The best part about the companion pass is that you can use all the southwest points you earned from the signup bonus offers to book flights you dont lose them by. Ironically, the companion can use their points to book you, then you book the companion if thats where you are heading with this one. If you get it january 1st 2020, youll have companion pass until december 31st, 2021. With the southwest companion pass, as long as there is a seat available for the flight, you are able to book it for your companion. The southwest companion pass is a pass that allows a rapid rewards member to add a second person companion free of charge to any flight that they book with southwest, as long as there is another seat available for purchase. If you havent heard of the companion pass, youre in for a surprise in addition to the low number of reward points.
In short, the companion pass allows you to book a free flight for your travel companion even if you pay for yours with points. Oct 17, 2019 southwest increasing companion pass requirements. Apr 17, 2020 similar to the tier status boost, southwest is making it easier to earn companion pass status for 2020. Southwest then allows you to designate a companion who can fly with you for nearly free you just pay the taxes when you buy or use miles to get southwest tickets, you pay for only one ticket and your companion flies free. Jan 07, 2020 in order to earn the southwest companion pass, a rapid rewards member must earn 125,000 qualifying southwest rapid rewards points within a single calendar year. A member who earns 110,000 companion pass qualifying points or who flies 100 qualifying oneway flights booked through southwest airlines per calendar year will qualify for companion pass. You can earn a companion pass of your own by earning 125,000 qualifying points or flying 100 oneway southwest flights in a single calendar year.
The quickest way to earn a pass is to open up a personal southwest rapid credit card 75,000 bonus points and a southwest rapid rewards business credit card 60,00070,000 bonus points for a total of 5,000145,000 points. As long as theres a seat for sale on the flight, you can book your companion with you for the price of free. So for those of you interested in a companion pass, southwest cards are more important than a chase sapphire card. Apr 29, 2019 getting the companion pass is so easy because chase is currently offering three different southwest credit cards that each earn you southwest points that count toward the companion pass. For example, if you earn the companion pass on december 14, 2020, it is valid up to the end of 2021. How to use the southwest companion pass the points guy. Designated companions under the age of 18 can accompany companion pass holders on international flights. Once you earn 125,000 rapid rewards points or 100 qualifying flights in a year, you can designate a companion to bring with you for free except for taxes and fees on any southwest flight that you purchase with either cash or points. Nov 10, 2017 the southwest companion pass is considered to be the holy grail of award travel unlimited buy one get one free on southwest for a year.
You earn 110,000 southwest points in a calendar year. How to earn the southwest companion pass 202010xtravel. Please contact us at 1800iflyswa 18004359792 to book a companion under the age of 18 for international travel. A favorite amongst the tpg team, it allows you to take a travel companion on all southwest flights for just the cost of taxes and fees, including flights booked with rapid rewards points.
This pass will allow someone to fly for free with you for up to two calendar years. Keep in mind youll also still have all those points to use on rapid rewards award tickets they dont disappear when you earn the companion pass. Qualifying points include rapid rewards points earned by flying, spending on a southwest credit card including welcome bonuses, shopping through therapid rewards shopping portal and more. It doesnt matter if the availability is in the same fare class, it doesnt matter what type of fare you originally booked, and it doesnt matter if you booked the ticket with cash or with points. Jan 19, 2020 using the southwest companion pass is a breeze. How to get southwest companion pass quickly for 2020. Its been 1 year since we got the southwest companion pass, and most of our points are gone. While these redemptions are a good value on their own, you get the greatest value when redeemed with the southwest companion pass.
The southwest airlines companion pass is the toptier status or highestlevel award that a member of the rapid rewards loyalty program can achieve. Southwest raises companion pass requirements one mile at. Fly southwest and use your cobranded card to pay for the tickets. Nov 03, 2019 points transferred from hotel partners to your southwest account do not count towards the southwest companion pass. Southwest extends companion pass, elite status benefits into 2021. But southwest offers another major frequent flyer perk that not everyone knows about the southwest companion pass.
Top 10 most frequently asked questions about the southwest. Again southwest agents and agents both told me all the points would go towards compaion pass. The companion pass is basically a buy one get one free deal but even better because your companion can fly free with you even if you use points to book your ticket. Its great for families and couples that travel together frequently throughout north america. But it wouldnt matter who used the points in the first place, once you have your ticket from cash and equivalents or points, you can use compantion functionality. Earn the southwest companion pass with southwest credit cards.
