southwest companion pass credit cards
Southwest Companion Pass Season

This article is designed to help you get the Southwest Companion Pass for all of 2023 and 2024. Since it lasts for the year you earn it in AND all of the following year, NOW is a great time to start the process, as I’ll outline below.

Also note that we have new info that even those over 5/24 are being approved for Southwest cards!

NOTE: For 2023, Southwest has increased the qualification criteria for 2023 to 135,000 earned points (from 125,000). However, they are also giving anyone that has any Southwest credit card 10,000 Companion Pass Points each year. If you have the card before January 1, you’ll get them at the end of January. If you open the card mid-year, you’ll get them within 30 days of account opening.

From the Terms and Conditions: When a Member opens a Rapid Rewards Credit Card after the first business day of the calendar year, they will receive one boost of 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points up to 30 days after opening the Rapid Rewards Credit Card. 

For this strategy to work perfectly (almost two full years of Companion Pass), you want to apply at the end of the year or early in the year, so that you’ll finish your minimum spend on BOTH cards as early as possible in a calendar year.

Each year, the last couple of months of the year – and the beginning of the next year – is what I call “Southwest Companion Pass Season“

 

The Southwest Companion Pass is easily one of the most valuable things in miles and points, especially for those focused on as much domestic coach travel as possible for as little money as possible.

What is the Southwest Companion Pass?

The Southwest Companion Pass allows you to bring a companion on all of your flights for free (just pay taxes and fees) an unlimited amount of times. The Companion Pass includes both paid and award tickets, which is pretty amazing.

You are allowed to change the eligible Companion 3 times per year on a Companion Pass. The only catch is that you can’t change to a new companion while you still have an un-flown ticket with the last one (unless you cancel it).

Southwest Companion Pass
Southwest Companion Pass

 

When Should I Get the Southwest Companion Pass?

I’ll get into all of the details on timing below, but this is the important part:

The Southwest Companion Pass is valid for all of the year that you earn it plus the entire next year. If you were to earn the Companion Pass on January 15th, 2023, you would have that Companion Pass through December 31st, 2024!

Let’s say you fly once a month and use the Companion Pass each time on a an average fare of $250 round trip (before taxes and fees, for simplicity).

If you had the pass for a full two years, that would mean that the Southwest Companion Pass was worth an insane $6,000 to you.

How Do You Earn the Southwest Companion Pass?

For context and for those that don’t know, the Southwest Companion Pass is earned when you accrue 135,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards points from certain sources which include flying (obviously) and points earned from credit card bonuses and spend (but not when you transfer points from programs like Chase Ultimate Rewards into Southwest).

This is an increase of 10,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards points from 2022, however, it’s completely offset by the fact that they are also giving anyone that has any Southwest credit card 10,000 Companion Pass Points each year.

But this site is all about credit card rewards, along with miles and points, and that’s where I’m headed.

As long as you can qualify for a business credit card (See: Do You Need a Business to Qualify and Apply for a Business Credit Card?), then there is a very easy strategy to get the Companion Pass.

As long as you are still under 5/24 (you’ve opened less than a total of 5 personal credit cards in the last 24 months), you can apply for one Southwest Business credit card and then either a second Southwest Business credit card OR a personal Southwest credit card.

(Quick reminder note on 5/24: both personal and business Capital One or Discover cards count against this limit, although new Capital One Spark Cash Plus cards opened in November 2020 or later which don’t report to your personal credit.)

In all cases, you’ll apply for the business card first, both because it has the bigger initial bonus and because it won’t count against your 5/24, so this Companion Pass strategy works even if you are 4/24 now.

Timing and Order of Opening the Southwest Credit Cards to Get 2 Years of Companion Pass

There are five Southwest Airlines Credit Cards. You’ll only need to open two, though, to put this plan into action and earn the Companion Pass.

The first thing I want to say is the most important part of this plan…

The reason we start now is so that you can maximize your Companion Pass. This Companion Pass will be good until the end of the year AFTER the year you earn it, meaning that if you earn it early in a calendar year, you’ll be getting almost two full years of Companion Pass. The strategy involved opening but not hitting the signup bonus spending requirement until after January 1st of the following year.

Read that again because it’s super important and I’ll remind you again later…

Let’s begin…

southwest companion pass credit cards

The Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card has an offer on now for 80,000 Rapid Rewards points when you spend $5,000 in 3 months. That is a whopper of a bonus and an integral part of this plan.

Alternatively, you can get the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card which will give you 60,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 within 3 months. The annual fee on the Premier Business Credit Card is $99 less, though you get 20,000 less bonus points.

We’ll then want to wait 31 days (or just over a month to make it simple) and then apply for either the other Chase Southwest Business card, the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Credit Card, which is offering 60,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in 3 months (or the Southwest Performance Business Credit Card if you chose the Premier card above), or one of the three personal Southwest credit cards:

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card (Annual Fee: $69)

Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit Card

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card (Annual Fee: $99)

Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card (Annual Fee: $149)

southwest companion pass credit cards
Southwest Priority Credit Card

(Yes, all three personal Southwest cards have the same bonus offer. You just have to pick which card makes the most sense for you. You can also compare benefits between all three Southwest credit cards here).

Important note: If you get both business cards, you must wait the 31 days between applications as mentioned above. However, if you get one business card and one personal card, you do not have to wait as Chase allows up to two cards in a month, provided they aren’t both business cards. You could even get them the same day.

Just be aware that if you do that, it’s likely that you’ll need to call Chase reconsideration to push the second one through.

The Math on Combining Southwest Credit Card Bonuses for Companion Pass X 2 Years

If you got the Southwest Performance Business Credit Card (for 80,000 points) and the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Credit Card, you would have 140,000 Companion Pass qualifying Rapid Rewards points after meeting minimum spend = earn the Companion Pass!

Or, combine the Southwest Performance Business Credit Card (80,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 in 3 months = 85,000 points including the points earned while meeting the minimum spend) plus any personal card (50,000 bonus points for $1,000 spend plus 1,000 points for meeting the minimum spend = 136,000 total Companion Pass qualifying points) to well more than meet your requirement to earn the Companion Pass! (And then some).

