also you want to confirm that it's been at least 24 months since you earned a bonus on a Southwest personal credit card because you can only earn this bonus once every two years. 

November 

• Apply for your new personal credit card (you have 3 months to reach the minimum spend, but you can do it faster)
• Apply for your new business credit card (you have 3 months to reach the minimum spend, but you can do it faster)
• You can start using the cards immediately, but DO NOT reach the minimum spend before the statement closes in December or to be extra safe Jan. 1. 
• This is the biggest mistake people make and it could cost you a whole year of the companion pass because you earn the pass for the current year and the following year. If your bonus posts before your December statement closes or Jan. 1st then it counts for this year instead of next year. Ouch! 

December 

• Find out your statement close date on both cards
• DO NOT reach the minimum spend before the statement closes otherwise your points will count towards the current calendar year and not next year
• To be extra safe, hit the minimum spend after Jan. 1st 

January

• The goal is to meet your minimum spend as close to Jan 1st as possible, but AFTER your December statement closes. 
• Once you reach the minimum spend, your bonus points will deposit into your account 
• The deposit will trigger the earning of the Southwest Companion Pass 

And bam, BOGO travel for the next two years! Woohoo! 

If you decide to come along with me on this journey or if this post helps you, please consider using my referral links to apply for your Southwest credit cards. Same bonus for you, but I also get a few points for referring you. 

Here is a breakdown of the three personal credit cards offered by Southwest right now, but remember, we are NOT going to apply for these until November: 

Southwest Priority - 50,000 bonus offer with $1,000 minimum spend 

• $149 annual fee for the first year
• $75 Southwest credit 
• 7,500 anniversary points annually
• 2x on Southwest purchases
• 1x on everything else
• 4 upgraded boardings 

Southwest Premier - 50,000 bonus offer with $1,000 minimum spend 

• $99 annual fee
• 6,000 anniversary points annually
• 2x on Southwest purchases
• 1x on everything else
• 2 Early Bird check ins 

Southwest Plus - 50,000 bonus offer with $1,000 minimum spend 

• $69 annual fee
• 3,000 anniversary points annually 
• 2x on Southwest purchases
• 1x on everything else
• 2 Early Bird check ins 

The Priority credit card is my favorite! Even though it has a higher minimum spend at $149, it comes with a $75 Southwest credit. The credit can be used to offset the $5.60 fee charged on every ticket and it is applied automatically by the credit card as a statement credit. 

The Priority also includes 4 upgraded boardings which help if you forget to check in and get in that dreaded C boarding group. 

Please let me know if you are joining me on this journey to earn the companion pass. I would love to chat with you. 

Exciting News: Southwest's Mini Companion Pass is Here!

Get ready for an incredible travel opportunity, jet-setters! Southwest Airlines has just unveiled their new mini companion pass offer, and it's a game-changer for budget-savvy explorers!

The Ultimate Travel Hack: Southwest Companion Pass

Buckle up, because the Southwest Companion Pass is truly one of the most amazing travel deals out there. Picture this: bringing a friend or family member along on ANY Southwest flight to ANYWHERE the airline flies, for FREE (just pay the $5.60 taxes)! And the best part? This dream can last for up to two years!

Normally, you'd need to rack up 135,000 Southwest points in a single calendar year to snag this pass. Sounds daunting, right? But don't worry! We've got some insider tricks up our sleeves to make it happen faster and easier than you'd think. Our travel coaching program is packed with these golden nuggets of wisdom!

Is the Southwest Airlines Mini Companion Pass Your Ticket to Adventure?

Let's dive into this exciting offer:

1. Book a round trip or two one-way flights by September 5th for travel by November 20th. Use cash, points, or mix it up – the choice is yours! Pro tip: Already booked? No problem! Just cancel, register, and rebook to qualify.

2. Voila! A mini companion pass will appear in your account, letting you enjoy buy-one-get-one flights from January 6th to March 6th, 2025. Hello, winter getaway!

Why This Offer is a Travel Game-Changer

For most wanderlusters, this deal is a no-brainer! Here's why:

• Bridge the gap until you earn the full companion pass
• Perfect for family vacations in early 2025
• Ideal if you're short on time or points for the full pass
• Great for spontaneous weekend escapes

How to Snag Your Mini Companion Pass

1. Already have a flight? Try the cancel-and-rebook strategy. Check out the Wanna Get Away Plus fare for extra flexibility!

2. Planning a trip anyway? Register and book by September 5th and you will qualify for the mini companion pass!

3. Feeling adventurous? Book a super cheap round-trip from your hometown for a quick day or overnight trip. It's like a travel hack within a travel hack!

Ready to Elevate Your Travel Game?

If you're excited about the mini companion pass but want expert guidance, or if you're aiming for the full Southwest Companion Pass, I'm here to help so you don't make the #1 mistake. Join my travel coaching program launching September 15th. I'm on a mission to help 25 savvy travelers earn the Southwest Companion Pass for 2025-26 and save a collective $100,000 on future adventures!

Don't let this opportunity fly by – let's make your travel dreams take off together!

#TravelHacks #SouthwestAirlines #CompanionPass #BudgetTravel #WanderlustWednesday #TravelTips #AdventureAwaits #ExploreMore

Did you Earn the Southwest Mini Companion Pass?

 

When I saw this promotion pop up in September, I jumped on it. Two one-way flights or one round trip and you get a promotional companion pass good for two months, count me in! I told you to jump on it too. For families, the Southwest Companion Pass is the number one secret to FREE travel. It's a buy one, get one FREE ticket on every flight you take during the life of the pass. 

Did you Earn the Southwest Mini Companion Pass? 

The regular companion pass is good for the year you earn it and the following year. In the next few weeks, we will start to talk about how to earn that pass for 2022 and 2023. There are some strategies you need to follow so that you earn the pass in January and max its value. 

I have had the companion pass for the past six years and have written numerous posts about it. The pass has saved me thousands of dollars on many trips cross country. 

When I saw the promotion back in September, I looked at cities with short and cheap flights from my home airport of San Diego. Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Oakland are usually pretty inexpensive. I found flights to Phoenix for just $49 each way so I booked a one-day round trip ticket. 

Yesterday, I took a 10am flight to Phoenix, had a wonderful lunch with a dear friend, and took the 5:30pm flight back in time for dinner at home with the family. 

And this morning, I received an email from Southwest, bam, I earned the mini pass. Woohoo!

The promotional Companion Pass is only good for two months, just January and February 2022. However, for me, it will bridge the gap until I can earn the regular pass. Plus I already have one trip planned to the East Coast, now the big question is where else should I go? and who should I take with me?

Southwest Companion Pass: Best Travel Perk In The Industry

If you don't have a Southwest Credit Card yet, you may want to take advantage of the new bonus offer 50,000 points for just a $2,000 minimum spend and another 50,000 bonus when you spend $12,000 in the first year. This bonus is being offered on all 3 of the Southwest personal cards. To figure out which card is right for you, check out my blog post. If you have a business, there are a few options for you too that come with increased bonuses of 60,000 and 80,000 points with minimum spend of $5,000.  These points also count towards the Southwest Companion Pass. 

Now is the time to apply for this card, but don't charge anything to the card yet. That's the first strategy towards earning the Southwest Companion Pass. 

And when you decide to apply for one of these cards, please consider using my referral link. 

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.