I have written before about why I find Southwest Airlines and the Companion Pass so valuable for my family's travels. The 2 card game plan outlined here for obtaining the pass is still the optimal way to earn the pass for maximum use. However, a new offer from Southwest to earn the pass may make sense for some.
Companion Pass overview
Simply, having the Companion Pass allows you to bring a friend at no cost (except for taxes and fees starting at $5.60) on any Southwest flight that you purchase a ticket with either cash or miles. So the more you fly, the more you can get buy one get one free trips. You can change your companion 3 times per year, offering flexibility as to who you bring.
Offer
Here are the details and timing of the current offer:
Sign up for any of the Chase personal Southwest cards (Plus, Premier, Priority) by 3/11/24
Spend $4000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
Once you fulfill those conditions, earn the Companion Pass for travel through 2/28/25 plus 30,000 Rapid Rewards points.
Why you may want to pass on this offer?
Compared to the traditional path for earning CP, this offer falls short. For one, you would only earn 34,000 points at minimum (30K bonus plus $4000 spend at 1 point earned per dollar). Compared to the two card method, which can earn you upwards of 130K points and more (depending on bonus offerings), this is paltry. Valuing Southwest points at roughly 1.4 cents per point, that's upwards of $1300 in lost value.
Plus, the two card path can give you the Companion pass for up to 23 months. That allows you to utilize free flights for much longer. With the current offer, say you applied February 6th and spend the $4000 in the first 30 days. Earning the pass in early March, 2024 would give you at most 12 months use of the pass.
Why this offer may make sense.
Reasons this offer may intrigue you:
The two card method is more complicated and takes too much effort.
You don't have a business or a means to applying for business credit cards. This is important, as getting at least one business credit card is integral to the 2 card method because you can only have one personal card at a time.
You have immediate plans to fly or potentially fly Southwest through Feb 2025.
The spend requirements of the two card method, typically $8000 or more in 3 months, is hard for you to accomplish.
Conclusion
If the idea of BOGO flights piques your interest and Southwest is a viable option for your travel habits, this new, reduced Companion Pass offer may be right for you. It would allow you, with minimal effort, to get your toes wet and see if the Companion Pass may be a huge benefit for you and your family. If you are interested in getting a new Southwest card for this offer, I'd appreciate using this link for the support.
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