If you were short, you could boost your balance with things like Rapid Rewards dining, Rapid Rewards eShopping, and even Rapid Rewards hotels – but as you can see with the math above, that won’t be necessary for this Companion Pass strategy unless you only got one of the cards = earn the Companion Pass!

Alternatively, combine the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Credit Card (60,000 bonus points) plus any personal card base bonus (50,000 points) to get you CLOSE to 135,000 points (plus points for your spend), but you’ll need to earn 12,000 more Companion Pass points to qualify – so just get the Performance Business unless you already have it and that’s why you are getting the Premier Business.

All have annual fees (the Southwest Performance Business Credit Card‘s fee is $199 and then the lowest second card fee would be $69 for the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card).

For that reason I’d suggest that even if you’ll only hit the first bonus tier level, it still makes more sense to get the  Southwest Performance Business Credit Card with 80,000 Rapid Rewards points when you spend $5,000 in 3 months and then a personal card. That would net you more than enough qualifying points, achieving the Companion Pass with no other spend or flying!

Now, I know that got confusing, so let’s go step-by-step…

A Simple to Follow Plan to Earn the Southwest Companion Pass with Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit Cards

Step 1:

As soon as possible, apply for the Southwest Performance Business Credit Card so you can earn 80,000 points when you spend $5,000 within 3 months OR the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Credit Card, which is offering 60,000 bonus points when you spend $3,000 in 3 months.

If you aren’t eligible for a business card, you can grab 50,000 points (plus 1,000 from meeting minimum spend) off a personal card (51,000 total) and earn the balance from spend and flights, but you’d still need to earn 74,000 more CP qualifying points- so I urge you to read this post to see if you might actually be eligible for a Business credit card!

Step 2:

Then, depending on how long you’ll need to spend required amount for your bonus on the first card, apply for your second card, but I recommend waiting at least 31 days between applications (Chase rule!) if you get two business credit cards.

If you get a business and a personal, you don’t have to wait – but get the Business credit card first.

Again this can be any of the four other Southwest credit cards:

Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Credit Card (annual fee of $99, 60,000 bonus points when you spend $3,000 in 3 months) – OR the Southwest Performance Business Credit Card if you started with the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Credit Card.

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card

Sign Up Bonus Offer:

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card

Sign Up Bonus Offer:

Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card

Sign Up Bonus Offer:

Now, under the current bonus offers, if you get a Southwest Performance Business Credit and any of the personal credit cards, you’ll have enough points to earn Companion Pass through Dec 2024.

I’ll recommend that you bookmark this post and send yourself a calendar invite to remind yourself when you are due to apply for that second card.

NOTE: You used to be able to open two personal cards. Chase will no longer approve you for a second personal Southwest card. So, you may have heard that is a thing, but it’s no longer a thing….

Step 3:

Step 3 is to meet your minimum spends for the first (and second, if applicable) card anytime after January 1, 2023, though before your bonus offer period ends.  (If you are flying SW or otherwise earning SW points, those will add to your total in the year flown, so any flights in 2023 will reduce what you need.)

Once you meet it (both bonuses – after January 1st!!) and your next statement closes, those points will be in your Rapid Rewards account and you’ll earn the Companion Pass.

At that point, you’ll have the Companion Pass for nearly two full years.

If you have ANY questions, please ask me before you begin this Companion Pass strategy.

You don’t want to make a mistake. It’s always better to ask for clarification than to make a mistake here.

Once again, you cannot meet the minimum spend for the bonus on ANY cards in this strategy before January 2023. You can spend towards it, but don’t complete that spend until January. Don’t even cut it close

Please remember that if you want to support MilesTalk when you apply for your Southwest credit card, you can use our links here.

Questions?

Let me know below in the comments, on Twitter, or in the private MilesTalk Facebook group.

And if this post helped you, please consider sharing it!

You can find credit cards that best match your spending habits and bonus categories at Your Best Credit Cards. 

New to all of this? My “introduction to miles and points” book, MilesTalk: Live Your Wildest Travel Dreams Using Miles and Points is available on Amazon and at major booksellers.

Dave Grossman
https://milestalk.com
I got "in the game" in 2003 and since then I've collected literally millions and millions of frequent flyer miles and hotel points. I've flown around the world in first class seats that would cost $29,000 using frequent flyer miles and a few bucks in tax. And I've stayed in some of the finest hotels - all for free! A few years ago I realized many of my friends actually thought I was paying for these!! So I started sharing my tips. It's long been a passion, but when I hosted a session on Miles and Points at the South by Southwest festival, my love of the game intensified and this blog was born.

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150 COMMENTS

  1. Can I earn two companion passes at the same time? If I get the personal card and get the pass until 2022, can I also earn 125,000 points partially with the business card and earn a 2nd companion pass. Would this allow me to book 2 companions on one flight?

  2. Thanks for this article. So, say I want to get the c.p. starting early 2022, so I can have it until the end of 2023. Can I sign up for and meet my minimum on the performance business card in 2021, say around Aug or Sept., and then apply for the personal card in Oct./Nov. and meet the m.s. after Jan. 1, 2022 to get to the 125K points? Or do both cards min. spends need to be met in the same calendar year? Thanks!

    • So glad you are asking now, before starting 🙂 It’s the latter.

      You need to earn all 125k in one calendar year and then you earn it for that year and the following year. So if you want it for 2022/2023, you can’t complete the minimum spend on any cards until Jan 2022.

      You can apply for the first one late in the year and, for example, if the spend requirement was $5,000, you could spend $4,500 in December and then finish the requirement in January and then get the second card. That would maximize the CP.

  3. Hi Dave, I’m currently at 32,315 points. Is it possible to sign up for only the Performance Biz Card late in the year, and hit the 125,000 points in late December, but earn Companion Pass for 2022/2023? Trying to see if I can avoid signing up for two cards. Thanks!

