The post is updated with new information and offers on a regular basis.

The Southwest Companion Pass is a great deal. You would be surprised at how easy it is to earn.

The buy-one-get-one airfare voucher is the only travel perk that allows you to make your own vouchers. This pass will allow you to bring a partner, child, parent or friend with you on all of your Southwest flights for free.

The Southwest Companion Pass allows you to have a companion with you on Southwest flights. No matter how you slice it, it is still an amazing benefit. It's true that it will be more difficult to earn the Companion Pass in 2023, but you can still earn it with the simplest method possible.

If you hurry, I will show you how to get a Southwest Companion Pass.

How to perfectly time a Southwest Companion Pass

The Southwest Companion Pass will require 135,000 points to be earned in a year.

The Companion Pass is valid for the rest of the year and the entire next year. The Companion Pass can be earned in November or December of 2022. The Companion Pass will be valid until the end of 2024 if you earn it in January of 2020.

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It's best to try and earn the Companion Pass at the beginning of the year.

The easiest way to earn points is to take 100 flights with Southwest. Southwest defines what types of points activity are counted towards the Companion Pass.

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The following aren't qualified activity.

  • Purchases of points.
  • Points transferred between members.
  • Points converted from other loyalty programs or Valued Opinions surveys.
  • New member bonuses for joining Rapid Rewards.
  • Flight bonus points.
  • Partner bonus points other than Southwest Airlines credit cards.

The Companion Pass is earned from points that post to your account within the same year, so you have to start again from zero on January 1st of each year. All of this means something. The Companion Pass can be earned with bonus points from sign-up bonuses on Southwest Airlines credit cards.

The easiest way to get a buy-one-get-one pass with Southwest Airlines is to open a Southwest Airlines credit card late in the year and complete the minimum spending requirement in January.

The Southwest Companion Pass is related.

KATIE GENTER/THE POINTS GUY

Earning the points you need to achieve the Companion Pass

The perfect time to start planning is now. Southwest credit cards have elevated bonus offers and you should apply for at least one Southwest card.

The Southwest RapidRewards Plus Credit Card, Southwest RapidRewards Premier Credit Card, and Southwest RapidRewards Priority Credit Card all have the same increase in bonus. Within the first three months from account opening, new applicants can earn 75,000 bonus points. The offers end in December.

13 lessons from the Southwest Companion Passes.

The Companion Pass requires 135,000 points to be earned in the same year, so this bonus will help you reach that goal. Additional credit card spending, flying on eligible Southwest fares, partner activity, and even opening a Southwest business credit card in tandem with your Southwest personal card are some of the ways to earn the remaining points.

Southwest's two small-business cards have bonuses of their own.

The Companion Pass can only be earned with a bonus on a personal credit card and a business credit card.

Strategy for earning the Southwest Companion Pass in 2023-2024

Chase doesn't allow you to have more than one Southwest credit card open at the same time. The business versions aren't subject to those restrictions.

The easiest way to get a Companion Pass is to earn a small business card bonus and a personal card bonus.

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If you spend $3,000 in the first three months of your account opening, you'll get 60,000 bonus points on the Southwest Rapid Rewards premier business credit card. The Companion Pass could be earned if you opened this card with any Southwest card.

  • Spending $3,000 on the Southwest Performance Business (60,000 points).
  • Spending $3,000 on a Southwest personal card (75,000 points).

If you spent $6,000, you'd get 135,000 points and a Southwest Companion Pass. You don't have to use your points to get the Companion Pass. If you keep the points in your account, you can use them for award flights.

The Southwest Rapid rewards program has a redemption procedure.

Transferring points from one card to another won't count towards the Companion Pass. If you have the Companion Pass, you can transfer points from Chase Ultimate rewards to Rapid rewards and have your companion fly with you for free.

Since you want all of these points to show up in your Southwest account in early 2023, it's important that you don't complete your spending requirement on either of these credit cards before that date. If bonus points are deposited in your account in 2022, Companion Pass will be ruined.

Who is eligible for a new Southwest credit card?

Southwest cards are offering their best ever bonuses. Chase has something to say about your eligibility.

“The product is not available to either (i) current Cardmembers of any Southwest Rapid Rewards® Credit Card, or (ii) previous Cardmembers of any Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit Card who received a new Cardmember bonus within the last 24 months. This does not apply to Cardmembers of the Southwest Rapid Rewards Business Card and Employee Credit Card products.”

You can only get the new cardmember bonus on one Southwest personal credit card within a 24 month period, so make sure you are getting the best bonus possible. You won't be eligible for these offers if you have any Southwest personal credit card open.

Passengers on a flight to Cancun. KATIE GENTER/THE POINTS GUY

The Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Card does not have the same restriction as the Southwest Rapid Rewards premier business credit card. There are restrictions on business cards.

“This new Cardmember bonus offer is not available to either (i) current Cardmembers of this business credit card, or (ii) previous Cardmembers of this business credit card who received a new Cardmember bonus for this business credit card within the last 24 months.”

The Companion Pass can be triggered by a bonus from a small-business credit card and a personal credit card from Southwest. In the past, how many of us have gotten passes?

Who is eligible for a business credit card.

You can only get one small-business card bonus and one personal card.

Don't forget about Chase's 5 24 rule. If you have opened five or more new personal credit cards across all card issuers in the last 24 months, you won't be accepted for a Southwest card.

Bottom line

It's a good time to make sure you're on track to earn the Southwest Companion Pass.

Time the sign-up bonuses so that they post to your account in early 2023 if you open a personal card and small-business card. You will get almost two years of Companion Pass.

We wrote a post about how to use the Southwest Companion Pass for everything you need to know about travel.

Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card, Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card, and Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Card are available here.

The additional reporting was done by Joseph Hostetler.