Hey, how's it going everyone? It's Ernest from Trip Astute. In this video, we're
discussing the Southwest Companion Pass, how it works, and some tips to consider
if you're pursuing it. This is going to be an interesting video today for one
exciting reason. I actually recorded it earlier this week and then on Thursday,
the day before the video release, I found out that there's a new and limited
promotion for the Southwest Companion Pass offered by Chase. So I had to make
some edits to the video at the last minute. I also got a haircut on Thursday
morning, so you might notice that I look a little bit different in parts of the
video. Hopefully it all works out. While everything in the video is still valid,
you'll see that I added some information about this amazing promotion and deal.
(light chiming music)
One of the best travel deals that I've come across is the Southwest Companion
Pass. It's one of those things I'd heard of for many years and only in the last
few years did I take the time to actually learn about it and get one
myself. So today, I want to share what I learned. I actually made a serious
mistake along the way, so hopefully you can avoid doing the same after watching
this video. But first, if you're new here, welcome to our channel. Trip Astute is a
travel channel that is focused on sharing ways to make travel easier,
affordable, and more enjoyable. Traveling can be stressful and expensive, so we're
looking for ways to help you maximize your experience through travel tips,
points and miles, and innovative gear. If that sounds interesting to you, please
consider subscribing. The Southwest Companion Pass is the top reward that
you can earn in Southwest Airlines' Rapid Rewards loyalty program. Once you have it,
you can book a companion ticket for every flight that you take as long as the
pass is valid. There are no limits on the number of companion flights that you can
book. However, you do have to pay the taxes and fees on tickets. Also, the
Companion Pass will work on award ticket redemptions. So, if I want to book
a Southwest flight for myself using points, I can still bring Fiona, my Southwest
companion, along to the flight and just pay the taxes on the ticket. Now
let's talk about how to get it. There are basically two ways to earn a Companion
Pass. One is to fly a hundred qualifying one-way flights. The other is to earn
110,000 qualifying Southwest points in a calendar year.
Obviously, unless you're a frequent flyer, it's unlikely that you'll be able
to take a hundred qualifying flights. So for most people, getting 110,000
Southwest points is the easier option, especially with the help of some credit
cards. Sorry for the weird break in the video. This is the part that I needed to
add afterwards. As I mentioned in the intro, as of January 10th, 2019, there's
a third way of getting the Companion Pass. Chase just released a limited time
promotion where you can earn a Companion Pass for 2019 with any of their personal
Southwest credit cards. This includes the Plus, Premium, and Priority card. All you
have to do to get the Companion Pass and 30,000 Southwest points is spend $4,000 on
purchases in the first three months of opening your account. Between the three
personal card offers, I recommend the Priority card. It does have the higher
annual fee, but you get four upgraded boardings per year. This means that
you'll be able to sit in the select A seats as long as they're available. This
offer is available until February 11, 2019, so if you're not affected by 5/24,
I would highly recommend jumping on the offer. Also, keep in mind that your
Companion Pass will only be valid for 2019, so you'll have to figure out a way
to earn additional Southwest points to keep it for another year. We'll actually
cover that in the rest of the video. We have the promotional offer links on our
website, so just click on the website post link below for more information.
Ok, we'll get back to the normal part of the video where we talk about how you
would normally get a Southwest Companion Pass. As many of you know, Chase offers
several Southwest credit cards. The recommendation that you'll hear most
people give is to get two Southwest credit cards. The reason people say that
is that if you combine the welcome offers for both a personal and business
Southwest card, you're often within range of earning a Companion Pass. Some of you
might be asking, "how do I get a small business credit card?" Well, it's very
possible that you're eligible for one, especially if you have a side hustle or
gig. For more information on what it takes to get a business card, see our
video on the topic. A question you might be asking is, "can't I just get two
personal Southwest cards?" Unfortunately, the answer is no. In April 2018, Chase
started to enforce a rule where you can only earn the bonus from any personal
Southwest card once per 24 months. This means that getting two different
versions of the personal Southwest card is not an option. Though getting a
business and personal version is allowed. So, suppose you were able to get
100,000 Southwest points through the welcome offer
on your cards. You would still need to get 10,000 Southwest points in order to
earn the Companion Pass. There are so many ways to do it and I'll probably do
a separate video on all the creative ways to earn Southwest points. Though for
most people, I recommend booking Southwest flights which can earn you
additional points on a Southwest card, shifting your daily spend onto your
Southwest credit card, using the Rapid Reward Shopping and Dining program, and
booking hotels on Southwesthotels.com. Believe it or not, you can actually earn
up to 10,000 points on a hotel booking on Southwest Hotels, so it's easier than
you might think. I actually needed about 5,000 points
last year in order to get my Companion Pass renewed, so I paid for a night at a
hotel near me that offered 5,000 points per night. It may sound crazy, but I was
confident that the cost of the room was worth it in order for us to have the
Companion Pass for another year. Another question you might be asking is, "can't I
just transfer some Chase Ultimate Rewards points into my Southwest account
to earn the pass?" The answer is no. It used to be a lot easier to convert other
loyalty or flexible points into Southwest points that would then qualify
for the Companion Pass. However, in the past few years, Southwest has become a
lot more strict on the type of points that can be used. Even purchase points
from Southwest will not count toward the Companion Pass. If you get to 110,000
points, you'll get the Companion Pass which is valid for the remainder of the
calendar year that you earned it and the following calendar year. This is an
important thing to keep in mind since your pass can be valid anywhere from 12
to 23 months, depending on when you actually earn it. Once you have it, you'll
get a card in the mail from Southwest and you'll be able to designate your
companion online in your Southwest account. Then, when you're ready to make a
booking, you'll first make your own booking and then you'll add your companion once
your booking is complete. This confused me when I first got the pass since I
assumed that I would need to book both of us together at once. However, you'll
need to book your flight first and then add your companion afterwards. As you can
probably tell, I'm a huge fan of the Southwest Companion Pass. If you're
someone that often travels with another person then the Companion Pass is an
awesome program and worth considering. Though I recommend strategizing on how
and when you get the Companion Pass. I think a lot of
us, myself included, rushed into getting it and ended up either making mistakes or
feeling a lot of pressure to earn points, especially late in the year. If I had to
do it again, I would have planned a little bit better and actually
strategized on which credit cards I needed, how I was going to meet the spend,
and then also how I was going to line my travel accordingly. As always, I also want
to share some tips to keep in mind if you decide to pursue a Southwest
Companion Pass. Number 1: Get it early in the calendar year. This is the big
mistake that I made. I rushed and earned my initial Companion Pass in December of
2017. The problem is that it then expired in December 2018, so it was only valid
for thirteen months. Had I timed it better, I could have earned my Companion
Pass in early 2018, which would have made it valid until the end of 2019. So be
especially careful about when you qualify and earn your Companion Pass.