  4. Hi Dave, I’m currently at 32,315 points. Is it possible to sign up for only the Performance Biz Card late in the year, and hit the 125,000 points in late December, but earn Companion Pass for 2022/2023? Trying to see if I can avoid signing up for two cards. Thanks!!

    • Unfortunately not! The points don’t rollover from year to year. So if you earn the bonus for the Performance in Jan 2022, those will count for the 2022/2023 CP timeframe, but what you have now will not….

  5. Hi Dave, I currently have 23,105 points. I also have the southwest plus card and added my husband,

    Can my husband apply for his own personal and business card to get the 125,000 points for the Companion Pass for Jan 2022? if not, what do you suggest. Thank you!

    • Hi Maritza,

      To be clear your accumulated points only count towards CP if earned in the current year.

      Being a user on your card has no impact on his ability to get CP as you describe with two cards. Just make sure he’s under 5/24 and note that if he is 4/24 then you’ll need to call Chase reconsideration after he gets auto-declined to have them manually not count that.

      But the direct answer is that he can absolutely get the cards and his own CP which if earned this year will be valid through Dec 2022.

      If his Rapid Rewards account was open in 2020, he only needs 100k points this year to qualify.

      Have him apply for the Biz card first. And please use the links in this post to apply 🙂

  6. Hi, Dave:
    Current program 40k points if signed up for a credit card by mid Sept. I am trying to get the companion fare based on personal card only, no business card. I wanted to confirm my understanding that if I sign up for the current program, I should be careful not to rack up the balance of 60k points from now till end of Dec (taking into account the 25k gifted points) but instead defer spending till the first week of Jan for the last 5-10k points of the 60k points. Trying to understand the timing and taking advantage of the current program. Thank you.

    • Hi Veronica,

      Unfortunately not. You need to earn the full amount of qualifying points in one year. 100k this year or (presumably) the normal 125k again next year.

      If you already have 40k, you could get one card and get CP for the rest of this year and all of next year.

      Or, if you meet a bonus in Jan 2022, you need to get the remainder in 2022 to have through 2023. Hope that makes sense!

  7. Hi Dave,
    If I am not getting a new SW card for this strategy (I have about 100k points just from expenses and rapid rewards alone) and hit my 125K points in 2021, does that mean I only have 2022 to use my companion pass?

  8. Hi Dave!
    I just got the business card, and 80,000 points. So now I am debating getting a personal card. I know you speak of calendar year, will I need to hit the 125,000 points before Dec2021?? I was hoping to qualify in Jan 20222 so that I could maximize the companion pass time.

    • Your points reset each calendar year. So you have 80,000 points now and need 20,000 more (assuming you had your SW RR account open last year) to get Companions Pass now through Dec 31, 2022. The requirement was reduced for 2021 only.

      If you didn’t get more points until January 2022, your balance would have reset to zero on Jan 1, 2022. So you’d then need 125,000 points total in 2022 to have CP through Dec 2023.

      In short, no, that won’t work 😉

  9. Hi Dave,
    So just clarifying, if I want to earn the CP for 2022 and 2023, I just need to get 125k points posted in January 2022 from a SW business card promo and SW personal card promo then come end of 2023, to get it for 2024 and 2025, need to open again SW business card and SW personal card 125k points and post in 2024. Rinse and repeat, assuming SW doesn’t change anything and following chase’s 5/24 rule.

    • Hi Mark, Yes, that basically sums it up. You can’t have the same card at the time you apply nor can you have received a bonus in the past 24 months. In the case of the personal cards, this means any other personal card (you can only have one personal SW card). The business cards are each considered unique and you can have either – or both!

      So, to get CP for 2023, you could apply for one biz and one personal in late 2021, just being careful to not hit the spend until early January 2022. I always advise the business card first since the bonus is bigger.

  10. Hi Dave,
    Why do you say to get the business card first? Before reading this, I had already applied for the personal card (with the new 50k + 50k bonus points). I plan to do all $12k spend in January 2022 to get my 100k bonus points. Can I still add on a business card to get the final 25k points? Any other suggestions?
    Thank you so much!

    • Hey Kaci. Two reasons: 1) Business card doesn’t count towards 5/24 so if someone is 4/24 (and maybe doesn’t even know it) that card won’t have any effect. 2) The business spend level is much higher, so you can get a jump start on that first. With the personal card just $2k would “accidentally” trigger that first bonus. If you applied now, you only have three weeks in January to put the first $2k on your personal card before that part of your bonus tier ends, though you do have 12 months for the full $12k.

      So that’s why 🙂 But certainly you can work it the way you are no problem – just be very careful on your spend dates and bonus offer end dates.

  11. Hi Dave, thanks for this post. I want to open the Business Card (already have a personal SW card). I like to pay off credit card amounts when the statements come due – so my question is: do I open a business card now and start spending on it (being careful not to hit the $5k mark until Jan 2022) or do I wait until Jan 2022? I’m confused as to when the points would be awarded.

    • Yep! As long as you don’t cross that bonus threshold before Jan 1, 2022 you are golden 🙂

      So you could spend $4,500 this year and the rest in January.

      Please do remember to click to the application via a link in this post to support MilesTalk:)

  12. Hi Dave,
    After reading others’ comments and responses I’m still confused. I’m debating applying for a business card and personal card to earn the CP. If I apply now and receive cards before 2022, I’m not sure if I should work towards the CP using the cards. In some posts you say that any points that are accrued for the purpose of a CP need to be be accrued during the calendar year I want the pass in. So, If I’m shooting for the 2022 to 2023 pass by earning points in Jan and Feb, I should NOT use my cards until January 2022 because if I use them before, the points will NOT count for a CP in 2022 to 2023. Is that correct? In other posts you replied one could use a card in Dec. for say 4,500 being careful NOT to hit sign up bonus unitl after January 1st 2022. So, which is it? Do points earned in Nov/Dec 2021 count towards a SUB that one meets in Jan 2022? Or does one have to wait to earn all and any points for a CP to be used in 2022 and 2023 in Jan. 2022?

    • Hi Marianne! I think I probably need to clarify in the post a bit – and I will edit it! – but meanwhile, it’s a great question to clarify.