The southwest companion pass is a southwest airlines perk, where the airline allows you to bring a plus one on any southwest flight that you book. In other words, you cannot transfer 125,000 ultimate rewards points to southwest to earn a companion pass. There are a lot of ways to earn the required points without having to fly a lot. Those whose companion pass benefits was set to expire on december 31, 2020, will now have a companion pass through june 30, 2021. What is the southwest companion pass and how to get it. The southwest airlines companion pass is the toptier status or highestlevel award that a member of the rapid rewards loyalty program can achieve it is fairly simple to understand and is one of the best elitelevel benefits available for any hotel or airline loyalty program the companion pass allows its holder to book an additional ticket their. Both the member and the companion must be booked on the same flights and dates. The southwest companion pass is valuable because when you fly southwest airlines and have the pass, you can bring a companion with you for nearly free. The companion pass allows the member to designate an individual to fly with the member such designated individual, the companion on southwest airlines flights purchased by the member and booked through southwest airlines during the companion pass validity period. The quickest way to earning the southwest companion pass now is to apply for any of the three chase southwest rapid rewards credit cards and earn 50,000 bonus points that can be used for the companion pass in addition to the normal purchase rewards earned on every card transaction. And right now, earning it is pretty easy, too thanks to the signup bonuses on the airlines credit cards. If youd like your family to travel more often in 2020 and 2021, the southwest companion pass could be how you achieve that goal. Companion pass qualifying points are earned from revenue flights booked through southwest airlines, points earned on southwest airlines rapid rewards credit.
The best part for us travel hackers is that this is true on award. You might also want to look into getting the southwest companion pass. With the southwest companion pass, a friend or family member can travel with you for free on your paid and pointaward tickets for up to 2 years. So in honor of the 50,000 point card being back, and using up over 100,000 southwest points in the last year, i figured id talk about what we did with the soutwest companion pass. Why you shouldnt buy southwest airlines points one mile. You only need to earn 100,000 rapid rewards or book 75 qualifying oneway flights. Easy ways to earn the southwest companion pass in 2019. Making the southwest companion pass work for two cards for.
Mar 26, 2020 companion pass holders can book an additional ticket on any southwest flight for a designated companion for nearly free of charge. Holders can add travelers to itineraries for airfare originally booked with either cash or southwest rapid rewards points. To requalify for a companion pass, youll need to fly 100 qualifying oneway flights or earn 125,000 qualifying points in a calendar year. Southwest raises companion pass requirements one mile at a time.
Earning companion pass status wont earn you alist status unless you also earn enough alist tier qualifying points. The southwest rapid rewards frequent flyer program offers some outstanding redemptions for travel around the u. You can book these flights with cash or with rapid rewards points, as either method works in conjunction with the companion pass. Two years ago i earned my pass by redeeming 360,000 marriott points for their category 9 travel package that gave me 120,000 southwest rapid rewards points enough to earn the southwest companion pass and 7 nights for free which we redeemed at the. Remember, to requalify for your companion pass youll need to fly 100 qualifying oneway flights or earn 125,000 qualifying points in a calendar year. For the past 7 years, each time i book a southwest flight using my points, i add my husband as my companion or vise versa, and he travels with me for free. The southwest companion pass allows you to fly with a companion for only the cost of taxes and fees you need to earn 125,000 qualifying points in a calendar year to earn the pass, and points.
For southwest flyers hoping to qualify for a companion pass, there are, however, key factors to be aware of when designing a plan of action. Now you can take a companion with you on any southwest flight you book with cash and even with points. Tier qualifying points southwest airlines book flights. The terms and conditions dont explicitly address this specific scenario. Oct 09, 2018 the southwest companion pass is truly one of the best airline travel deals. The amount of points each credit card earns changes throughout the year, but you can generally get these cards with bonuses between 2560k. In order to earn the southwest companion pass, a rapid rewards member must earn 125,000 qualifying southwest rapid rewards points within a single calendar year. Quickest way to earn southwests coveted companion pass. How to quickly earn the southwest companion pass the. Those who have a companion pass that expires at the end of this year are getting six additional months. How to get a southwest companion pass without spending.
However, not all of the points you earn will qualify you for the companion pass. How i earned my southwest companion pass 4 years in a row. Beyond those basic taxes and fees, the companion pass is basically a freeforall. Finally, the southwest companion pass can be earned by accumulating 110,000 qualifying points, which are different than tierqualifying points and include most points you can earn, other than those transferred from hotel programs. Earn the southwest companion pass with southwest credit.