Number 2: Be careful of Rapid Rewards Shopping and Dining Bonuses: While
spending through these programs is a great way to earn Rapid Rewards points
that count toward your Companion Pass, be careful of offers with the word "bonus" in
them. In general, these points do not count toward your Companion Pass, which
is very misleading and confusing. Number 3: Watch out for Chase's 5/24 rule. 5/24
is a difficult rule from Chase and can completely prevent you from getting cards
to help you earn your Companion Pass. If you're not familiar with the 5/24 rule, you'll
want to check out our video on it. We'll show you how it works, as well as showing
you how to check your status through Credit Karma.
If you're serious about getting a Southwest Companion Pass with credit
cards, you'll definitely want to plan accordingly and know where you stand
when it comes to this rule. On that note, number 4: Apply for the business card
first. If you're able to qualify for a small business card, I would recommend
getting it before the personal card. The reason is that the Southwest Premier
Business credit card will not add to your 5/24 standing. However, the catch is
that you have to be below 5/24 in order to get approval for the Southwest Rapid
Rewards Premier Business card. So, if you're close to the limit on 5/24,
you're better off getting the small business card before you get the
personal card. Number 5: Be careful of bookings near your expiration date. If
your Companion Pass expires at the end of December but you decide to book a New
Year's Eve trip, it's possible that you might need to
book one-way tickets instead of a round trip in order to use your
Companion Pass for part of the trip. We actually experienced this issue last
year. However, after we re-qualified for another
year the Companion Pass, I was able to cancel and re-book our return
flights and add Fiona as my companion. Luckily, Southwest doesn't charge change
fees, so this makes the process a lot easier.
Number 6: Consider using the EarlyBird check-in service. A lot of you
might hate me for recommending the EarlyBird check-in add-on service, but
hear me out! Since you don't have an assigned seat on Southwest, I personally
prefer to pay the EarlyBird check-in fee. Basically, Southwest will automatically
check you into your flight for a $20 fee, which then allows you to
board the plane after the A-list members. This means that you'll get to pick your
seats and get access to more overhead luggage bin space. I justify it since
we're usually paying so little for the flight, especially with the Companion
Pass. And if you have a credit card that covers a certain amount of flight
incidentals or travel expenses, like the American Express Platinum and Gold Card
or Chase Sapphire Reserve, then it's much easier to justify. Number 7: Change
your companion. You're allowed to change your companion three times per year by
calling Southwest to request it. I personally haven't done it, but I think
it could be useful for a lot of people. Just be careful with any future booked
trips. If you change your companion, then you'll have to cancel any bookings with
your previous companion before you can use it with your new companion. This can
make the process a little bit complicated and difficult. Number 8:
Check out Southwest's flight routes. While most people think of Southwest as
a domestic carrier, they actually have international flights to Central America
and the Caribbean. Also, Southwest is planning to launch flights to Hawaii
this year, so that might be another way to get a lot of value from the Companion
Pass. Number 9: Watch out for special offers. The Southwest cards'
welcome offers tend to hover between 20,000 to 60,000 points, so you're
probably better off waiting for the best possible offer. Also, every once in a while,
Southwest will offer a crazy promotion on their Companion Pass. In fact, we took
advantage of one in 2017 when they offered the Companion Pass to California
residents who applied for their credit card. You can never predict when these
things will happen, but I wouldn't be surprised if Southwest does s promotion
this year, especially when the new Hawaii routes are launched. What are your
thoughts on the Southwest Companion Pass? Do you have one or you
planning to get one? Please share in the comment section below. Also, if you have
any questions, let us know. I know we covered a lot of different rules and
programs, so if anything is unclear, don't hesitate to ask. As always, if you're
interested in applying for a Chase Southwest card or any other credit card,
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time, travel safe and travel smart.