      The idea is that you don’t want to cross any spend thresholds that award the signup bonus points before Jan 2022. So, if you got a business card with the $5,000 in spend, you could definitely apply now, spend $4,500 before Dec 31, $500 in January and you’d get the bonus in January. The only points that would go to 2021 in this situation are the 4,500 (or less depending on statement close date) points from spend.

      I think what has made this confusing is the changing bonus offers and that the personal cards right now have the two tier bonus and the first tier is only $2,000 – meaning that it makes sense to apply for a personal one closer to the end of the year since it’s such a small amount for the first threshold.

      To be extra clear – the bonus points will post after you reach that threshold AND the statement closes, so if you apply now for the Business card and spend $2,000 in Nov, $2,000 in Dec and $2,000 in January, you would get 4,000 points in 2021 and the full 80,000 sign up bonus points in 2022 – counting towards your 2022/2023 pass.

      Please let me know if at all still unclear 🙂

  13. My wife and I failed to achieve Companion Pass status the first time we tried this and are considering trying again. She got the card last time, and I will this time. Does it make the most sense to cancel her card and face any credit score related repercussions for that?

    • She doesn’t ‘need’ to cancel her card for you to get one. She can, of course, if she’s had it over a year.

      The credit considerations are 1) is this her oldest card(probably not!) and 2) does it have a large credit line? Losing the credit line can affect her score due to a lower total line and the same utilization (higher %). If it’s significant she can move it onto another Chase card before closing it. If it’s small, like $5k, it won’t matter much.

  14. Hi Dave,

    Thanks for this awesome post! I was just approved with the 100k signup bonus. I’ve got some big purchases coming up next month, so I’m trying to time it right.

    I haven’t got a statement yet, but it’s showing a payment due date of December 23 (for $0 of course, cause I just opened it 11/5.)

    At what point can I spend and have it credit towards 2022? Is it best to wait until January to put any spend on to be safe, or does it just need to be on a statement that would close in January (and if so, what would that cutoff date be)?

    In particular, I’m looking to book an expensive hotel room that would put me near the $2k threshold for the 50k bonus. If I were to reserve it now and it weren’t charged until January, would I be safe?

    • Hey Sergio. You are safe to reserve a reservation as long as you know it’s not prepaid. The booking itself won’t impact anything. You just want to be sure to not hit that first $2,000 until January. You could put say $1,500 on now no problem, just don’t get “close” to $2,000 as sometimes people misjudge and go a drop over accidentally and then it’s too late. Once your December statement has closed, you are safe 🙂

  15. Hi Dave,
    How do you define the “December Statement”? Specifically, I have my next closing date as December 2nd. I assume that is technically my November statement? I assume then my next statement would close January 2nd….

    In my scenario, would I be safe to spend that $2k between December 2nd and January 2nd, or do I need to make sure the charges don’t hit until after January 2nd? I only have until January 20th to earn.

    • Hi Jenna,

      That is correct – MOSTLY 😉 Meaning that statement close dates are normally a fixed number of days apart and shift a bit each month. So once your Dec 2 statement closes, wait a day for Chase to show you your next statement close date. Assuming that is in January, you then know you are good to go!

  16. Need some help!! I only need $2000 more points to get the companion pass, and I am trying to get it so that I have it for 2 years. Southwest agent said I need to get the points by 12/24/2021 as the 24th is when Chase posts to my account but that would mean I would only get the companion pass for 1 year, right? How do I do this to get the pass for both 2022 and 2023? Guess I am having a hard time figuring this out by what I am reading on line–would appreciate any help 🙂
    thank you!
    Christine

    • Hi Christine,

      The points only count in the year earned for the year earned. Anything that you have earned in 2021 will only count towards a 2021/2022 Companion Pass.

      On January 1st, the year will start over and anything you earned this year is wiped away.

      So, if you are saying that you are at 98,000 CP points (remember it was reduced for 2021 only to 100,000 points instead of 125,000), then the agent was correct that you need to earn 2,000 more before your statement closes. If your statement closes on Dec 24th, spend after that date will post in January and count for 2022.

      To get the Companion Pass for 2022, you need to apply for a new card or cards and not earn any bonuses from the new cards until January’s statement date. Of course, it sounds like you already have a card so that may not work. You’ll need 125,000 Companion Pass qualifying points to earn it in 2022.

      So, if you already have the 98,000 points in 2021, you should earn the 2,000 more ASAP since if you don’t by the end of the year, you’ll have no Companion Pass AND the points will all be wiped away leaving you to start over.

  17. So i was thinking about this strategy but the T’s and C’s of the Credit card agreements state that bonus points dont count toward A-list or companion pass.

    “Companion Pass:
    Companion Pass qualifying points are earned from revenue flights booked through Southwest®, points earned on Rapid Rewards® Credit Cards, and base points earned from Rapid Rewards® partners. The following do not count as Companion Pass qualifying points: purchased points; points transferred between Members; points converted from hotel and car loyalty programs, e-Rewards®, Valued Opinions, and Diners Club®; points earned from Rapid Rewards program enrollment, tier bonus points; flight bonus points; and partner bonus points (with the exception of the Rapid Rewards Credit Cards from Chase). No points or Companion Pass qualifying points will be awarded for flights taken by the Companion using the Companion Pass. Points earned during a billing cycle on a Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Credit Card from Chase are not available for redemption or qualification for Companion Pass status until they are posted on your billing statement and posted to your Rapid Rewards Account. Only points posted on your billing statements and posted to your Rapid Rewards account during the same calendar year are available for qualification for Companion Pass status. For example, if you make a purchase after your December billing statement cycle date, the points on those purchases will not count toward Companion Pass status in the year the purchase was made; they will appear on your January billing statement and post to your Rapid Rewards Account in January.”

    • Hey Ahmad! I *totally* get the confusion here, but this is not a new page nor an extension. It’s the 2021 qualification for a 2022 Companion Pass. The pass you earn in 2021 and is valid through 2022 is called a 2022 Companion Pass.

