Big changes are coming for earning the Southwest Companion Pass

The Southwest Companion Pass is one of the most valuable benefits in the airline industry, letting you fly a friend or family member with you for free. While it’s traditionally tough to earn, credit card welcome bonus offers remain the fastest path to earning it.

However, Southwest recently announced some major changes to its Rapid Rewards program that will affect how you earn the Companion Pass beginning in 2027. Fortunately, there’s still one last opportunity to earn the Companion Pass through credit card welcome bonuses, including some elevated offers of up to 90,000 points.

Here’s how it works, what’s changing, and how you can still earn the pass under the current rules.

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Beginning January 1st, 2027, Southwest is changing how members earn Companion Pass benefits. The traditional Companion Pass qualifying points system is being retired, and credit card welcome bonuses will no longer count toward earning the benefit.

Instead, earning the Companion Pass will become part of Southwest’s new Tier Qualifying Points (TQPs) and Milestone Rewards structure.

There will be two opportunities to earn the Companion Pass:

• Three Companion Pass trips: Earn 95,000 Tier Qualifying Points (TQPs) or complete 75 qualifying one-way flights in a calendar year. Each Companion Pass trip can be used for either a one-way or round-trip itinerary.
• Unlimited Companion Pass trips: Earn 140,000 TQPs or complete 100 qualifying one-way flights to reach Platinum status. One of the benefits of Platinum status is an unlimited Companion Pass.

While you can still earn TQPs through qualifying Southwest flights, you’ll also earn one TQP for every dollar spent on eligible purchases with a Southwest credit card beginning in 2027.

However, several activities that previously helped you earn the Companion Pass will no longer count. Beyond credit card welcome bonuses, this includes anniversary points, bonus points from spending categories (such as gas or groceries), referral bonuses, and partner activity such as hotel stays, rental cars, and Southwest’s online shopping portal.

If you’re still looking to earn the Companion Pass under the rules we’ve all been accustomed to, you still have one last chance.

Despite the changes taking place in 2027, you can still earn the pass under the current rules. This means earning 135,000 qualifying Companion Pass points, and with the elevated welcome bonus offers on Southwest Rapid Rewards credit cards, earning the pass for 2027 is still very much an option.

Southwest is extending an olive branch to its members. As long as you’re approved for the Southwest credit card (or cards) by December 2nd, the qualifying points from its welcome bonus will be backdated and count toward your 2026 Companion Pass, even if you meet the spending requirement and receive the points in early 2027.

But remember, any other qualifying points needed to reach the 135,000-point threshold must still post to your account by December 31st, 2026. Only the qualifying points from the credit card welcome bonus can be earned in early 2027.

Under the current rules, you need to accrue 135,000 Companion Pass qualifying points in a single calendar year to earn the pass. Thanks to Southwest’s new exception, eligible credit card welcome bonus points can still count toward that requirement even if they post in early 2027. Alternatively, you can qualify by completing 100 qualifying one-way flights.

While that may sound daunting, the Southwest credit card welcome bonuses make it much easier.

Here are the current Southwest personal credit card welcome offers and their respective minimum spend requirements:

• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card: Earn 80,000 bonus points after you spend $1,000 in the first 3 months from account opening.
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card: Earn 85,000 bonus points after you spend $2,000 in the first 3 months from account opening.
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card: Earn 90,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months from account opening.

This means that after meeting the spend requirement and earning the welcome bonus, you’ll end up with at least 81,000 to 93,000 points — depending on the card you apply for.

This brings you about two-thirds of the way to the 135,000-point requirement. You could earn those remaining points from additional credit card spend, the Southwest shopping portal, partner offers, or from flying Southwest. But remember, the non-welcome bonus qualifying points still must hit your account in 2026.

But another option is pairing a personal card with a Southwest business credit card, which can easily put you over the threshold. Unlike with Southwest personal cards, you’re allowed to hold both a personal and a business Southwest card at the same time. The two options are:

• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months from account opening.
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card: Earn 80,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 in the first 3 months from account opening.

Right now, pairing any personal Southwest card with either business card will put you well over the 135,000-point threshold once you meet both minimum spend requirements.

You’ll just want to make sure you’re under 5/24 before you apply. As a reminder, Chase’s 5/24 rule states that if you’ve opened five or more credit cards in the last 24 months across all credit card issuers, you probably won’t be approved for a new Chase card. Business credit cards don’t always count toward 5/24, though personal ones usually do.

The Southwest Companion Pass lets you add one person to any Southwest flight you book — paid with either cash or Rapid Rewards points — as long as a seat is available for sale. The only cost is taxes and fees: $5.60 each way for domestic flights, and slightly more for international routes.

The pass has no limit on use, so your companion could join you on every trip. You can also switch your designated companion up to three times each calendar year.

Once earned, the pass is valid for the remainder of the calendar year plus all of the following year. For example, if you earn the pass in December 2026, you’ll enjoy free companion travel through December 31st, 2027 — giving you a little over a year with the pass.

Best of all, the pass can be added to a previously booked flight, so if you already have a flight booked — prior to earning the pass — your companion can still fly with you for free. Your pass just needs to be active during the time of flying.

Because you have to earn all 135,000 points in a single calendar year, timing is everything. With the newly introduced changes, this year is a little different than what you might have read in the past. With Southwest changing the program in 2027, you have one final opportunity to earn the traditional Companion Pass through credit card welcome bonuses.

If you apply for and are approved for a Southwest credit card by December 2nd, 2026, you’ll have until the end of the card’s minimum spending period to earn its welcome bonus, even if that means the points post in 2027.

Just remember that any additional qualifying points needed to reach 135,000 — outside of the eligible new cardmember welcome bonus — must post by December 31st, 2026.

If you’re able to earn the 135,000 qualifying points under these rules, you’ll be able to utilize the pass for unlimited companion travel through December 31st, 2027.

Note that the bonus points earned from the welcome offer typically post within a few weeks of you hitting the spending threshold.

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With three personal cards available, here’s how the benefits stack up:

• Southwest Plus ($99 annual fee): Includes one free checked bag (plus up to 8 companions on the reservation), 3,000 anniversary points, Group 5 priority boarding, complimentary Standard seat within 48 hours of departure, 25% back on inflight purchases, and no foreign transaction fees.
• Southwest Premier ($149 annual fee): Similar to the Plus card, but with 6,000 anniversary points, the option to select a Preferred seat within 48 hours of departure, and the potential to earn A-List status with credit card spend.
• Southwest Priority ($229 annual fee): Adds 7,500 anniversary points, complimentary Preferred or Standard seat reservation at the time of booking, upgrades to extra legroom seats within 48 hours of departure, and additional status-qualifying points.

The right choice depends on how often you fly and whether you value the added perks enough to justify the higher annual fee.

Absolutely. The Southwest Companion Pass is one of the best deals in travel as it lets you fly a friend for free — again and again. I’ve been a passholder for more than 15 years, and it’s saved my family tens of thousands of dollars over the years. Sadly though, with the changes taking place next year, 2027 will most likely be my last year as a passholder.

If you want to stretch your travel budget and bring someone along for free, the Companion Pass is well worth going after. Just make sure you earn the required 135,000 qualifying points with the current rules, and you could enjoy unlimited companion flights through the end of 2027.

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