Update: This offer shows an expiration date of 9/16/24 on the Chase website. If true, that means you could get a companion pass for two years by waiting to apply until mid-September and changing the statement date to the first of the month (this would cause points earned to show up in December in January). This would allow you to complete the first three months of spending after December 1, so the first 60,000 or 80,000 points should be awarded on January 1, 2025, counting toward CP qualification for 2025 instead of 2024. This would allow you to earn the full 120,000 points. in 2025, the pass obtained would therefore be valid for the entire year 2025 AND 2026. (h/t: reader Daniel)
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Both Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Business cards have new welcome offers that could be very attractive provided you can meet the minimum spending requirements: Each allows you to potentially earn a Southwest Companion Pass with just one card.
Complete Guide to the Southwest Companion Pass
Key Card Offers and Details
| Card offer and details |
|---|
 60,000 points after $3,000 in total spending in the first 3 months and an additional 60,000 points after $15,000 in total spending in the first 9 months.$99 annual fee Win rate: 3X Southwest ✦ 2X Rapid Rewards(R) hotel and automotive partners ✦ 2X carpooling ✦ 1X on all other purchases. Card information: Visa issued by Chase. This card does not incur foreign currency conversion fees. Big spending bonus: If you earn 135,000 points in a calendar year, you will earn a companion pass good for the remainder of that calendar year and the entire following year ✦ Earn 1,500 TQP for every $10,000 in purchases Remarkable advantages: 6,000 bonus points each year upon card renewal. 2 EarlyBird registrations each year. 10,000 Companion Pass qualification points each year. |
| Card offer and details |
|---|
 80,000 points after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months and an additional 40,000 points after spending $15,000 in the first 9 months.Annual fee of $199 Win rate: 4X Southwest ✦ 3X Rapid Rewards(R) Hotel and Auto Partners ✦ 2X Rideshare ✦ 2X Social Media, Search, Internet, Cable and Phone Advertising ✦ 1X on all other purchases. Card information: Visa Signature issued by Chase. This card does not incur foreign currency conversion fees. Big spending bonus: If you earn 135,000 points in a calendar year, you’ll get a Companion Pass valid for the remainder of that calendar year and the entire following year ✦ Earn 1,500 TQP for every $5,000 in purchases Notable advantages: 9,000 bonus points each year when renewing the card ✦ 4 upgraded boardings per year subject to availability ✦ Global Entry credit or TSA Pre✔ Fee ✦ Up to 365 in-flight WiFi credits ✦ 10,000 points eligible for the Companion Pass each year . |
Quick thoughts
These are great deals that match the highest we’ve seen on Southwest business cards.
Each comes in a two-tier format: 80,000 or 60,000 Rapid Rewards points after spending $5,000/$3,000 within 3 months, with the remainder of the bonus points awarded after reaching a total of $15,000 in spending within 9 months of opening the card. The return per dollar is much better for the first tier, representing a 16-20x return on top of your regular points earnings, compared to just 4-5x for the next $10-12,000. That said, many people will be interested in spending the full $15,000, since that’s enough to get you a Southwest Companion Pass.
To earn a pass, Southwest credit cardholders must earn 125,000 Companion Pass-eligible Rapid Rewards points. in a calendar year. If you reach the full $15,000 in 2024, you’ll get a Companion Pass for the rest of 2024 and all of 2025 when you combine the bonus points from the welcome offer with the extra points you earn from real-world spending. It’s a pretty sweet deal, though how effective it is depends on how quickly you can meet that spending requirement. If you don’t reach $15,000 by the end of the year, you may only have 13 months to take advantage of the pass.
Also note that while the deals allow for nine months to make the $15,000 spend, to get a Companion Pass you need to earn the full 125,000 points. during a calendar yearIf you were to take the full nine months to reach the full $15,000 spent, that second tranche of points would be awarded in 2025…which would apply to a 2026 Companion Pass.
If you go from 0 to $125,000 and need to post all points in 2024, you will need to finalize the entire $15,000 in expenses before your December statement closes, which is approximately 6 months. That works out to about $2,500 in expenses per month, which is probably doable for most people.
Traditionally, the best time to open Southwest Airlines credit cards is after October 1 due to the ability to time spending needs and earn bonus points after January 1, guaranteeing a Companion Pass for almost 2 full years. Welcome offers on these cards wax and wane throughout the year, but historically range between 40,000 points and 100,000 points, meaning it’s often possible to earn enough points for a companion pass, or very close, opening one or two credits. cards and meet minimum spending requirements in early January.
So while these great deals are simpler (because you can earn a pass with just one card), it’s worth considering whether it’s a better idea to go for 13-18 Companion Pass now or take a chance its chance to get two cards approved later in the year for 23 to 24 months of companion joy.
Chase App Tips
- 24/5 rule: It is very likely that your new card will not be approved if you have opened 5 or more cards (with any bank) in the last 24 months. Most business cards do not count towards this total of five cards.
- 24 month rule: If you already had a card before, you can only benefit from a welcome offer on this card again if you no longer have the card AND if more than 24 months have passed since the last time you received a welcome offer for this card. This rule does not apply to Sapphire Preferred and Reserve cards (see below). There may be exceptions with certain business cards.
- 48 month rule: If you previously owned the Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve card, you can benefit from the welcome offer for another Sapphire card only if you no longer have either card AND if more than 48 months have passed since your last welcome offer for the card.
- “Family” Rules: In addition to the 48-month rule for Sapphire cards, Chase applies additional “family” rules to Southwest cards. You are not eligible for the welcome offer on a card staff Southwest Card if you currently have one or have received a welcome offer on a personal Southwest Card in the last 24 months. This doesn’t applies to business cards.
- 2 per month Rule: Most applicants are limited to 2 new cards per month.
- Marriott Cards: Approval for a Marriott card is governed by a complex set of unintuitive rules. You can view the full eligibility chart here.
- Card Limitations:Chase doesn’t have a hard limit on the number of cards you can have, but it does have limits on the total amount of credit it will give you across all cards. For this reason, it can sometimes be worth reconsidering by transferring credit from an existing card to the new card you want.
- Application status: Call (888) 338-2586 to check the status of your application.
- Review:If denied, call (888) 270-2127 for personal cards or (800) 453-9719 for business cards and request that your application be reconsidered.
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