      In short, it will reset as normal unless they announce anything new.

  19. Great post Dave! Your post says you can get bonus points from both business cards. I’ve read here and there that you can only have one Southwest business card at a time. Have you had confirmation that you can in fact apply to both, get approved for both and claim the bonus reward after the specified spend amounts?

  20. Hi Dave, I am thinking of applying for both business cards to get the companion pass for 2022 and 2023. It’s Jan 3 right now. Is it too late?

    • No, it’s still perfect timing. You need to wait 32 days in between business cards though. I advise doing the Performance first due to the larger bonus just in case you aren’t approved for the Premier (the second one (not super likely but possible). You could also do one business and one personal (those can be done the same month but do the business first in that case).

      Please consider supporting MilesTalk by using these links: https://yourbestcreditcards.com/category/southwest-airlines-credit-cards?ccid=cpguidec

      • Hi Dave. Can you explain the rationale for the 32 days? If I apply before then, will I be automatically denied? If I apply before then and am denied, can I apply again at the 32 day mark?

        • Hi Ed, Chase has a 2/30 rule which is 2 total cards within 30 days, however the limit is one business card per 30 days. That’s why you could do one biz and one personal now, or do the two business cards a month apart. I say 32 days to be “safe” but the rule is 30 days.

          You’d be auto rejected but still (probably) suffer a hard inquiry so I wouldn’t risk it.

  21. Hi Dave, I feel like a a tad late to the show. Would it still be possible to qualify for 2022 and 2023 companion pass if I apply for cards now? Thank you for all your info.

  23. Hi Dave! I’m new to the game and so thankful to come across your article. It’s super insightful! I applied for the Priority Card this month and have been approved. I get a free CP through February 28, 2023 (after meeting the requirements). How would you suggest for me to maximize my spending and opening credit cards to have CP for the longest duration possible?

  24. Hi Dave! Trying to figure out a way to have our two kids “fly free” to California this summer. Is it possible that both he and I get companion passes? My husband already applied for the 5k in 3 mo business card. What should I do? Not sure we will spend so much to open my own business card. Should I just go personal? Just a little unsure after reading this helpful post already 2x. Thanks!

    • Hey Sara. YES, you and hour husband (Player 2) can definitely each get Companion Pass and fly 4 for the price of 2! If your husband has the business card now, he’ll want to get the personal card to get over the 125,000 hump.

      You would also need to get a business card and a personal card as that is really the only way to get the “big points”. Offers are here: https://yourbestcreditcards.com/category/southwest-airlines-credit-cards

      If you can’t make the spend normally, think if there is anything you can either prepay or maybe you have some taxes you can put on a card? We can try and help you be creative in our Facebook group 🙂

      • Woo hoo! You’re a wealth of information. 🙂 Thanks! I just got approved for the business via phone call follow up. Is it too early to apply for the personal cc?

        • If you can make the spend on both cards at the same time, sure. You may well have to call to push the second app through as well. But you are allowed a business and personal card within the same 30 day period.

          • Ok thanks! I will monitor my spend. I think we may be able to do it. Yeah I forgot about that credit freeze I had installed. 🙂

  25. Hi, I just got a invite to sign up SW rapid rewards performance business card with up to 120,000 points if spend $20,000 within 6 months. I was hoping to use your strategy to earn enough points on January 2023 so I’ll have companion pass thru December 2024 (almost 2 years). But I read the small print on the back of application, “Only points posted on your billing statements and posted to your Rapid Rewards account during the same calendar year are available for qualification for Companion Pass status”. Is this a new rule change? Does that mean I have to earn all the 125,000 points in the same calendar year not half in 2022 and half in 2023?

    • That’s correct. The CP points clock resets Jan 1. So if you earned 120,000 this year and 5,000 next year, you would not have CP either year. The ideal time to start working towards CP is at the end of a year, finishing the spend that earns the card bonus the beginning of the following year, to get two full years.

  26. Dave,

    Do you think there is a way for my husband and myself to get two companion passes using our business and a personal card each. We have just recently bought vacation home in Florida and want to maximize it so we can use companion passes on each other and also on our children

    • Yes, I would just probably get a different mix of cards on the business – i.e. you get the Premier and he gets the Performance. And wait for a 60k+ offer on the personal cards.

      (That said, we are already in August so I would wait to follow the above strategy end of year so you both qualify in January… that will give you two full years.)

  27. Hello Dave – I am confused. We signed up for a SW personal card and received a CP but in May – they just informed me that the pass expires in Feb 2023 so we did not receive even a year from it? What did we do wrong?

  28. Dave,

    Can I sign up for the business credit card in December and just not finish spending the $5k for the intro bonus points until January? All of those points would count in January, correct? Then I could sign up for the personal card in January and get the remainder of the points needed.

  29. Great info, thanks for the detailed explanation, Dave. Question, i opened the Chase Business and Chase personal cards 3 years ago (to get companion of course) and they are still active, can i cancel them and apply for new ones for the points? Thanks in advance!

  30. Hey Chris. Yes, you are eligible once it has been 24 months since your bonus, but yes you have to close the card. Note that you CAN get the business card you don’t currently have as the rule is you can only hold one personal card but can hold both business cards.

    If you close one or more, wait about 3 weeks before you apply for the new cards. Consider doing this Dec/Jan (don’t hit a bonus until January!!) for maximum CP time.

    Please consider using our links when you apply: https://yourbestcreditcards.com/category/southwest-airlines-credit-cards?ccid=cpguidec

    • Dave, I have the same question and you completely answered it. My question is: I opened the SW RR CC 2014. I didn’t know any better during my younger years about this miles/points. Will it hurt me to close it and reapply later on? It’s less than $5k so it won’t hurt my utilization. But will it hurt my score? It’s not my oldest card but it is 8 years old. I would like to maximize this CP next time. I’m thinking if I cancel, I can sign up for it Oct time frame, correct?

