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Earn the Southwest Companion Pass through just one credit card welcome offer

  • Brendan Dorsey

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    One of MMS’ all-time favorite travel perks is the Southwest Companion Pass. It’s one of the most valuable tools in any award traveler’s wallet as it allows you to bring along a traveler, for nearly free, on any Southwest flight that you’re on.

    And now, it’s easier than ever to earn with the new Southwest credit card welcome offers.

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    You can now earn the Southwest Companion Pass through the welcome offer of a personal credit card. (Photo by Philip Pilosian/Shutterstock)

    Southwest Companion Pass credit card offers

    Today, Chase has launched a lucrative new welcome offer for its three personal Southwest credit cards:

    The new welcome offer includes a signup bonus like no other. Here’s what you’ll earn after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first three months:

    That’s right, you’ll earn the famed Southwest Companion Pass through Feb. 28, 2022 and 30,000 Southwest points after meeting the reasonable minimum spending requirements. We value Southwest points at 1.4 cents each, meaning those 30,000 points are worth $420 towards Southwest flights.

    It’s important to note that you’d be ineligible for this new bonus if you have received a bonus on another Southwest personal card in the past 24 months. This card is also subject to the Chase 5/24 rule.

    What is the Southwest Companion Pass?

    If you’re unfamiliar with the Companion Pass, get ready for a shock to the system. It allows you to bring a companion along with you on any Southwest for just the cost of taxes and fees (only $5.60 on a domestic flight). That’s right, for as long as the benefit is active, you can add a companion to every Southwest flight you’re on. You could literally fly every day of the year and bring along your companion, there’s no cap to how often you can use it.

    Amazingly, the Companion Pass also works for flights booked with Southwest points. This effectively doubles the value of your points if you’re flying with you’re designated travel buddy.

    The Companion Pass is great for flyers who usually travel with another person, be it a spouse, family member or friend. You can also change your companion three times per year after you choose your initial companion — allowing for a total of four companions.

    If you fly Southwest just a few times a year, the Southwest Companion Pass can easily save you hundreds of dollars or tens of thousands of points. Fly anymore than that and the value of it only increases.

    Earning the Companion Pass the traditional way requires you to earn 125,000 qualifying points or fly 100 one-way flights on Southwest in a calendar year (although the airline has slightly lowered the requirements in 2021 if you had a Southwest Rapid Rewards account open before 2021). This new offer makes the benefit much easier to attain since you’ll only need to open up a qualifying credit card and meet the fairly reasonable minimum spending requirements.

    The main downside of this deal is that traditionally when you earn the Companion Pass, it can last for nearly two years if you time it right — you’ll get the pass in the year you earn it, plus the following year. Whereas this deal will only give you the perk for 12 months, or less. Still, this is a much easier way to earn the Companion Pass than normal!

    Make sure to read our full guide for everything you need to know about the Southwest Companion Pass.

    Bottom line

    If you’ve ever wanted the Companion Pass but didn’t want to jump through the hoops of earning one, now’s the time to do it. Remember, you’ll need to apply for one of the personal Southwest credit cards to do so:

    Each Southwest card comes with a different annual fee and its own host of benefits and perks, so you can read our comparison of Southwest credit cards to figure out which one is right for you.

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    Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)