Do Southwest Dining Program Points Count Towards the Companion Pass?

Million Mile Secrets

11 years ago

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You can get 3 Southwest points per dollar when you eat at participating restaurants and bars in the Rapid Rewards Dining program.

You get

an additional 10 points per dining review you complete.

And through July 31, 2014, NEW members to the Rapid Rewards Dining program get 1,000 Southwest points as a bonus after paying their 1st $25 check with their enrolled credit card.

Here in Austin, You Earn 3 Southwest Points per Dollar at Ranch 616, but Do Those Points Bring You Closer to the Companion Pass?

Which Points Count Towards the Southwest Companion Pass?

Link: What Is the Southwest Companion Pass?

Link: My Review of Rewards Network Dining

Link: Southwest Sign-Up and Dine Bonus (Must Register by July 31, 2014)

Southwest is a part of the Rewards Network Dining program. When you enroll a credit card with the program and use it at 1 of the restaurants on their list, you earn Southwest points.

You get

3 Southwest points per dollar spent
10 bonus points each time you review the restaurant after you’ve eaten there
1,000 bonus points if you’re a new member to the program and have paid a $25 check & reviewed the restaurant within 30 days

Remember, new members have until July 31, 2014, to qualify for the welcome bonus.

I wanted to see if the 3 Southwest points per dollar spent counted towards the Companion Pass. I was also curious to know if the bonus points counted towards earning the Southwest Companion Pass.

It turns out that, yes, you will earn points towards your Southwest Companion Pass when eating at restaurants in the Southwest dining program and using an enrolled credit card.

But the bonus points for new members do NOT count!

And the bonus points for restaurant reviews don’t count towards the Companion Pass either.

ALL of the points earned can be used for FLYING on Southwest.

All of the Points You Earn With the Dining Program Can Be Used to Fly Southwest to Places like Chicago, but NOT All the Points Count Towards the Companion Pass

But only the points earned directly from spending money at restaurants will get you closer to earning almost free travel for your companion.

Note: Here are step-by-step instructions for how to register for Southwest’s Rapid Rewards Dining and get your bonus points. The deadline has been extended to July 31, 2014.

A Look at Southwest’s Menu (of Points)

I asked a friend to sign-up for Southwest’s Rapid Rewards dining program to see which points would count towards the Companion Pass.

(I would have done it myself but I’m already a member so I’m ineligible for the new member bonus points!)

1,085 Southwest Points After Eating $25 Worth of Food

My friend earned:

1,000 bonus points for signing-up as a new member & completing a profile
10 points for a quick multiple-choice review of the restaurant
75 points for paying $25 with an enrolled credit card at the restaurant. (
You get
3 Southwest points per dollar.)

Unfortunately, only the 75 points from spending the $25 count towards the Companion Pass.

When Selecting “Companion Pass Qualifying Points” Only the Points From Directly Spending Money Appear

I don’t go out of my way to earn Southwest points when dining out but it’s a nice surprise when it happens!

And it’s an easy way to keep your airline miles and points from expiring if you haven’t had any activity in your Southwest account.

Other Ways to Earn Southwest Points

Link: Southwest Premier Personal Card

The Southwest Dining program is just 1 of many ways to earn Southwest points.

The easiest way is to sign-up for Southwest credit cards. All 4 versions of the Southwest credit cards currently give you 50,000 Southwest points after you complete the minimum spending.

And the sign-up bonus from the 50,000 points Southwest credit cards does count towards the Southwest Companion Pass.

Of the 4 cards, 2 are business cards. Here are 3 ways you may qualify for a business credit card, if you’re unsure.

And here are some pointers for filling out a Chase business credit card application.

You can also earn Southwest points by transferring points from certain hotel programs. And these too will count towards earning your Companion Pass.

Transferring Points to Southwest From Certain Hotel Program Such as Hyatt, Count Towards the Companion Pass

Another way to get Southwest points is to transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards points IF you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Ink Plus, or (no longer offered) Chase Ink Bold card. But this method will NOT count towards the companion pass.

And there are shopping and partner promotions, too. Both of these ways to earn points will also get you closer to your Companion Pass.

Many Folks Get MOST of the Points Towards the Companion Pass With Credit Card Sign-Up Bonuses, Then Get the Rest With Hotel Points Transfers, Dining, and Shopping

Bottom Line

Every time you spend money at a participating restaurant, bar, or club with your enrolled credit card, you will earn Southwest points that count towards the Companion Pass.

However, bonus points for the new member sign-up and completing restaurant reviews do NOT count towards the Companion Pass.

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! :)