      • Clearly the credit limit won’t be affected, and with it not your oldest card it won’t affect your “length of credit” – but if you only have a couple from back then there could be a small hit to average age of account which could cause a small score hit. But it nuanced – if you had two cards from the 90s and that was one of them and then the rest are all 2020 and on, it will sting much more than if it’s just one of many over the years. Hope that answers that.

        As for part 2: Yes, you could cancel that and get a new one for max CP 🙂

  31. Hey, Dave! Thanks so much for the incredible insight. OK … I got one of those two-month promotional CPs last month, that will be effective from 1/4/2023 – 3/4/2023. I’ve also just applied for the Chase Business Card that awards 80,000 points after spending $5,000 (using your link, naturally). And I expect to get a personal card, as well, to easily exceed the required 125,000 points in early January. I understand that you can’t hold (or just use) to CPs at the same time. But do you know if Southwest will even award me the full two-year CP when I top 125K points in January, or is it possible the two-month promotional CP will block the full one?
    Thanks.

    • Hey David.

      I’m quite sure there would be no issue with a second earned companion pass, however, it appears you may have made a small (big) oversight. Companion Pass points reset yearly on Jan 1. So when I speak about the timing of getting bonuses in January to maximize two years, I mean that ALL bonuses have to be in January. Your 80,000 points will post before the end of this year, I’d assume, because if you already have the card, then 3 months is in 2022, not 2023. So those 80k would expire this year and a new card next year would be starting from scratch.

      Two things. What date did you apply? In practice Chase seems to allow you 115 days (despite saying 90) to complete the bonus spend. If perhaps you got to say day 110 on Jan 1st, you could complete spend that day and be fine. But if even that doesn’t help, you have to make a decision – either get the personal card this year and have 1 1/3 years of CP, or get the OTHER business card next year and make a fresh run with a personal card.

      Does that make sense? Hope the 115 day thing does the trick!

      • Geez… I didn’t think about the 3-month issue. I just applied yesterday, so I don’t have the card yet. Maybe I could reach out to them to delay approval of the card for a bit, if that’s possible.

        • Quick update: Chase couldn’t commit to delaying approval of my card application, so I just cancelled it. I’ll submit a new application in a month or so. (I realize this requires a second “hard inquiry” to my credit report, but that’s a small price to pay for my oversight.) Thanks again for the heads up, Dave, and the timely information.

  32. Geez… I didn’t think about the 3-month issue. I just applied yesterday, so I don’t have the card yet. Maybe I could reach out to them to delay approval of the card for a bit, if that’s possible.

  33. Dave – have you heard whether the Chase Performance card, with the 80,000-point offer, has been rescinded? I’m having trouble getting to the application online. It says the offer is no longer available.

      • So, I think I know what’s causing the online issue. I think it’s because they are updating their Companion Pass and credit card points structure. I just received an email from Southwest saying they are increasing the minimum points for the Companion Pass starting Jan. 1, 2023, to 135,000 points (or 100 qualifying one-way flights).

        At the same time they are awarding an additional 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points to anyone who holds a Southwest Rewards credit card. Cardholders will receive these 10K points each year as long as they hold at least one card. Only 10K points awarded regardless of how many additional cards one may hold.

  37. If I have the companion pass thru 2023 what do I need to do to start planning to get it in 2024? Do I need to close my card? Open a business instead of personal card? Can I get it with the spend without opening a new card??

    • Personally I would wait until the end of 2023. At that time you would either open two business cards or one biz and one personal. You’d need to first cancel any of the same type you already have (any Personal if you are getting a personal – business you can hold both.

      Of course you can also spend your way there but that would be $125,000 in spend 😉

  38. Hi Dave,
    I’m confused on your strategy. You mention if you want the companion pass for 2023/24, you should start now ( as of Oct 2022), but then you also say that points don’t carry over to the next year. So, if I apply and get the SW business card now (Oct 2022) and start earning points this year (2022), won’t I “lose” any accrued points (as well as the 80,000 point bonus) as of Dec 31.2022, and then have to start over in Jan 2023 ? Thank you

    • Glad you are asking before applying as this is the most crucial point!

      You can open the card now, you can spend on the card now, but you CANNOT meet the minimum spend requirement until January.

      Let’s say the bonus requires $5k spend. You can open the card and spend $4500 this year to not cut it too close.

      Then starting Jan 1 bang out the rest of the spend and get your 80k or whatever bonus points. Those will count toward 2023. The only ones you’d lose would be the few thousand from spend.

      Make sense?

      • Hi Dave,
        thanks for your response. I’m still a little confused because when i did this about a year ago before year end, I lost any points I gained and had to start at zero at beginning of the new year.
        I always thought you had to be approved and earn bonus same calendar year . In your example, if I spent $4500 this year (2022) towards the $5000 spend, would I lose the 4500 ? I dont want to get apprroved this year only to lose the chandce at a companion pass for 2023/24.
        Appreciate you explaining this again 🙂
        thank you !

        • OK I think I get what you are asking now. Yes, the very small amount of point you earn in statement cycles that close in 2022 will be gone come 2023. But using the two credit card strategy, those are not significant to having enough for Companion Pass 🙂 The tradeoff if you don’t spend $5,000 every few weeks is having less CP time early next year.

  40. Sorry if a repeat –
    1. Does having the CP Jan -Mar 2023 impact anything?
    2. If I already have a five yr old personal Chase SW I just cancelled does that impact?

  41. Thank you for all the great information. I opened both a business and personal card this month, so I can get the 80K and 75K bonus points. I know your article and the follow-up comments indicate to make sure you don’t spend all of the qualifying amounts ($5,000 and $3,000) until January 2023. If my billing statement runs from the 9th of the month until the 8th of the following month, would it be okay if I spend the final $5,000 and $3,000 after December 8, 2022? That billing cycle wouldn’t end until January 8, 2023. Are the amounts spent and points awarded based on the end of the billing cycle not on the actual date the final dollar was spent? If it takes up to 8 weeks for the bonus points to be credited to my account, I’d like that 8 week clock to start on January 9, 2023. Thanks again for your insight.