Another simple way to earn the companion pass is through actual flying. Its a pretty phenomenal deal and whenever you constantly fly on cheap wanna get away fares, you can see a lot of the country without breaking your wallet. This is a bummer because they used to count and it was very easy to funnel points from hotels like marriott, hyatt, etc. Buying points with southwest companion pass the southwest airlines companion pass is one of the best values in domestic travel. Apr 21, 2020 for example, if you earn the companion pass on december 14, 2020, it is valid up to the end of 2021. Apr 30, 2020 the southwest companion pass is a special benefit for elite members of southwests rapid rewards programs. It is fairly simple to understand and is one of the best elitelevel benefits available for any hotel or airline loyalty program. Southwest companion pass travel has no blackout dates or seat restrictions. 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. Companion pass qualifying points are earned from your revenue flights booked through southwest airlines, your points earned by making purchases with a southwest airlines rapid rewards credit card, and your base points earned from rapid rewards partners. Companion pass qualifying points are earned from revenue flights booked through southwest, points earned on southwest rapid rewards credit cards, and base points. Mar 11, 2019 beyond those basic taxes and fees, the companion pass is basically a freeforall.
Oct 24, 2012 so youve got a southwest companion pass now what. Jan 28, 2020 even if you dont fly southwest very much you can easily earn most of the 125,000 points needed for a companion pass by earning a sign up bonus for 2 southwest credit cards in the same calendar year. Can you still get the southwest companion pass with. You can change your companion 3 times over the life of your companion pass, i assume to prevent people from abusing the system. Southwest airlines extends tier status and companion pass. We are just so close to getting companion pass again. The southwest companion pass allows you to book a friend or family members airplane ticket, on the same flight as you, without needing to pay any cash or points for the ticket.
The ultimate guide to the southwest airlines companion pass. The southwest companion pass is considered to be the holy grail of award travel unlimited buy one get one free on southwest for a year. This can be done using a combination of any of the following three options. Transferring chase ultimate rewards points to southwest. Even if you dont fly southwest very much you can easily earn most of the 125,000 points needed for a companion pass by earning a sign up bonus for 2 southwest credit cards in the same calendar year. Tip for how to use the southwest companion pass once you. It requires earning 125,000 qualifying points in a year, and if you get this, you can always have a companion travel with you for just the standard taxes, regardless of whether youre booking a cash ticket or. Southwest airlines has announced that theyll increase the requirements for earning companion pass in 2020. To earn the southwest companion pass, you need to either fly 100 flights or earn 110,000 points in a calendar year. Tip for how to use the southwest companion pass once youve. Most travelers will find that booking flights online on is very easy, although its also possible to book flights over the phone with southwest phone agents if you prefer.
So earning the companion pass early in the year can get you close to two years of free flying on southwest. To earn a southwest companion pass, you need to earn 110,000 rapid reward points in a single calendar year. Southwest has announced a companion pass extension today. If you earn companion pass status without much flying, that means you probably wont get a. Jan 09, 2020 the quickest way to earn a pass is to open up a personal southwest rapid credit card 75,000 bonus points and a southwest rapid rewards business credit card 60,00070,000 bonus points for a total of 5,000145,000 points. 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. Dont transfer points to southwest for companion pass. Mar 26, 2020 to earn a southwest companion pass, you need to earn 110,000 rapid reward points in a single calendar year. Jan 02, 2017 a member who earns 110,000 companion pass qualifying points or who flies 100 qualifying oneway flights booked through southwest airlines per calendar year will qualify for companion pass.
Southwest extends companion pass, elite status benefits. Feb 05, 2020 the best part about the companion pass is that you can use all the southwest points you earned from the signup bonus offers to book flights you dont lose them by getting the companion pass. Similar to the tier status boost, southwest is making it easier to earn companion pass status for 2020. Why you shouldnt buy southwest airlines points one mile at. One you earn your companion pass, southwest will send you an email letting you pick your companion. You dont need to use your 125,000 points for the companion pass so those points are available to you to book free award flights. And you can use it every time you fly together, scoring free flights over and over again for.
Through 2019 companion pass required earning 110,000 qualifying points or flying 100 segments. Study up, as we cover what does and does not help you qualify for the companion pass. How to score the southwest companion pass the jetsetters guide. Apr 15, 2020 buying points with southwest companion pass the southwest airlines companion pass is one of the best values in domestic travel. I just want to make sure before i go spending a little more money that all 30,000 points as an example would go towards companion pass. Once the member has earned 125,000 points, the companion pass will be valid for the remainder of the calendar year in which it is earned and all of the following year.
How to score the southwest companion pass the jetsetter. Southwest airlines companion pass 2020 complete guide. The southwest companion pass is a special benefit for elite members of southwests rapid rewards programs. Making the southwest companion pass work for two cards. Southwest extends companion pass through june 2021, gives. Getting the companion pass is so easy because chase is currently offering three different southwest credit cards that each earn you southwest points that count toward the companion pass. But if you earn the companion pass on february 1, 2020, it is valid up to the end of 2021. But, ultimate rewards transferred to southwest do not count towards the southwest companion pass. As of 2020, companion pass requires earning 125,000 qualifying points or flying 100 segments. When you do, you get the southwest companion pass for the rest of the year in which you earned it plus the following year.
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