Southwest Companion Pass: How to Earn It and Use It in 2026

Introduction

The Southwest Companion Pass is unlike anything else in U.S. loyalty programs. Once you earn it, a designated companion can fly with you on any Southwest flight, paid or award, for the rest of the year you earn it plus the entire next calendar year. They pay only the taxes and fees — typically $5.60 to $11.20 per one-way segment. Two travelers, one ticket cost.

The math gets attention-grabbing fast. A family that flies Southwest 6 round-trips a year — say, two adults from Chicago to Orlando four times and to Phoenix twice — saves roughly $2,400 in airfare across the Companion Pass year, just on the second seat.

This guide covers the 2026 qualification rules (which changed in 2024), the cleanest credit-card paths to qualify quickly, the timing trick that maximizes the pass duration, and the operational details — how to book companion travel, how to switch your designated companion, and how to keep the pass active across years.

What the Companion Pass actually is

Southwest Rapid Rewards members earn Companion Pass status by:

• Flying 100 qualifying one-way revenue flights within a calendar year, OR
• Earning 135,000 qualifying points within a calendar year

Once earned, the pass is valid for the rest of the calendar year you qualified plus the full following calendar year. So qualifying on January 5, 2026 gives you nearly 24 months of companion benefits. Qualifying on December 28, 2026 gives you about 12 months. Timing matters.

Once you have the pass, you nominate one specific person as your companion. That person can fly with you on any Southwest flight — paid fares, award redemptions, mistake fares, anything — for free, paying only government taxes and fees ($5.60 per one-way segment for U.S. flights, slightly more for international).

You can change your designated companion up to three times per calendar year.

What counts as a qualifying point in 2026

Only the following points count toward the 135,000-point qualification threshold:

• Base points earned from paid Southwest flights (6 points per dollar on Wanna Get Away+, 8 points on Anytime, 12 points on Business Select)
• Tier-qualifying point bonuses for A-List and A-List Preferred members
• Points earned on Southwest co-branded credit cards (this is the big one — see below)
• Points earned via Rapid Rewards Dining and Shopping portals
• Points from referred new card accounts (referral bonuses)

What does NOT count:

• Points transferred from Chase Ultimate Rewards (transfers are not qualifying points)
• Points earned from non-Chase or non-Southwest channels

This means the fastest path to Companion Pass is via Chase-issued Southwest credit cards — both the welcome bonuses and the ongoing spend earn qualifying points.

The cleanest 2026 qualification paths

Path 1: Two Southwest credit cards (the classic)

Open one Southwest personal card and one Southwest business card in the same calendar year.

The current Southwest co-branded credit cards from Chase:

If you open the Premier Business and the Priority personal in the same year and earn both welcome bonuses (typically 60K + 60K = 120K), you only need ~15,000 more qualifying points from regular spend on those cards to hit 135,000. At 2 points per dollar on most categories, that's $7,500 in spend across the cards — easily achievable in 11 months.

Important Chase application rules:

• Chase's "5/24" rule: if you've opened 5 or more credit cards across all banks in the past 24 months, Chase typically denies new card applications. Check your accounts before applying.
• Chase has a velocity rule on Southwest cards: you can only earn a Southwest welcome bonus if you haven't received one on a personal Southwest card in the previous 24 months (separate rule for business cards).

Path 2: One business card + heavy spend

If you can only open one new card this year, the Southwest Performance Business at 80K welcome bonus + 4× points on Southwest purchases gets you halfway there. The remaining 55,000 qualifying points then come from:

• ~$25,000 in regular non-bonus spend on the card (1× = 25K), OR
• A combination of Southwest flight earning + dining/shopping portal + travel spend

Realistic for a small-business owner with 5-figure-monthly spend on a single card. Less realistic for personal use.

Path 3: Buy your way in (mostly not recommended)

Southwest sells points at ~3¢ each. You'd need to buy ~50,000 points to top off — that's $1,500 in cash to earn a benefit worth ~$2,400 in companion airfare per year. The math works only if your companion would have flown Southwest with you anyway (so the cash savings is real, not theoretical) and only if you're starting from a strong existing balance.

The timing trick: qualify in January

Because the pass is good for the rest of the qualifying year + the full next year, qualifying as early as possible in the calendar year maximizes pass duration.

The mechanics: open both cards in October–November 2025. Hit the minimum spend so the welcome-bonus points post in January 2026 (not December 2025 — that would attribute the points to 2025 and give you only the 2026 calendar year of pass coverage). Then push remaining spend in January and February 2026 to top up to 135,000 qualifying points by mid-February.

Pass effective: ~February 2026 through December 31, 2027. Approximately 22 months of companion travel — versus 12 months if you qualify in December 2026.

This requires precise timing — Chase reports points monthly, and timing the welcome-bonus post takes some effort. Many travelers miss this nuance and qualify in December for far less benefit.