    • No, you don’t want to cross those spend thresholds before Jan 1. The reason is that although *generally* things post at the statement cycle close, they have ben known to sometimes post early. If you wind up with the bonus points in December, you’re screwed.

      You can put MOST of the spend on before Jan 1, but leave at least several hundred dollars to spend right after Jan 1 to cushion against user error.

      • Sounds good, thanks Dave! I overlooked the fact that it doesn’t speed the clock up if I spend the last dollar on December 9, 2022, or January 1, 2023…since the billing cycle closes on January 9, 2023 either way. I’ll definitely play it safe and spend the last $500 on each card in the first few days of January. Thanks again.

      • Hi Dave- would it be too late to try this? I hadn’t realized the guidance around waiting 32 days between opening cards. Would I be able to open a business card and a personal card between now (11/23) and 12/5 when the extra miles promotion ends, or would I not be able to open a business and personal card so close together?

        • It’s not too late. While you can’t open two business cards within 31 days, you CAN open both a business and a personal card within that timeframe. You may need to call Chase reconsideration on the second one to have it pushed through.

  42. Hi Dave the answer to my question is probably on this thread but I’m just going to ask for direct clarification. I currently have a companion pass that will be expiring Jan 23. I want to try to get one for the two years buy using the business card approach. So just to be clear I apply now for the business cards but I need to meet that spend threshold in January? If I go beyond January I won’t get the two years just the normal year pass right

    • If you apply for one business card now and another in 31 days (you can’t do two business cards in a month with Chase), you just make sure you don’t meet the minimum spend on either until after Jan 1st. Those bonuses will then count for 2023 and you will have CP from the day you qualify until the end of 2024. Hope that helps 🙂

  43. Doesn’t Southwest know people are doing this to get the CP without a lot of actual credit card spending? Maybe they don’t care. Seems odd to me.

  44. HI-
    I currently have 105k points (december 2022). I want to earn the pass in Jan 2023 in order to maximize the length in which I have the pass. I realize it resets in Jan.

    I opened both a biz and personal card and am hoping to use the welcome bonus to earn the pass asap. in January. I realize that I cannot meet the minimum spending requirement or else the welcome bonus will post in December and I will only have the pass for basically only dec 22 through dec 23–one year so that isn’t maximizing it.

    My question–if I accidentally hit 125k points in December, thereby earning the pass dec 22 through dec 23, do I earn another two years if I hit the 135K right away in January? Meaning it would overlap. How do they handle that?

    Also, if my closing date is dec 18th does that mean anything after that will post for January?

    • The most important concept to remember is that a Companion Pass earned this month expires Dec 2023 and a Companion Pass earned in January 2023 expires December 2024.

      If you get another 20k CP points in December, you would get CP through Dec 2023 only.

      If you then got both bonuses on the cards in January, you would earn 2 full years, but the first year would overlap with the one you already earned.

      It would seem that you are best off just making sure you hit your minimum spends on both cards after January 1.

      Do not rely on the statement closing date in December as a cutoff as people have met the spend in that timeframe and had Chase post the points early (even though that is not the expected behavior) so do not risk that. Leave at least a few hundred on each card for January so it’s not even close.

  45. hi dave,
    I got approved with business premier spend 3k get 60k and the personal rapid get 50k so thats only 110k points ( just a bummer because i applied before dec 5 so i cant earn the 75k points if spend 3k they just approve me so thats why only 50k points) do you know what else i need to do before jan 8 or jan 31 ok to earn CP? really want to earn pls help thanks

    • If you applied while the bonus offer was 75k, even if you were approved after it ended, you get the 75k. If you’re sure that’s when you applied, send Chase a secure message to confirm.

      • yes i did. i applied on nov 26 but they just approved my application on dec 9. hopefully they will reconsider it and give me my points. is that enough points or i read that if i waited after jan to spend some points will be remove? do you know how much? and can you also help when is the cutoff for the points to spend what is date in Jan? thanks for helping and sharing your knowledge to all of us.

        • Just confirm with them the 75k offer is on your account. It should be.

          You have three months from the date you were approved to meet the spend. Just be SURE to not spend the full bonus offer minimum spend amount until after January 1st, 2023 on either card.

  46. ok i will confirm. is that enough to get the CP?
    let’s just say we only only 50k plus 60k = 110k am i qualified to get 10k each anniversary? so i just need 5k to get? thanks

    • The 10k is awarded each year starting next year, which is when the requirement goes from 125,000 to 135,000.

      So if you hit bonuses in January for 60k + 50k (plus you’ll get the 10k card bonus) that is 120k out of 135k needed. You’ll also have the spend you do towards meeting the minimum spends count which is $3k for a Premier Business and $1k for a personal card so you would really be at 124k out of 125k.

      The easy solution is to get the Performance Business card instead, giving you 80k and a nice easy CP.

  47. Hi Dave,

    I want to make sure I’m doing this right. I applied for and was approved for the Business Performance card (80,000 points) and the Premier Personal card (50,000 points). I’m not worried about meeting the minimum spending requirements. Do I also earn extra RR points for the purchases as normal? Or are my purchases not accruing any RR on their own since they are going towards the New Card Bonus instead? Another way of saying it, am I earning 1,000 RR points for the $1,000 minimum spend for the Premier Personal card, in addition to the 50,000 new card bonus?

    And I do NOT want to meet these minimums in December. I want to wait until January 1. My strategy is to almost not touch the card and load it with large purchases on Jan 1 to meet the minimums. One of these purchases is a flight to Maui for 3 people that I plan on using the business card to purchase since the points are 4x.

    The opening bonus of 130,000 points plus the 10,000 CP points added on Jan 31 should do the trick to have CP for 2023/2024 correct?

    Do you have an article on the best way to meet the CP requirements each year thereafter? I have a spreadsheet outlining the anniversary points/CP annual boost, etc. I might be out of luck and looking at spending $8k monthly roughly to meet it each year.

    • You have it all right. Your purchases do earn RR points. Hitting that 50,000 point bonus with $1k in spend means you earn 51,000 CP qualifying points and 51,000 redeemable RR points.

