The Southwest Companion Pass is a valuable travel benefit that lets a designated companion fly free (excluding taxes and fees) with a Rapid Rewards member on all Southwest flights. It effectively doubles the value of your points and makes travel more affordable.

Let’s go over everything you need to know so you can get BOGO flights for you and a loved one.

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What is the Southwest Companion Pass?

The Southwest Companion Pass is a great perk from Southwest Airlines that lets you bring a friend or family member for free on all of your Southwest flights. You just have to pay the taxes and fees, which are usually $5.60. The pass can be earned easily with just one or two credit card welcome offers, and it is good for the rest of the year in which you earned it, plus all of the following year.

How to earn it

To earn the Southwest Companion Pass, you must collect at least 135,000 Rapid Rewards points in one calendar year. Southwest cardholders automatically get a 10,000-point boost each year, which means that you technically only need to earn 125,000 Rapid Rewards points to qualify for the pass. This can be done by opening one to two Chase co-branded credit cards.

Card Options

Here are the cards that earn Southwest Rapid Rewards:

Personal – all three of these currently have an elevated bonus of 85,000 points when you spend $3,000 in the first three months. This is up from the standard 50,000 points.

• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card

<All information about the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus, Premier, and Priority Credit Cards has been collected independently by The Traveling Hansens. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.>

Business

• Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card – earn 60,000 points when you spend $3,000 in the first three months.
• Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card – earn 80,000 points when you spend $5,000 in the first three months.

<All information about the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier and Performance Business Credit Cards has been collected independently by The Traveling Hansens. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.>

Southwest card eligibility

Here are a few important things to be aware of:

• What if I currently have a Southwest personal card? If you currently have a Southwest personal card and you want to earn the Companion Pass, you will need to cancel your current card at least 30 days before reapplying for a new one.
• What if I currently have a Southwest business card? If you currently have a business Southwest card, you can still open the other business card. You can have both at the same time.
• Am I eligible to open a business credit card? It is much easier to be eligible for a business credit card than you think! You do not need a registered business; you can apply as a sole proprietor using your SSN. Any side hustle income counts – photography, Facebook Marketplace sales, dog walking, freelance writing, tutoring, rideshare, etc. Learn more about business cards here.
• What if I’ve earned the bonus on one of these cards before? You can earn the bonus on a Southwest card again if it has been at least 24 months since you last earned the bonus and you no longer have that card open.
• Can I apply for multiple cards so close together? 90 days is a good general guideline, but it is not a hard and fast rule. In cases like this, it is totally fine to open multiple cards close together, just make sure to space out your next card applications more.

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A note on timing

As I mentioned, when you earn the pass, it’s good for the rest of the year in which you earned it and all of the following year. This means that it’s possible to have the pass for nearly two years if you earn it very early in the year. Because of this, the timing of opening cards and hitting the minimum spending requirement is very important. The points have to be earned in the same calendar year to count toward the pass.

All of that being said, these strategies can be done at any point during the year. You will just have your pass for less time if you earn it later.

Current offers and strategies

Here are a few example card strategies for how to earn the pass, plus the timing if you’re trying to earn it as early in the year as possible. These are based on the offers that are currently available, so these strategies may shift over time if the offers change. I keep this post updated when that happens.

Card Strategy #1 – Business and personal card

• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card for 60,000 points when you spend $3,000 in the first three months. Open this card in late October to early November. Begin working on the spending right away, but DO NOT meet the spending requirement until early January.
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card for 85,000 points when you spend $3,000 in the first three months. Open this card in late November – at least 30 days after your previous card. DO NOT meet the spending requirement until early January or later.
• Continue working on the spending requirements for both cards and track your spending closely so you do not meet it too early!
• Complete the spending on both cards as early in January as possible so you can get the most use out of your pass.
• Between these two cards, you will have at least 145,000 points. You will have some additional points from the spending, and you’ll have the 10,000 Companion Pass points boost for being a cardholder. This puts you well over the required amount for earning the pass!
• Once you’ve completed the spending requirement for both cards, monitor your email for your official Companion Pass email notification!

Card Strategy #2 – Two business cards

• Either Southwest business card in late October to early November. Begin working on the spending right away, but DO NOT meet the spending requirement until early January.
• The other Southwest business card in late November – at least 30 days after your previous card. Note – Chase has been cracking down on the amount of business cards they’ll let you have open at one time. So, if you have any Chase business cards older than one year, I recommend closing those first. It’s best to have less than three open.
• Continue working on the spending requirements for both cards and track your spending closely so you do not meet it too early!
• Complete the spending on both cards as early in January as possible so you can get the most use out of your pass.
• Once you’ve hit the spending requirements, monitor your email for your official Companion Pass email notification!

Card Strategy #3 – One personal card and spending/referring

This is a much more viable option than normal thanks to the elevated bonuses on the three personal cards.

• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card for 85,000 points when you spend $3,000 in the first three months. Open this card in late October to early November. You could also open either of the other personal cars, I just like that this card has the lowest annual fee.
• Begin working on the spending right away, but DO NOT meet the spending requirement until early January. Track your spending closely so you do not meet it too early! Do not meet it before January 1st if you want your pass for 2026-2027.
• After January 1st, refer your player two and/or family and friends to any Southwest card. This will earn you 20,000 additional points per person you refer. If you refer two people, you’ll have a minimum of 125,000 points.
• If needed, continue spending on the card to reach 125,000 points total. In January, you’ll also earn the extra 10,000 points boost for being a cardholder.
• Once you’ve reached 135,000 points, monitor your email for your official Companion Pass email notification!

Card Strategy #4 – Two passes

This uses a two-person (or “player”) strategy to earn two passes with a combination of cards and referral points.

• Player One opens the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card for 80,000 points when you spend $5,000 in the first three months. Open this card in late October to early November. Begin working on the spending right away, but DO NOT meet the spending requirement until early January.
• Player One then refers Player Two to the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card sometime after January 1st. P1 will earn a 20,000-point referral bonus.
• P2 will work on the spending requirement and hit it as early as possible.
• Once P2 has met the spending on their first card, P1 refers P2 to the second Southwest business card OR a Southwest personal card. I recommend one of the personal cards since the annual fee and spending requirement are much lower.
• At this point, P1 will have received 40,000 points in referral bonuses, plus their welcome offer, plus the 10,000 points for being a cardholder, which is enough for one pass.
• P2 completes the spending requirement on their second Southwest card and earns enough points for a second pass.
• Monitor your emails for your official Companion Pass notifications for both passes!

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Wrapping Up

The Southwest Companion Pass is a fantastic travel perk that lets you get BOGO flights for up to two years, effectively doubling the value of your points. There is some strategy involved in opening the right cards at the right time, but it’s totally doable and well worth the effort.