Thursday, October 15, 2026

RIP Southwest Companion Pass

Southwest Companion Pass has been a staple of travel for many people, for many years and today, 10/15/2026, Southwest announced devastating changes to the program as we know it.

Current Rules
Currently, you need to earn 135,000 qualifying Companion Pass points in one calendar year to earn companion pass. Starting in 2027, Companion Pass qualifying points will no longer exist. Southwest explicitly states that rapid rewards points earn from activities such as welcome bonuses and spend will not count towards companion pass.


New Rules
Starting January 1st, 2027, Southwest is rolling out new status tiers. Status is earned through Tier Qualifying Points (ie spend) or Qualifying Quantity of Flights. Platinum Status will be the only way to earn unlimited companion pass (although the news release does indicate that promotional companion passes will still occur)


How to earn Companion Pass through end of 2027
However, if you're able to pivot and earn 135,000 qualifying Companion Pass points in 2026, you will receive Companion Pass through 12/31/2027. Let's talk through how you can do this!


To be completely transparent, this is my hopeful plan for my family. Currently, myself and my P2 both have CP ending 12/31/2026. I'm in the same boat as y'all - trying to scramble to get enough points this year so that I can get us CPs through 12/31/2027! I really appreciate if you open a SW card and don't have a partner to refer you, that you use my referral links in this post. 

I'm happy to schedule 1:1 consult for your SW CP plan, in return for using my link!


Step 1 - Check your CP qualifying points status
Knowing how many points you have right now, towards the needed 135K is your starting point,
  • Log in to your SW Account
  • Click My Account
  • Locate My Rapid Rewards
  • Scroll down to "Earn your next Companion Pass"

As you can see here, I currently have 35,850 of 135,000 points needs to earn companion pass again by the end of 2026.


Step 2 - New Card Eligibility
From here, your next step is going to vary greatly, depending on:
  • How many points towards CP you already have? ie - how many more points do you need?
  • Are you eligible for business cards?
    • If you are a sole proprietor business, your likelihood of approval depends on:
      •  you need have opened 2 or less personal cards from any financial institution in the past 24 months (the new "3/24 rule")
      • in addition to being until 3/24; if you have more than 2 Chase issued business cards open, you are not likely to be approved for a new SW Business Card
  • Have you held a SW Personal Card in the past?
    • If so, when did you receive the signup bonus?
      • you're not eligible to apply for a new SW personal card until it's been 24mo since you received the sign up bonus on the previous personal card
      • If it's been more than 24mo since you received a sign up bonus on a SW personal card, you're in the clear
  • Do you currently hold any Southwest cards?
    • Remember, there are 3 SW personal cards, but you can only have one at a time. So if it's been more then 24mo since you last received a personal card sign up bonus, but you still hold a SW personal card, you're going to need to close the card, and wait 30 days before applying for a new SW personal card

Step 3 - Do the Math
As of 10/15/2026, these are the current card sign up bonus offers; figure out how many points you need, which cards you're eligible for, and which specific card to open.

As a reminder, it's best practice to apply for the SW Business card BEFORE applying for SW Personal card; to ensure you can get approved for the business card and follow your action plan.

Southwest Business Cards

Southwest Personal Cards

*Right now, the Premier Business is the only elevated offer.

Combination Examples
There are endless combination and considerations to get to 135K points based on your eligibility. Here are a few for thought:

  • If you've received a personal card sign up bonus in the past 24 months, and have 30K points towards CP, you need 105K points buy the end of the year (135K-30K)
    • Open Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business for 80,000 points SUB (80K points for SUB + 3K points for minimum spend, gets you to 113K points
    • For the remaining 22K points:
      • Refer someone: 20K points each
      • Open a SW debit card and make a deposit: 10k points
      • Spend strategically on your SW card and utilize SW offers (found in your Chase card account)
      • Book a hotel stay through Southwest: points vary
      • Southwest Shopping Portal
      • Southwest Dining
      • Southwest Surveys
      • Southwest promotions and offers tied to your account/credit card
      • Southwest cardholder anniversary points

  • If you haven't received a personal card sign up bonus in the last 24mo, are a sole proprietor (and over 3/24 - aka likely not eligible for a new SW Business card), and have 12k points towards CP:
    • Open personal Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority: for 60,000 points (60K points for SUB + 2K points for minimum spend, gets you 74k points towards CP)
    • 135K - 74K, means for the remaining 61K points needed:
      • Refer someone: 20K points each
      • Open a SW debit card and make a deposit: 10k points
      • Spend strategically on your SW card and utilize SW offers (found in your Chase card account)
      • Book a hotel stay through Southwest: points vary
      • Southwest Shopping Portal
      • Southwest Dining
      • Southwest Surveys
      • Southwest promotions and offers tied to your account/credit card
      • Southwest cardholder anniversary points

Reminders
A few misc items to keep in mind:
  • Southwest (currently) gives all cardholders 10,000 points towards companion pass annually.
    • Points cannot be used to book flights
    • Points are awarded annually on January 1st and/OR within 30 days of opening your first SW card
    • You will only receive 10,000 points boost once annually (regardless of how many cards you hold; 2 cards does not equal 20,000 points)
  • Southwest cardholders receive anniversary points, awarded at statement close, every 12 months. The number of points vary based on which card(s) you hold (Business Performance card is not listed below and receives 9,000 points):
  • Typically points are awarded at statement close, after spend during your statement period. This is important because if your statement closes on the 15th of the month; you would want to complete all of your spend before Dec 15th in order to receive points rather than Dec 31st.
  • Ideally, if you are closing a SW card and going to reapply for a "new" card, close and wait 30 days if you can

Summary
Ultimately, this is a HUGE hit and change to points and miles world. Since Southwest rolled out changes in 2025, their loyalty has already been fragile and in my opinion, this change really will cause Southwest to loose an even greater fan base.

If you're on the fence and interested in a 1:1 consult to talk about your options, feel free to reach out justcallmehaha@gmail.com

And as always, if you open one of these cards discussed, I so appreciate your support and use of my referral links to keep my content coming and free!

Southwest Business Cards

Southwest Personal Cards













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