![]() Southwest credit cards can help you earn a Companion Pass. Related: How to use the Southwest Companion Pass Southwest credit cards ![]() With that in mind, here's a rundown of three strategies. Know, though, that you could miss earning the pass entirely if you don't time it correctly. As soon as your December statement closes, begin spending to reach those thresholdsĭoing this will ensure that any bonuses you earn will be posted to your Rapid Rewards account early in the following year - and thus count toward next year's qualification.Do not reach any minimum spending requirements until after your December statement closes.Open a new Southwest credit card (or two) sometime in November.In a nutshell, here's the best strategy to earn a traditional Companion Pass: Purchased points, flight bonus points and points transferred from hotel and car loyalty programs don't count. If you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve or the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and were hoping to transfer your points to earn the Companion Pass, you're out of luck. The first is any transfer from Chase Ultimate Rewards. However, many things do not count toward earning the Companion Pass. Shopping and dining partners, including Rapid Rewards Dining.Rapid Rewards credit cards, including sign-up bonuses.The Companion Pass page on Southwest's website provides some examples of partner activity that will count toward qualification: Where things get a bit trickier is the "base points earned from Rapid Rewards partners" verbiage. Here's how Southwest defines points that will count: Companion Pass qualifying points are earned from revenue flights booked through Southwest®, points earned on Southwest Rapid Rewards® Credit Cards, and base points earned from Rapid Rewards® partners.Īs you can see, all revenue flights booked on Southwest will count toward earning the Companion Pass, as will points earned on Southwest's cobranded credit cards. It's important to note that not all Rapid Rewards points count toward the 135,000-point requirement. So what are qualifying points for earning the Companion Pass? If you time it correctly, that could be nearly two years of BOGO privileges. Plus, the Companion Pass has an impressive shelf life: It's valid through the end of the year in which you earn it, as well as the entire year that follows. That sounds like a lot, but considering the mountains of points available from Southwest Airlines credit card bonuses, it's not as difficult as it initially seems. SUMMER HULL/THE POINTS GUYĮarning the Companion Pass requires accruing 135,000 qualifying points or taking 100 qualifying one-way flights in a calendar year. You can designate one person, such as your child, as your companion. Over the last several years, Southwest has expanded to (and within) Hawaii and added short-haul international flights. Remember, you're not limited to flights within the lower 48 states. TPG values Southwest points at 1.4 cents each, but earning the Companion Pass can effectively double the value of your points (or cash) when flying on Southwest using the pass. It even applies to award tickets, allowing you to redeem Southwest Rapid Rewards points for yourself and bring your companion without using additional points. Even if you were to fly every day of the year, your companion could come with you for just the cost of taxes and fees. However, the magic of the Southwest Companion Pass is that you can use it as many times as you want until the pass expires. Many credit cards offer some form of a single-use companion fare, allowing you to bring a travel companion at a heavily discounted rate. The ability to bring along a travel companion for nearly free is not unique to Southwest. You could be boarding a Southwest plane with your companion soon.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |