Easy Ways To Earn The Southwest Companion Pass in 2019 Through 2020

Southwest Companion Pass

It’s that time of year again. Yes, I know, the holidays are coming. A perfect time for family gatherings and celebration. But for some seasoned travel hackers who often fly domestically, it’s also the time for earning the Southwest Companion pass.

The Southwest Companion pass is very valuable. If you earn it, you can bring a companion of your choice for free whenever you fly Southwest. You can pay for your flight with points or with cash, it doesn’t matter… your companion is free. Well, almost free. You still have to pay taxes and fees which come out to be $5.60 a person. Not a bad deal, right? I definitely thought so. That’s why I earned it to help fly my wife and daughter to Orlando for free plus fees.

To sweeten the deal further, the Southwest companion pass is valid on the calendar year you earn it AND the following year. So if you’ve earned it in January 2018, it’s good until December 31, 2019. That’s a almost a whole two years of nearly free travel for your companion!

Review: Earning The Southwest Companion Pass

There are two ways you can earn the pass:

• Take 100 one-way qualifying flights on Southwest Airlines in a calendar year
• Earn 110,000 qualifying Southwest Rapid Rewards points in a calendar year

Unless you fly Southwest Airlines every 3.65 days or more, the first option is extremely difficult. For a vast majority of people, this is unattainable. Who has the time to take 100 flights in a year?

The second option is rather difficult too, but earning the companion pass can be made easier by scoring large sign up bonuses on Southwest Airline’s co-branded credit cards with Chase. There are four Southwest Rapid Rewards credit cards to choose from: Plus card ($69 annual fee), Premier card ($99 annual fee), Priority card ($149 annual fee), and Business Premier ($99 annual fee). Some of these may be affiliate or referral links which means I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

***Note that you can only have one consumer Southwest card at a time. Therefore, in order to open two Chase Southwest cards, you have to open a Business Premier card and one of the consumer personal cards (Plus, Premier, or Priority).***

Sign up bonuses

Occasionally, Chase will offer generous sign up bonuses on these cards. For instance, the Business Premier card currently has a sign up bonus of 60,000 points earned after spending $3,000 in the first three months.

Currently, the consumer personal cards (Plus, Premier, Priority) only have a sign up bonus of 40,000 points after spending $1,000 in the first there months.

For most non-Soutwest related purchases, every dollar spent earns one Southwest Rapid Rewards point.

Therefore, one can earn the companion pass by signing up for the Business Premier card and either personal card (Plus, Premier, or Priority), meet the spending threshold for earning the sign up bonus on each card, and spend an additional $6,000 within the calendar year.

The breakdown in points

• 3,000 points (points earned from spending the $3,000 needed to earn the sign up bonus on the Business Premier in the first 3 months)
• 60,000 points (from Business Premier sign up bonus)
• 1,000 points (points earned from spending the $1,000 needed to earn the sign up bonus on either the personal Plus or Premier card in the first 3 months)
• 40,000 points (from Plus, Premier, or Priority sign up bonus)
• 6,000 points (from additional $6,000 spent during the calendar year)

3,000 + 60,000 + 1,000 + 40,000 + 6,000 = 110,000 points needed to earn the companion pass

Why is now a good time?

There is a reason why the end of the year is the perfect time to start thinking about earning the Southwest Companion pass. It’s because signing up for two Southwest credit cards is the easiest way to earn it. And you want to have both cards by January of next year to maximize the full two years of the pass.

Southwest credit cards are Visa cards that are issued by Chase. As a reminder, ALL Southwest credit cards are affected by Chase’s “5/24 rule”. Therefore, if you’ve applied for five or more cards (excluding most business cards) in the past 24 months, you will be denied. If you are under the “5/24 rule”, then you’re all good.

Another rule to keep in mind is that you will not be approved for more than two Chase cards in a 30 day time period. This is known as the Chase “2/30 rule”. Because of this rule (and because I apply for a lot of credit cards), I personally limit my Chase applications to at most one per month.

