The easiest way to earn the Southwest Companion Pass, the best deal in domestic travel, is through sign-up bonuses on the Chase Southwest cards.
With the Southwest Companion Pass, your designated travel partner flies with you for nearly free on paid and award Southwest flights!
And now, via FatWallet, the sign-up bonus on the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card has increased to 50,000 Southwest points. That brings all 3 Southwest cards, including the Chase Southwest Premier personal and small business cards to 50,000 Southwest points!
Southwest points are worth ~1.43 to ~1.7 cents each. So you can get ~$715 to ~$850 in Southwest flights with 50,000 Southwest points! And almost double that if you have the Southwest Companion Pass!
I’ll remind you of the differences between the cards and why they make it easy to earn the Southwest Companion Pass!
What’s the Deal?
Link: Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
Link: Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card
Link: Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card
Link: How to Fill Out a Chase Business Credit Card Application
You’ll earn 50,000 Southwest points on the Chase Southwest Premier (Personal), Chase Southwest Premier (Small Business), and Chase Southwest Plus cards when you spend $2,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of opening your account.
Note: The sign-up page for the Chase Southwest Premier (personal) and Chase Southwest Plus is the same. The offer at the top of the page is for the Plus card, but if you scroll to the bottom you’ll see the Premier card offer.I’m not sure how long these increased bonuses will last.
All Southwest cards earn 2 points per $1 spent on Southwest, hotel partners, car rental partners, and points purchases. And 1 point per $1 spent on everything else.
But keep in mind, the annual fees on the Premier and Plus versions of the card are different. And only the Premier cards have no foreign transaction fees.
Here’s a closer look at the differences between the cards:
| Southwest Premier Card | Southwest Premier Business Card | Southwest Plus Card | Southwest Priority Card | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spending | • 2X Southwest points with Southwest and Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partner purchases • 1X Southwest points on all other purchases | • 2X Southwest points with Southwest and Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partner purchases • 1X Southwest points on all other purchases | • 2X Southwest points with Southwest and Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partner purchases • 1X Southwest points on all other purchases | • 2X points per $1 spent on Southwest purchases and Rapid Rewards car and hotel purchases • 1X points per $1 on all other purchases |
| Anniversary Points | 6,000 | 6,000 | 3,000 | 7,500 |
| Foreign Transaction Fees | None | None | 3% | None |
| Annual Fee | $99 | $99 | $69 | $149 |
The Southwest cards are different card products, so you can open more than one. But keep in mind, you will NOT earn the bonus if you have the same card already open, or received a bonus for it in the past 24 months.
Chase says:
This product is not available to either (i) current cardmembers of this credit card, or (ii) previous cardmembers of this credit card who received a new cardmember bonus for this credit card within the last 24 months.
Getting Approved for Chase Cards
Remember, Chase has tightened their card application rules. They’ll likely deny your application if you’ve opened ~5 or more credit cards (with any bank) in the past 24 months.
For that reason, think about which Chase cards are most important for your travel goals and get those first!
For most folks, I suggest the Chase Sapphire Preferred because it gives you amazing flexibility, including the ability to transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to great travel partners like Southwest!
A Good Time to Earn the Southwest Companion Pass!
Link: 8 Easy Steps to the Southwest Companion Pass
Link: 3 Mistakes That Won’t Get You the Southwest Companion Pass
Link: Ways to Earn the Extra 6,000 Southwest Points for the Companion Pass
Because it’s early in the year, earning the Southwest Companion Pass is still a terrific deal. That’s because if you qualify for the Companion Pass now, it’s valid for the rest of 2016 and all of 2017!
To get the Companion Pass, you need to earn 110,000 Southwest points in a calendar year.
The Southwest Companion Pass is the best deal for domestic travel, because your companion travels with you for almost free on both paid and award tickets.
By applying for 2 Southwest credit cards (personal and small business), you’ll earn 104,000 Southwest points (including points from meeting minimum spending). And there are lots of ways to easily earn the last 6,000 points you need for the Companion Pass!
Don’t think you’ll be approved for a small business card? Read my post about ways you might qualify!
Note: It’s unlikely Chase will approve you for 2 personal cards at the same time.More Ways to Use Southwest Points!
Southwest is adding new routes all the time! This includes more flights to Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America. And they intend to fly to Cuba starting as early as this summer.
So you’ll have lots of terrific places to go with your Southwest points! Especially if you live in one of the 10 cities with the most Southwest flights!
And your Big Travel with Small Money doesn’t have to stop with your Southwest flight. Check out my posts on where to stay using points in Southwest’s international destinations:
- Mexico (Cancun, Los Cabos, Mexico City, and Puerto Vallarta)
- The Caribbean (Aruba, The Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico)
- Central America (Costa Rica and Belize)
Bottom Line
The sign-up bonus on the Chase Southwest Plus card has increased to 50,000 Southwest points after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of opening your account.
So all 3 versions of the Southwest cards now have a 50,000 point sign-up bonus! That’s worth ~$715 to $850 in Southwest flights!
It’s a good time to consider earning the Southwest Companion Pass. That’s because by signing-up for 2 cards (personal and business), you’ll get almost enough points to qualify!
It’s the best deal in domestic travel! Because a friend can fly with you for almost free on paid and award tickets for up to 2 years!