It’s Southwest Companion Pass + 50,000 BONUS Time!!

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If you EVER fly Southwest, this could save you thousands.

Every now and then, Southwest doubles the signup bonus on their cards to 50,000 points.  That time is now!  The increased bonus is reason enough to get this card.  To get the bonus, just spend $2,000 in the first three months your card is open.

The Catch: You will not earn the bonus if you have the same card already open, or have received a sign up bonus on the card you apply for in the past 24 months.

Depending upon where and when you are flying, 50,000 points can be several round trip tickets.

Click on “Chip’s Favorite Credit Card Offers” at the top right side of this website.  Then click the “Airline Miles” section.  Scroll down to the 22nd card. Email me if you have any questions.  Full disclosure: I may get a commission if you apply using my link, so… Thanks!

This 50,000 point bonus on the personal and business cards makes it pretty easy for you to get something very special.

The Companion Pass – Greatest Travel Perk Ever!

SouthwestCompanionPassSouthwest’s Companion Pass is one of my favorite things.  It ranks up there with raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens.

Here’s the deal:  In any calendar year in which you earn 110,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards points or fly 100 one-way segments you earn a Companion Pass for the rest of that year, PLUS the following year.

You can have a Companion Pass through December 31, 2017.  That’s 19 months!

Your companion can go with you on EVERY FLIGHT whether you buy a ticket or use Rapid Rewards points.  This is not a free ticket that you can hand out to anyone.  You must designate your companion.  You can change your companion three times.  Because you must allow 21 days for processing changes, this ain’t gonna work for you playuhs out there.  Companion Pass and reward travel are free except for 9/11 taxes (you must pony-up $5.60 each way).

Are You Large And In Charge?

fat_guy_airplaneIf you are a “customer of size” you can use your Companion Pass to get an open seat next to yourself.

I confirmed this with Evonne at Southwest today. She said, “If you want to have an open seat as your Companion, give Southwest a call and they will set up a ‘Customer Account’ for your Companion. That Customer Account will be all of your same information but will have ‘XS’ (Extra Seat) as your middle name. At the gate, you will be given an official seat holder card designating the seat next to you as taken. You’ll be allowed to pre-board.” Check out the Companion Pass FAQs for more details.

How Do I Get To 110,000 Points?

Get yourself a personal and business card.  Meeting the spending requirements on those cards will get you to 104,000 points.  A business card???

Remember, if you make some money doing something on the side, that probably qualifies as a business. I have sole proprietorship businesses for acting, rental property and personal finance.  Do you have mulitiple gigs?  Here is How to Fill Out a Business Credit Card Application.

You can find the link to apply for the business card after you click on the link to apply for the personal card.  It is at the bottom of the personal card page and looks like this:

Here’s What I Did

I applied for a Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Premier personal card.  I was NOT instantly approved.  They gave me a number to call.  Because I have several Chase cards, they asked me if I would be willing to move some of my available credit line from another card, over to the new Southwest card.  Yep!  Approved.  Done and done.

Then I applied for a Southwest business card.  I was NOT instantly approved here either.  So I called their reconsideration line at 1-800-453-9719.  They said I already had enough Chase business cards.  The rep said that I could cancel a business card or two but there was no guarantee that I’d get approved for the Southwest business card.  I decided to cancel 3 of my 4 Chase business cards.

The next day, I called the business card reconsideration line again.  The rep asked me how much of a limit I wanted on my Southwest business card.  I said $5,000 would be fine.  He put me on hold for a moment then came back and said I was approved for $15,000.  Ummmm… Okay.  What a difference a day makes!

Why Is NOW A Great Time To Do This?

If you got the cards, met the spend, and qualified in the next month – which is possible – you would have a free companion pass for the next 19 months.

Choose Your Statement Drop Date (NOT Date Payment Is Due)

Another great thing about Chase is that they let you call in to choose your statement drop date.  Let’s say that you know you will meet your spending requirement by the end of the month.  Set your statement drop date to the 1st of the month.  If you spend $2,000 on each card ASAP, all of your card activity will drop with your statement on the 1st.  You’ll have 104,000 points from the bonuses and spending.  That still leaves you 6,000 shy of the 110,000 threshold for the Companion Pass.

You can sit around and spend $6,000 little by little.  But you wanna achieve Companion Pass status ASAP.   A Companion Pass will save hundreds of dollars per trip!

How To Meet The Spend

With that in mind, check out my post 11 Ways To Meet A Spending Requirement.  Some of these ideas may seem odd to you.  But if your goal is to get to 110,000 points ASAP, I say let it get weird!!

Can Chase Ultimate Rewards Help?

Another option is using Chase Ultimate Rewards points.  For those of you who have Chase Ultimate Rewards points, it does NOT count toward the Companion Pass if you transfer those directly to Southwest.  You CAN transfer Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt points, and then transfer Hyatt points to Southwest.  This would also help you achieve a Companion Pass if you have UR points and do not get two Southwest cards.  You can transfer 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points into 50,000 Hyatt points.  50,000 Hyatt points transfer into 30,000 Southwest points.

Other Stuff

The card has a $99 annual fee, but you get 6,000 points on your cardmember anniversary.  As you can see from how far the points stretch, that ain’t so bad.  It has no foreign transaction fees.  Free checked bags.  You get a point for every buck you spend on the card.

Southwest fares are either refundable or can be applied to future travel.  Unlike other airlines, there are no change fees or fees to put my points back in my account. I have a couple events coming up that I might be able to attend.  I booked flights using Southwest points knowing I can cancel them and get all my points back. I can also change the dates without penalty.

I appreciate you checking out “Chip’s Favorite Credit Card Offers” at the top right side of this website for up-to-date info on these cards and more.  Email me if you have any questions.

This content is not provided or commissioned by the company whose products are featured on this site. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or evaluations provided here are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the Advertiser. This site may be compensated through the Advertiser’s affiliate programs.

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