How to play your cards right

If I were planning to earn the companion pass, I would strategically earn it in January 2019 so that I can have it until December 31, 2020. This would maximize the use of the Southwest companion pass for almost the entire two years.

Here is exactly what I would do.

Assuming I have only opened one or two credit cards in the past 24 months (and clearly under the Chase “5/24 rule”), I would first apply for the Southwest Business Premier card now.

As a reminder, anybody can open a business credit card. You don’t necessarily need to have a traditional “business” to be approved for one. I don’t have a traditional business and I have been approved for seven business cards to date. Pretty much anything can be a business. I just use my day job as a doctor as my “business” and apply as a Sole Proprietorship.

The legal name of your business can simply be your full name. Under Tax Identification Number, you can put your social security number. It’s fine to put “1” as the number of employees. And be truthful when indicating your annual business revenue and years in business. If your blog only makes $100, don’t put down that it makes $1,000,000. That would be fraud.

Below is a sample using the Chase Ink Business application. Same principles apply if applying for the Chase Southwest Business Premier card. Obviously that is not my real address or social security number.

It’s all about timing

At the time of writing, it is mid-November. I would apply now. When you are approved of the card, you should receive it some time in a week or so. I’m guessing you would receive it in late November.

Then you wait thirty days because of the Chase “2/30 rule”. Meanwhile, DO NOT spend money on the card. I’ll explain later. And don’t apply for any other cards either. You don’t want to foul this thing up!

After waiting a month, apply for the Chase Southwest Plus consumer personal card. I recommend this card because it has the lowest annual fee at $69. The other personal cards have higher annual fees with the same sign up bonus of only 40,000 points. Assuming you have a good credit score and you’re well below 5/24, you should easily be approved. After approval, you should expect to receive your card in mid to late December. But don’t use it to buy anything yet.

By the end of December 2018, you should have the Chase Southwest Business Premier AND the Chase Southwest Plus credit cards with no spending on either of them.

Perfect.

Ring in the New Year!

Now here’s where the fun starts. Starting January 1, 2019 feel free to go buck wild and spend, spend, spend!

New year, new you, right?

Okay, I’m only half kidding. Once 2019 comes around, you do want to start spending money on both cards. But as always, do so responsibly. In order to meet the minimum spending requirements, you need to spend a total of $4,000. That’s $3,000 on the Southwest Business Premier card and $1,000 on the Southwest Plus card.

You might ask: How in the heck do I spend $4,000 in January?

It’s a very good question. Remember, I’m an expert at buying nothing while earning a lot of points.

Here’s a few ways you can do it.

1. Go to a fancy New Year’s Eve party

I admit, this is not a frugal option at all. But I just wanted to throw it out there. Last year, I spent New Year’s eve partying in Las Vegas and had a blast.

The charges of a fancy New Year’s eve party will likely show up as a transaction in 2019 due to the fact that most of the revelry will take place after the countdown at midnight. Plus the holiday will likely delay the transaction to the next day anyway.

But just to be safe, and because you’re responsible, it would be wise not to do this. There are many other ways you can meet the minimum spending requirement of $4,000.

2. Pay your property taxes

If you own your home, you’ll likely have to pay property taxes. Mine are high. I pay almost $17,000 a year in property taxes. Ouch, I know.

For me, property taxes are paid in two installments. One installment is due on February 1, 2019 which is perfect timing for paying the bill in January. Even if the due date is later, you can always pre-pay your property taxes ahead of time.

Using both credit cards to pay for property taxes can go far in helping you to meet the minimum spending requirement of $4,000 to earn both sign up bonuses.

3. Pay for your rent and utilities

Let’s say you don’t pay property taxes because instead of owning a home, you are renting. Not a problem. You can actually pay for your rent and utilities using your Southwest credit cards.

