It's true! While the "traditional" Southwest Companion Pass method (described here in detail) requires one person to open two Southwest cards (one business and one personal), there is currently an elevated Southwest card offer that can get you Companion Pass with just the one card - no referrals needed!
How to Earn Companion Pass with One Card
Thanks to this current elevated offer:
Southwest Performance Business Card
Annual Fee: $299*
Current (Elevated) Sign up Offer: Spend $10,000 in 3 months, earn to 120,000 points
5/24 Status: Because this is a business card, it will NOT impact your 5/24. (If you're not familiar with what 5/24 Rule is, visit this post New to Points, Rule 2)
*Benefits to help offset the annual fee:
These aren't all of the card benefits, but I wanted to highlight that for holding this credit card you get:
- Free checked bags for cardholder and up to 8 guests up on the same reservation (including companion)
- Free seat selection at time of booking
- 9,000 points every year for your card anniversary
- 10,000 points boost towards CP every year for holding a card (note: these points cannot be used for bookings)
How to utilize this Offer to Earn CP
Reminder, in order to earn Companion Pass (CP), you need to earn 135,000 rapid rewards points in a calendar year. Your points towards companion pass reset annually on January 1st.
So, if you wanted to use this offer to earn buy one, get one flights for *most* of 2026 and ALL of 2027, here's what you need to do and the timeline to follow to do it
1. Between now and 10/21/25: Open a Southwest Performance Business card
Don't think you qualify for business cards? I bet you can! Read this post for ideas that may help you qualify for a business card, as well as step-by-step instructions how to fill out a business card application if you don't have an LLC or EIN.
2. After approval through mid-December, spend $9,000 of the $10K spend on the card. Once you hit $9k spent, put this card away and do NOT use.
3. 1/1/2026 - your 3-month deadline: Spend the remaining amount needed to hit a $10,000 spend in 3mo from your date of approval. This may be a quick turnaround for some, so plan ahead and make sure you complete the $10k minimum spend before your 3-months to do so is up!
Adding up the Points
Following the above, you will earn: 10,000 points (minimum, from your $10,000 spend) + 120,000 points (sign up bonus for hitting minimum spend) + 10,000 points (point boost for holding a SW card); which puts you at 140,000 points, which will likely hit your account in February, after your statement closes!
At which point, you will have earned Companion Pass for Feb 2026 through 12/31/2027.
Don't forget, those 130,000 points you earned from signing up for the card and hitting the minimum spend are usable! You can use those points to book your flight and then add your companion; so you're both flying for free, plus taxes and fees ($5.60 per person one-way for domestic flights; more for international).
Summary
Have you had a companion pass? Or is this the year you'll go for one? We are going on three years of having companion pass and have gone so many places with it (Hawaii, Chicago, Seattle, Costa Rica, Belize, California, Scottsdale, etc); it's become a crucial part of my travel strategy for my family!
PS - if you're a family of 4 like me, both you and your partner could open this year (if you can hit the minimum spend for both at the same time). If you do this, don't forget to have one person refer the other person to the SW card for even more points!
As always, I SO appreciate you using my links to open to new cards! It helps me to continue educating and providing free content! If you're going to grab this card, please use my referral!
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> Looking for more information on points/miles? You can find all of my points talk posts linked here.
> Curious what cards I (and/or my husband) have, and why? Read here!
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