      Correct on meeting both spend thresholds in January.

      No article for the last thing – but some do close out and get a new SW card set sometime after the two years. You can also hold both business cards so if you could get 65k organically, you could just add SW Biz Premier in year 3.

  48. Hi Dave,
    I already have a Chase Southwest Premier credit card that I used to earn companion pass for 2021/2022. If I want to earn it again for 2023/2024, can I close my current card and open a new one? Can it be the same card type (premier), or do I need to go with a different one? Thanks!

  49. Hey Dave, would love your insight on my situation:

    -I am at 110K CP points for the 2022 year. I am trying to earn CP again for the 2023 year
    -My official statement date is the 4th (so December 4th, January 4th, etc)
    -If I book a hotel today (Dec. 19th), there is an offer that would put me above the 125K threshhold. Will those points count towards the 110K I already have? Or since my December statement has already passed, will they just go towards my new 135K point goal come Jan 2023?

    Thanks!

    • Hi Jake. If you want CP for 2022-2023, you need 15k more CP points before Dec 31st. Credit card spending, while it CAN sometimes hit in the month spent, is more likely to post the Companion Pass points on the statement close date. So it’s LIKELY that any spend between now and Dec 31 would post to 2023, where you will be starting over with 0 points.

      Hotel: This is completely independent of the credit card. If you are booking via Southwest’s hotel portal, the points will post within 4-6 weeks of checkout, but generally in around 3 days. But it’s not guaranteed.

  50. Hi Dave,
    I made the mistake of going over on one of my cards with a purchase. I canceled the purchase immediately but it still posted and the refund posted a day later and the points posted to my rapid rewards account on SouthWest. Am I better off hitting the bonus on my second card to get the companion pass 2022/2023 as I understand the points I have now won’t count towards getting the companion pass in 2023 once the new year starts. Is that correct? So I would either have to hit another bonus in 2023 on a new card and the second card I have to get the companion pass 2023/2024. And I would still have the 80k points to spend on flights.

    Or am I just better off getting the pass for 2022/2023 and trying again at the end of 2023 for 2024/2025?

    • Hi Sky. Unfortunately you are in a bit of a pickle now. Assuming the statement date of your other card is in January, we won’t even know right away which year it would post to if you did that. What card have you not hit the bonus on yet? If you don’t have one of the two business cards, you could get teh second business card next year to salvage two years of CP.

  51. Thanks for the quick response! Yes the other card’s statement date is in Mid January
    The one I accidentally got the points for was the Performance Business Card, the 80k points. The other card I’m holding off on is the Rapid Rewards Plus card, 50k points.

    So it seems like the best bet would be to go for the other business card, so it would be 60k + 50k in 2023? Then either earn the rest of the points or go for the other personal card if that’s an option for the 50k?

    I assume I keep the 80k it just doesn’t count towards the companion pass, so it’s not completely wasted?

    Another question I had was closing certain cards, I assume it’s fine after the rewards post unless I want the other benefits of the specific card? Just wanted to make sure!

    Thank you for your help so far!

    • A) Yes, you’d have 110K + the 10K auto from having the card = 120k and need 15k more next year if you got the Business Premier.

      B) You cannot get a second personal SW card.

      C) You must wait at least 365 days before closing any credit card, ever and always!

      D) You can earn a new SW bonus only 24 months after you least earned a bonus. In the case of SW, that is once per 24 months for any personal card (they count as one) and then for each business card. And you cannot currently hold the card when you reapply.

      E) Yes, you will still have 80k RR points from the first business card.

  52. Hi Dave,

    Great article! I have a SW personal and Business that I am trying to hit the spending on. One card is basically done, it will close on 1/14. The other card closes on 1/26. How soon after that closing will 1) points post, 2) Companion pass show up, and 3) I be able to book a companion? I’m flying on 2/5 so considering booking my own ticket with points/$$ and then just adding the companion as soon as I can.

    Is this likely to work, or am I going to be out of luck because it’s too close?

  53. hi dave
    “ Once you meet it (both bonuses – after January 1st!!) and your next statement closes, those points will be in your Rapid Rewards account and you’ll earn the Companion Pass.”

    when you said and your next statement closes is that mean this january?
    I am just worried because i opened B and P cards on November if i have 3 months to spend 3k each let says february i can do it you think i am still qualified for 2yrs CP?

    do i have to hit the bonus before the closing date this month in order to get the companion pass (2yrs) or i have 2 more months to use the card to spend 3k each cards.

  54. Jan 1 is just the *earliest* you can hit your minimum spend. As long as you meet it by the terms of your offer (sounds like sometime in Feb), you will get CP from that time through Dec 2024.

  55. Thanks for all the detailed info! Opened a SW personal end of Dec 2022, reached 78k points mid Jan–seemed a straightforward process. Opening a SW business card to get the bonus is my only option to quickly get CP? This part seems a little more confusing, esp about any date requirements & wondering if I’d get bonus since I already got bonus on the personal account.

  56. Dave ,
    I just got my 60k points available on jan 24(business) (closing jan 24) and 75k on feb 3 (personal) (closing date feb 4) but per your article CP “ If you were to earn the Companion Pass on January 15th, 2023,” am
    i too late for 2yrs CP?

  57. Hi,
    I followed this down to every detail and earned the companion pass this year. All my cc posted in 2023.

    However, my CP validity says it valid through 12/31/2023 not 12/31/2024, which is not what I was expecting. What am I missing?!

  58. I applied for the 30,000 pts companion pass (Feb 2024). However, can I still apply for the business card and hit the 135k pts and get the companion pass to extend end of 2024?

  59. Hi Dave,
    I want to get the companion pass for this year and next. Does the current Southwest promotion through 3/13/23 that offers the companion pass through 2/24 cause any problems with your two card strategy? This is my first time getting into points/rewards. Just don’t want to make a mistake. Thanks so much!

    • It will have no impact other than you get less points so that’s more to hit the 135k. But you can totally get this offer and then a Performance card and get to 103k and you’ll have it through 2024 🙂

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