With a service like Plastiq, you can pay any bill in which credit cards are not usually accepted. This includes rent, utilities, car payments, and many other expenses (except for mortgage payments).

While they charge a 2.5% convenience free, it may be worth it to earn the Southwest credit card sign up bonuses and companion pass.

If you live in a low cost of living area and your January rent isn’t nearly enough to cover the $4,000 of minimum spending, then good for you for taking advantage of geographic arbitrage! But don’t forget, you can also prepay your rent for later months if necessary.

4. Pay for your quarterly estimated income taxes

You can also use your credit cards to pay federal taxes. This primarily applies to small business owners, individual sole proprietors, partners, and S corporation shareholders.

There are different services that you can use, but the one with the lowest convenience fee is pay1040.com. It has a fee of 1.87%.

I have to pay quarterly estimated income taxes. And it’s a lot. With the amount I pay, it would easily meet the minimum spending requirements for several credit cards every quarter alone.

5. Buy gift cards

One way to meet the minimum spending requirements on the Southwest credit cards is to buy gift cards.

Sometimes office supply stores like Staples and Office Depot have promotional deals in which you can receive a $20 rebate on purchased pre-paid Visa gift cards. It’s a perfect way to increase credit card spending to meet a minimum spending requirement while getting your money back. I take full advantage of these deals.

If there isn’t a deal on Visa gift cards, another option is to buy store or restaurant gift cards. Just make sure that you plan to visit that particular store or restaurant in the near future. Consider buying Amazon gift cards; they are so versatile since almost anything you might need can be bought online. In the past I have bought Shell gas cards and placed them in my glove department. That way, they are easily accessible every time I need gas. I don’t do this anymore because now I drive a Tesla.

You can even consider buying gift cards then reselling them online to make a profit.

6. Buy gifts for people

The most generous way to spend money is to buy gifts for people. It’s good to be frugal, but please do not be cheap. Be generous with others.

There are many occasions to buy gifts: birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, holidays, etc. When January comes, Valentine’s Day is just around the corner.

In addition to words of affirmation, quality time, acts of service, and physical touch, giving gifts is one of the 5 love languages. Show your loved ones that they are appreciated and that you care!

7. Buy gifts for yourself

It’s okay to be generous with yourself too!

You’ve worked hard and you deserve a treat. Buy something for yourself that you’ve always wanted. Just make sure it follows your principle guidelines, aligns with your values, and brings sustained happiness.

Even if it doesn’t follow your strict guidelines, it’s okay. Nothing wrong with splurging on a little self care. Get a massage. Go on a solo trip. Treat yo’ self!

On a personal note, my wife and I have a few things in mind that we may want to buy in January 2019. Since we are doing a buy nothing challenge in 2018, most of our “wants” and frivolous spending has been put on hold. I’m not saying we are going to crazy with our spending when January comes. In fact, we may not even buy anything. We just have a few things in mind that we are considering, that’s all.

 

What about the final 6,000 miles?

Okay, so let’s say you have met the minimum required spending of $4,000 to earn the sign up bonus on both the Southwest Business Premier and the Southwest Plus credit cards. That only earns you 104,000 points. You’re 6,000 points shy of the 110,000 points necessary to earn the Southwest companion pass.

Recall the points breakdown:

• 3,000 points (points earned from spending the $3,000 needed to earn the sign up bonus on the Southwest Business Premier in the first 3 months)
• 60,000 points (from Southwest Business Premier sign up bonus)
• 1,000 points (points earned from spending the $1,000 needed to earn the sign up bonus on either the personal Southwest Plus in the first 3 months)
• 40,000 points (from Southwest Plus sign up bonus)
• 6,000 points (from additional $6,000 spent during the calendar year)

Yes, $4,000 must be spent on the credit cards to reach minimum spending requirements to earn both sign up bonuses. However, you don’t necessarily have to spend an additional $6,000 on a Southwest credit card to earn 6,000 points.