How to nominate and use your companion

Once you cross the 135,000-qualifying-point threshold, Southwest sends a confirmation email within 24–48 hours. Then:

1. Log into southwest.com → My Account → Companion Pass
2. Click "Add or change companion"
3. Enter your companion's full legal name (matching their government ID), date of birth, and Rapid Rewards number (they should have one — sign them up free if not)
4. Save

To book companion travel:

1. Book your flight first (paid fare or award booking) on southwest.com under your account
2. After your booking is confirmed, return to your reservation
3. Click "Add a Companion"
4. Select your designated companion from the dropdown
5. Pay only the taxes and fees ($5.60 per one-way segment for U.S. flights)

Companion bookings can be added up to the moment your flight closes — Southwest's flexibility here is unmatched. You can book your own flight as a one-way to a destination, then add the companion 30 minutes before departure if plans change.

Changing your designated companion

You can change your companion up to three times per calendar year. Common scenarios:

• A spouse for half the year, then a parent or kid for a family trip, then back to the spouse
• A business partner for Q1–Q2 work travel, then a spouse for summer vacation
• A close friend for occasional trips throughout the year

To change: same place in your account. Note that changes apply to future bookings — companion tickets already on file with the previous designated companion remain valid.

Things that surprise people about the Companion Pass

• It works on award redemptions, not just paid fares. Use 25,000 Rapid Rewards points to book a flight to Hawaii — your companion comes along for $11.20.
• You can't share the pass with multiple people for the same flight. Only your one designated companion at a time.
• You can use Companion Pass on international Southwest flights. Includes Mexico, Caribbean, and Central America destinations. Just slightly higher taxes — usually $20–$45 per one-way segment.
• Same-day flight changes work. If you're in the airport and decide to fly home early, your companion's ticket changes free along with yours (assuming an award booking) or for the standard same-day change fee (paid fares).
• Companion Pass doesn't get extended for canceled flights. If Southwest cancels a flight, you get a refund of the taxes/fees, but the pass period doesn't get extra time.

Maintaining Companion Pass year-over-year

Southwest's pass requires re-qualification each calendar year — earning 135,000 qualifying points or 100 one-way flights each year. The "two cards in one year" trick only works once because of the welcome-bonus restriction. Subsequent years require:

• Heavy organic spend on the Southwest cards you already have (135K points = ~$67,500 spend on a 2× card, or $33,750 on a Performance Business at 4× on Southwest)
• Heavy flight earning if you fly Southwest 50+ one-way segments yearly anyway
• A second pass-eligible business card (you can earn separate welcome bonuses on personal vs business product lines, so a Premier Business in Year 2 followed by a Performance Business in Year 4 is doable)
• Chase referral bonuses when family or friends apply through your link — those count

Most Companion Pass holders re-qualify naturally if they fly Southwest 8+ round-trips a year (≈48 one-way segments) and put $20K of regular spend on the cards.

Alternatives if you can't qualify

If the credit-card velocity is too aggressive for your situation, two lighter options exist:

• Anytime fare upgrades: 12 points per dollar instead of 6 means moderate flyers can hit qualification with normal travel patterns alone. A traveler who flies $4,500 of paid Southwest flights yearly on Anytime fares earns 54K + tier bonuses without any cards.
• Companion Pass for spouses by stacking single-card spend: A two-person household with both spouses authorized on a single Southwest card can theoretically combine spend toward one Pass — but only the primary cardholder's points count. The non-primary's bonuses don't earn, so this isn't usually faster than the two-card approach.

FAQ

Can I transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Southwest to qualify? No. Transferred points don't count as qualifying points, and they don't reset the clock. The points must be earned directly through Southwest credit cards or flying.

What's the difference between Southwest Premier and Priority? Both are personal cards. Priority ($149 fee) includes a $75 annual Southwest credit, 4 upgraded boardings per year, and 25% off in-flight purchases. Premier ($99 fee) is simpler. For Companion Pass timing alone, either works — Premier costs less to earn the welcome bonus.

Does the welcome bonus on the Premier Business card count toward Companion Pass? Yes. As of 2026, all Chase-issued Southwest credit-card welcome bonuses count toward the 135,000-point qualification.

Can my companion have their own Rapid Rewards account? Yes — and they should. Your companion still earns their own Rapid Rewards points on flights they take with you, even though you paid only taxes for their seat. They can also apply for their own Southwest credit cards and earn separate Companion Passes (so you could each have a different person designated).

What happens if I lose my pass mid-year because of a Chase clawback? Rare but possible. If Chase rescinds welcome-bonus points (for closing the card too quickly, or other policy violations), you could drop below 135,000 qualifying points and lose the pass. Once granted, the pass typically isn't reversed for legitimate qualification — Southwest tends to honor passes earned in good faith.

Does Southwest still have Bags Fly Free? Yes. As of 2026, Southwest still includes two free checked bags per passenger, including for the companion on a Companion Pass booking. This adds another $35–$50 per trip in implicit savings vs. carriers that charge for bags.

Bottom line

The Southwest Companion Pass is the highest-leverage single benefit in U.S. domestic travel, by a wide margin. The two-card path to qualification is the clearest move for anyone who can clear Chase's 5/24 rule — two welcome bonuses plus a few months of regular spend gets you nearly two years of free companion travel. For frequent Southwest fliers, this single benefit can offset thousands of dollars per year in airfare. Time it right, and the math is hard to beat.