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Southwest 100k credit card offers go until December 7th, 2021

One of the most common questions I get on TikTok is about Southwest airlines and the Companion Pass. Zach, I need it, I want it, How do I Hack that bad boy?! Well… this is a pretty sick deal if the Companion Pass is in your sights AND if you read until the end, I explain how you can get it for almost 2 YEARS.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Southwest Companion Pass it’s essentially a Buy One Get One Free pass for the entire time you carry it – you do have to pay the taxes on the “free” ticket, but it’s pretty incredible, and can save LOADS of cash.

But… it can require A LOT of flying. In order to get the Companion Pass you need to earn 125k miles. Did you know that these Credit Card Miles COUNT toward the COMPANION PASS?!

100k Southwest Rewards Plus Offer

• Earn 100k points total split into 2 parts.
  • Earn 50k after spending $2k in 3 months
  • Earn 50k after spending $12k total in 12 months
• 3x on Southwest purchases
• 2x on transit including commuting and rideshare apps
• 2x on internet, cable, phone, and select streaming
• 3000 point anniversary bonus:
  • After you account anniversary you’ll receive 3000 Southwest points
• 2 EarlyBird Check-In(R) each year
• $69 Annual Fee

100k Southwest Rewards Premier Offer

• Earn 100k points total split into 2 parts.
  • Earn 50k after spending $2k in 3 months
  • Earn 50k after spending $12k total in 12 months
• 3x on Southwest purchases
• 2x on transit including commuting and rideshare apps
• 2x on internet, cable, phone, and select streaming
• 6000 point anniversary bonus:
  • After you account anniversary you’ll receive 3000 Southwest points
• 2 EarlyBird Check-In(R) each year
• $99 Annual Fee

100k Southwest Rewards Priority Offer

• Earn 100k points total split into 2 parts.
  • Earn 50k after spending $2k in 3 months
  • Earn 50k after spending $12k total in 12 months
• 3x on Southwest purchases
• 2x on transit including commuting and rideshare apps
• 2x on internet, cable, phone, and select streaming
• 7,500-point anniversary bonus:
  • After you account anniversary you’ll receive 7500 Southwest points
• $75 annual Southwest travel credit:
  • During your cardmember year, you’ll get a $75 travel credit to use on Southwest – these don’t include upgrades or inflight purchases, but the great thing is that it does count towards purchasing tickets.
• Four upgraded boardings per year ( when available ):
  • Want to get in that sweet A1-A15 spot? You can use these at the ticket counter or gate to jump to the front.
• Annual Fee $149

What is the Southwest Companion Pass?

It’s really pretty simple, and as I mentioned one of the topics I’m asked about most. Every single time you fly, whether you used cash or points to book your Southwest ticket, your companion flies with you free. This requires earning 125k Qualifying Rapid Rewards points in a year in order to qualify.

• You still have to pay the companion taxes and fees
• You have to select the companion that will fly free with you while your companion pass is valid
  • You can change who this is 3x in the year
    • This is based on calendar year so you could change it 3x this year, and then again 3x in 2022
  • You can make changes by calling this number 1-800-435-9792

How to get 2 years of the Southwest Companion Pass

This is a SUPER COOL aspect of this offer – the timing. It sets you up perfectly to land a Companion Pass for nearly 2 years.

The Southwest Companion starts when you hit 125k miles and expires ends the year after the year you hit that threshold. So…if you were to hit the bonus in 2021, and fly the extra miles needed to get your Companion Pass this calendar year, it would expire at the end of 2022.

However, if you were to earn your credit card bonus points in the early months of 2022, and hit the Companion Pass shortly thereafter, you would have it all the way through 2023.

• The bonuses are split into two sections
  • 50k after $3k spend in 3 months
  • 50k after $12k spend in 12 months

You want to time your purchases so that those bonuses hit in 2022. Meaning, if you have some big purchases coming up, it would be better to delay them until December so that they will close in January and your bonus will hit your account then. Whether that is the $3k threshold or the $12k threshold.

This would start 2022 off at 112k Southwest points ($12k spend + 100k bonus ) – just 13k away from Companion

The Southwest shopping portal purchases count toward Companion Pass

Did you know there is a Southwest Shopping Portal where you can buy the stuff you may ordinarily buy online but earn Southwest points? Usually I’d advocate for using other shopping portals with higher rates of return, but when you’re aiming at the Companion Pass it will help you get there quicker and start saving on flights. You can go here

How much are 100k Southwest Points worth?

On average, I would say that Southwest Points rattle around 1.3 to 1.6c. You can see in this example that the wanna get away price is $168 or 10,527 points. That is roughly 1.6c. However, you can see the Business Select fare of $691 would cost you 51,309 or roughly 1.35c a point. That range puts 30k Southwest Points worth $390 to $480. At least twice the annual fee, not including the Companion Pass.

Don’t forget that the Companion Pass works on flights purchased with points. So the fare listed below that costs 10,527 points would actually fly two people.

Chase Ultimate Rewards

Don’t forget that you can shore up your Southwest balance by transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards 1:1 – this could be quite good value when flying with a Companion Pass. However, remember that these transfers don’t count toward earning your Companion Pass, they are only redeemable for flights.

Go here to see our favorite Chase Ultimate Reward earning credits cards.

Important Eligibility Info – Southwest Family restrictions

This is a strategy that Chase employs with their Sapphire cards as well, but with a little twist. While you can apply for and get approved for another Southwest personal credit card there are some rule you should be aware of:

1. These cards all fall under Chase’s 5/24 rule – meaning if you have added more than 5 new credit cards in the last 24 months you won’t be approved. These are specific to your personal credit report, so most business credit cards don’t count.
2. If you have received a Southwest bonus on ANY personal card in the last 24 months, you wont’ be eligible.
3. If you’re currently holding a personal Chase Southwest card, you would be ineligible as well

If you’re under 5/24 and you haven’t received a personal SWA credit card bonus in the last 24 months, you should be good go to as long as you’re approved.

Overall

This is a massively good deal if you’re looking to fly a lot of domestic flights on Southwest Airlines. The timing is great, the offers are best ever, and it could set you up for nearly 2 years of flying with your bestie simply by getting one credit card.