fbpx
Airplane

NEW Southwest Companion Pass Requirements 2020

Disclosure: Basic Travel Couple, LLC has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Basic Travel Couple, LLC and CardRatings and MileValue may receive a commission from card issuers. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.

Note: Some of the offers mentioned below may have changed or are no longer available. The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of our partner offers may have expired. You canย view our current offers here.

Three New Changes to the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Program

Southwest began sending out notifications that they will be making some changes to their frequent flyer program starting in October 2019. Often times when these alerts come out, we fear for the worst news possible. Fortunately, the first change is actually one that helps customers!

Southwest Points No Longer Expire

Woohoo! Starting on October 17th, 2019, Southwest Airlines Points will no longer expire. I really like that more and more airlines are changing to the no expiration date policy. United Airlines was the last to do it a few months ago. Youโ€™ll find our full guide to all of the other airlines and what their points expiration policies are here

New Taxes & Fees for Sameday Standby Customers

A-List and A-List Preferred members have always been able to change their flights for free on the same day they are traveling to a standby ticket, if available. This is a nice perk of having A-List status with Southwest Airlines. Starting on January 1st, 2021 members who choose to change their flight using the Sameday Standby option will have to pay the government taxes and fees associated with the new flight. 

New Companion Pass Points Requirement

For years Southwest Frequent Flyers could either accumulate 110,000 Southwest Points in the same calendar year or fly 100 One-Way flight segments in order to earn the Companion Pass

The Southwest Companion Pass is essentially a Buy-One-Get-One FREE Pass that is good for the remainder of the year that it is earned and the entire following year. The only costs to the customer for using the pass are the government taxes and fees. These fees work out to be $5.60 each way on domestic flights which arenโ€™t bad at all!

Unfortunately, starting on January 1st, 2022 Southwest Customers will now need to accrue 135,000 southwest points in order to earn a companion pass.

card_name
bonus_miles
bonus_miles_disclaimer
annual_fees annual fee
card_name
bonus_miles
bonus_miles_disclaimer

Our Basic Verdict

Is this the worst news? No, I donโ€™t believe so. They certainly could have raised it even higher which would have made it more difficult to achieve the 135,000 point requirement. If youโ€™ve read our guide to the Southwest Companion Pass then youโ€™ll know that basic travelers typically earn the pass by opening up two Southwest Credit Cards and combining the bonus. This strategy can certainly still be used, however, it will now take more points or spending on the credit cards in order to meet the 135,000 minimum points required.ย 

Offers often vary, so see below for our current updated offers for the Southwest personal and business credit cards. These offers usually vary from 40,000-85,000 points for the personal card and around 60,000-125,000 for the business cards. If you opened one personal and one business card, you’d most likely be very close to meeting the 135,000 companion pass requirements.

card_name
bonus_miles
bonus_miles_disclaimer
annual_fees annual fee
card_name
bonus_miles
bonus_miles_disclaimer

All in all, I still LOVE the companion pass and believe itโ€™s still one of the best Basic Travel strategies out there. Lisa and I have traveled all over the United States and have visited a handful of Caribbean islands using the companion pass. We certainly would have not had the number of points or cash required to take all of those trips without the benefit of buy-one-get-one-free flights! 

New to Credit Card Rewards Points? Check out the BASICS Below!

Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the authorโ€™s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

Disclosure: Basic Travel Couple, LLC has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Basic Travel Couple, LLC and CardRatings and MileValue may receive a commission from card issuers. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.

The comments section below responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

5 Basic Travel Strategies

Need-to-know tricks for cheap travel.

Top Credit Card Offers

card_name
bonus_miles_full

Chase Freedom Flexโ„ 

5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate. Enjoy new 5% categories each quarter! 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewardsยฎ, our premier rewards program that lets you redeem rewards for cash back, travel, gift cards and more 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases. 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable APR of 19.74% - 28.49%.
card_name
bonus_miles_full
card_name
bonus_miles_full
credit-card

We're Dave & Lisa

An easy-going, fun-loving couple who have a passion for adventure and exploring the world! Our strategies have saved us over $100,000 in travel over the last four years, and our goal is to help you do the same.

Keep Exploring