You can earn these points in other ways.

1. Paid flight activity

Paying for your Southwest flights with cash earns you points.

For example, I used my Citi Prestige credit card to pay for my wife’s ticket to Orlando. I was her companion, so I was nearly free. My baby was free because she is a lap infant. My wife’s paid flight was reimbursed since I had a $250 airline credit through the Citi Prestige card.

All in all, using cash to pay for my wife’s reimbursed flight to Orlando earned us 1,884 points.

So if you’ve been wanting to travel somewhere in the beginning of 2019, consider paying for a Southwest flight in cash. You will earn quite a few points and it will get you closer to the 110,000 points needed to earn the Southwest companion pass.

2. Southwest shopping portal

You can also earn additional points by shopping online through the Southwest shopping portal.

The portal offers different point bonuses for different stores. As you can see, Staples is currently offering 4 points per $1 spend.

We have been utilizing the shopping portal lately. For example, we recently purchased some baby accessories from Bed Bath & Beyond, which is currently offering 3 points per $1 spend.

In general, shopping portals are a great way to earn extra points for spending that you would have normally done anyway.

3. Book hotels through RocketMiles

RocketMiles is a site that allows you to earn miles in any type of loyalty program when you book a hotel through them.

All you have to do is go to their site, enter your destination, an airline loyalty program of your choice, and the check in / check out dates.

In the example below, I entered “Portland” as my destination and Southwest Airlines as the loyalty program (duh!). As you can see, if I stayed at the Courtyard Portland Downtown I would earn 3,000 points. This is half of the 6,000 points needed to complete the 110,000 points for the companion pass!

I was looking into Portland because I considered a short trip there with my sister. In addition, we also used Rocketmiles for a stay in Palm Springs for an upcoming wedding. It’s an easy way to earn a few thousand Southwest rapid rewards points.

Just make sure that the price Rocketmiles quotes you isn’t a lot higher than other sites like Trivago, Expedia, Kayak, Booking.com, etc. Otherwise, paying a high premium just to earn miles may not be worth it. Do your due diligence!

Points that do not count

It’s important to note that promotional bonus points on Rocketmiles and the shopping portal do not count.

Currently, there is a holiday seasonal bonus of earning 3,000 bonus points when spending $1,000 on the Southwest shopping portal. Because those 3,000 points are “bonus” points, they will NOT count toward earning the Southwest companion pass.

Summary

Woah, that was a long post.

Hopefully it was helpful for some of you who like to fly Southwest airlines and want to earn the companion pass.

To summarize:

• The Southwest companion pass is valuable because when you fly Southwest airlines and have the pass, you can bring a companion with you for nearly free.
• To earn the Southwest companion pass, you need to either fly 100 flights or earn 110,000 points in a calendar year.
• The easiest and fastest way to earn the Southwest companion pass is to sign up for the Southwest Business Premier card and the Southwest Plus personal card, meet the minimum spending requirement to earn the sign up bonuses for both cards, then earn 6,000 additional points.
• You can earn the 6,000 additional points in a variety of ways including spending on your Southwest credit card, paying for flights on Southwest, online shopping through the Southwest shopping portal, booking hotels on RocketMiles to earn Southwest rapid rewards points, or a combination of all four.
• The best time to apply for the credit cards to earn the Southwest companion pass is the end of the calendar year (now). This is because it will maximize the amount of time you can use the pass.

Nearly two years of discounted and nearly free travel sounds great, doesn’t it?

[Edit: There are 50,000 point sign up bonuses for the personal Southwest cards (plus, premier, priority) if you apply for a card in-flight or at a Southwest kiosk in an airport. But these are not publicly available. Also, some of the offers have tiered bonuses whereby if you spend $12,000 within the first year, you will receive a bonus of 20,000 points.]

Readers, are you interested in earning the Southwest Companion pass? Share your thoughts and comment below!