I't’s The Perfect Time of Year to Start Your Journey Toward the Southwest Companion Pass, and Here’s How You Do It!
We are officially entering our seventh year of holding the coveted Southwest Airlines companion pass. In case you’re living under a rock, let me explain. Everywhere my husband flies with Southwest, he can add me on for free. Yep, you heard me right. All we pay are the taxes, which are only $5.60 per way for domestic flights.
This is definitely not the easiest thing to obtain, but I’m here to help you figure out how to get there because it might be the most life changing thing on the planet if you’re a travel lover like me. Southwest is the only airline to offer this perk and if they ever take it away, you’ll find me in mourning for weeks.
Being his “companion” is my greatest joy.. lol
There are two ways you can get to companion pass status: either earn 135,000 qualifying Southwest points or fly 100 qualifying one way flights. Both options need to be done within one calendar year, so the beginning of the year is the perfect time to start this journey! I will say, getting the points is a lot easier than the flights unless you or your spouse travels weekly for work!
Here are the steps you need to take in order to start earning those BOGO flights:
1.Open up a Southwest credit card
This is the most obvious way to begin your journey toward companion pass. When you are a new cardholder with Southwest, you get tons of bonus points for opening up a credit card with them as long as you spend a certain amount of money within the first 3 months. (It's not hard to do!) When we first opened up a business card with them, the bonus was 70,000 points after spending $5k in the first 3 months. Yes, you heard that right. If you don't have a business you can open a regular card with them and get up to 40,000 points (depending on which card you get) and it’s still a great way to start!
The key is to begin this process at the beginning of the year so you have enough time to get to 135,000 points before the year is up! Your qualifying companion pass points go back to zero once January hits again.
However, one thing to know: The sooner you get there, the better. For example, if you hit companion pass in July of this year, you’ll have it for the rest of 2026 and all of 2027!
Click here to open up a SW card (that’s my referral link- thanks love ya mean it!)
2. Never Use Your Debit Card Again
I am not sure why anyone uses a debit card anymore considering all the different rewards that are offered by credit cards these days. From cash back to airline miles to hotel points, the credit card perks are so great that it doesn't make sense to swipe a debit card for anything ever. You’re truly leaving so much free travel on the table if you use a debit card.
I was frightened to attempt this credit card life at first, but in the beginning we decided to be super diligent about paying it off and would make a payemnt once or twice a week in order to keep our balance at zero. Every single bill (except our mortgage of course) and every purchase should go to your new Southwest card. You'd be surprised how quickly the points add up, even if you're not a huge spender!
Pro tip: Make sure you and your spouse each have a card linked to this new account so all of your household spending goes toward the one account!
3. Book Your Next Hotel Through Southwest
I am someone who is constantly researching where to travel to next and am always looking for a deal, so one day I decided to click the "Book a Hotel" link on Southwest's website just to see if they had any great offers. Well it turns out there are certain properties in basically every single city that offer extra Southwest points when you book with them. The amount of points depends on the location and length of your stay.
Four months after we first got our Southwest card, we drove down to Gulf Shores, AL on a whim for a change of scenery. I found an absolutely stunning property through Southwest called The Lodge at Gulf State Park and it advertised that a three night's stay in an oceanfront room would reward us an additional 14,000 Southwest points. Insane! It was a little more pricey than we would've liked to pay for a hotel in Alabama but it was totally worth it for the amount of points we were getting, and for the view from our room!
A week after returning, Jordan got an email saying "Congratulations. You just earned 14,000 Southwest points.." so I grabbed his phone and pulled up his Southwest app. I squealed with excitement when I saw that the bonus hotel points did indeed count toward our companion pass and that’s what got us to the number of points we needed to get there!
Disclaimer: We did this several years ago, so I just checked the Southwest website and they now advertise that hotel points count toward companion pass so I can confidently tell you this will still work!
And there you have it, folks! This is going to be the best way to start your journey toward getting 2 for 1 flights! Let me know if you have any questions. I’m happy to help! Now go open up that Southwest card already! :)
