Southwest Companion Pass: Why You Want It and How to Get It

The Southwest Companion Pass is a much-coveted perk among Southwest loyalists and air travel aficionados.

That's because owning the pass is akin to getting a buy-one-get-one deal on your Southwest flight: Every time you buy a flight or redeem points for a free flight, you can choose a companion to fly with you for only the cost of taxes and fees.

Enjoying a Companion Pass is easy, but earning it can be a challenge. Here's everything you need to know, including how to use Southwest's credit cards to help fast-track you to such a pass.

» Learn more: Airline credit cards that offer companion tickets outright

What is a Southwest Airlines Companion Pass?

The Companion Pass is a sought-after highlight of the Southwest Rapid Rewards program because it's among the most valuable benefits of its kind. It allows you to pick one person to fly with you without paying any airline charges for your travel companion, aside from mandatory taxes and fees, which start at $5.60 one-way.

Through the end of 2026, to qualify for a traditional Companion Pass, you'll need to do one of the following:

• Fly 100 qualifying one-way flights in a calendar year or

• Earn 135,000 Rapid Rewards points in a calendar year. Qualifying points include those that you earn through revenue flights booked via Southwest; those that you earn on Southwest credit cards; and base points you earn from Rapid Rewards partners.

If you meet either of those criteria, you'll earn the Companion Pass for the rest of the year in which you qualified and the following calendar year. So if you earned the Companion Pass in, say, July 2026, it will be valid through the end of December 2027. You'll need to re-qualify every year to hold on to your status.

» Learn more: Things to know before flying Southwest

What's changing in 2027

Beginning in 2027, Southwest is overhauling the Rapid Rewards program, including how you qualify for a Companion Pass.

Here's what we know:

• A-List and A-List Preferred status tiers are being replaced with Silver, Gold and Platinum tiers.

• You'll need Platinum status to qualify for an unlimited-use Companion Pass, which will require 140,000 Tier Qualifying Points (TQPs) or 100 qualifying flights.

• Companion Pass Qualifying Points are being phased out and entirely replaced with TQP.

• Milestone Rewards are being introduced, including the ability to earn three single-use Companion Passes with 95,000 TQP or 75 qualifying flights, which can be used on a qualifying one-way or round-trip flight.

• Every Southwest credit card will now earn 1 TQP per $1 spent on all qualifying purchases.

• Rapid Rewards points earned from the welcome offer on a Southwest credit card will no longer count toward Companion Pass qualification.

The requirements for earning Platinum status are similar to the existing requirements for earning a Companion Pass, but now require 140,000 TQP instead of 135,000 Companion Pass Qualifying Points. The biggest change is that points earned from a Southwest card's welcome offer will no longer count toward qualification.

However, Southwest is standardizing the TQP earn rate across all Southwest-branded cards, making it more straightforward for heavy spenders to earn the Companion Pass through credit card purchases.

How to get a Companion Pass faster

Unless you travel every week on a Southwest flight, it's probably more feasible to earn 135,000 Rapid Rewards points to get you to that coveted pass status.

The quickest way to amass a pile of points has been by earning the sign-up bonus on at least one of the three Southwest consumer credit cards. Sometimes the bonus offer directly includes access to the Companion Pass itself. Current offers on Southwest cards include:

• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card: Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card: Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

There are also two business credit cards:

• The Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card, which has the following sign-up bonus: Earn 80,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.

• The Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card, which has the following sign-up bonus: Earn 80,000 points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

Ongoing rewards and sign-up bonuses all count toward a traditional Companion Pass, as do the annual anniversary points you get with each card.

Here are the best strategies for earning Rapid Rewards points:

• Get a Southwest Airlines credit card and earn the sign-up bonus: This can get you well on your way to that 135,000-point goal. Just note that, starting Jan. 1, 2027, welcome offers will no longer count toward a Companion Pass.

• Fly Southwest and use your Southwest card to pay for the tickets: The Southwest cards all earn points on Southwest flights, so you can put most purchases on the card and pay them off every month to collect the most value toward travel.

• Book a hotel stay or rental car with a Rapid Rewards partner and pay with your card. This includes recognizable names like Hyatt, Marriott, Hertz and Budget.

• Shop online through Southwest's bonus mall: Spending money through Rapid Rewards Shopping partners can net you extra points for your regular spending.

• Become a Rapid Rewards Dining member: When you dine at participating restaurants and pay with your enrolled card, you can earn more qualifying points.

What not to do

It's understandable to want to earn a Companion Pass as quickly as possible. Just note that these "shortcuts" won't work:

• Don't transfer points from another card: Some rewards cards, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, will let you transfer the points you earn on them into your Rapid Rewards account. But transferred points are not Companion Pass-eligible.

• Don't try to buy your way to a Companion Pass: Points that you purchase directly won't count, nor will points transferred between members, or converted from hotel and car loyalty programs.

• Don't run afoul of Chase's "One Southwest Card" rule: If you already have a Southwest consumer card, you likely will not be eligible for another. Similarly, if you've already earned a sign-up bonus from a Southwest consumer card within the past 24 months, you likely cannot qualify for a different consumer card.

• Don't forget about Chase's 5/24 rule, which limits approval for new Chase cards if you've opened five or more personal credit card accounts from any issuer within the past 24 months. The "One Southwest Card" rule doesn't apply to Southwest business cards, so you could potentially apply for a consumer Southwest card and the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card. But depending on your situation, if you’ve recently applied for several other cards in addition to those two, you still may be denied.