How your Southwest Companion can fly for free | Coffee Break Ep32 | 11-5-24
Nov 5, 2024
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Discover the incredible value of the Southwest Companion Pass, which lets you fly for free with a friend, just paying taxes! Learn the requirements needed to earn this pass and the best strategies for accumulating points, including smart shopping and travel planning tips. Hear personal stories that showcase its cost-saving benefits, especially for families. Plus, get insights into upcoming changes at Southwest Airlines that could affect this travel perk. Don't miss out on maximizing your travel experience!
The Southwest Companion Pass significantly enhances travel value by allowing unlimited free flights for a companion with only minor taxes to pay.
Earning the Companion Pass is achievable through strategies like point accumulation via credit card bonuses, shopping portals, and hotel or car bookings.
Deep dives
Understanding the Southwest Companion Pass
The Southwest Companion Pass allows travelers to bring a friend or family member along for free on Southwest flights, significantly enhancing the value of the pass. It can be used an unlimited number of times as long as there are available seats, and travelers only pay the associated taxes, usually around $5.60 per leg of the flight. Importantly, passengers can add their companion even if the original ticket was purchased using points or cash by someone else. This flexibility makes the Companion Pass an attractive option for frequent flyers who want to save significantly on travel expenses.
Earning the Companion Pass
To earn the Southwest Companion Pass, individuals need to accumulate 135,000 qualifying points or fly 100 flights within a calendar year. Points earned through travel, credit card sign-ups, and spending all contribute to this total, with credit card holders having a slightly lower threshold at 125,000 points. Awareness of the timing and accumulation of these points is crucial since the totals reset with each new calendar year. For those looking to maximize their rewards, opening multiple credit cards to meet minimum spending for welcome bonuses is a common strategy that can rapidly boost point totals.
Maximizing Points Accumulation Strategies
Several effective strategies exist to help earn points towards the Companion Pass more quickly, such as using referral bonuses or shopping portals. Referrals for Southwest credit cards can yield substantial points if friends are approved, while purchases made through the Rapid Rewards shopping portal allow users to earn additional points per dollar spent at various retailers. Additionally, leveraging hotel stays and rental car bookings can contribute to points accumulation, as can referring small businesses to Southwest's managed travel program. This variety of methods makes the Companion Pass not just attainable but also a strategic element for those frequently traveling with a companion.
A Southwest Companion Pass can be massively valuable if you use it a lot. In this episode of Coffee Break, we'll break down how you can fly with a friend for free using the Southwest Companion Pass.
(03:36) - What are the requirements to earn a Southwest Companion Pass?
(04:28) - Which points count?
(13:02) - Online Shopping for the Southwest Companion Pass through the Southwest Rapid Rewards shopping portal
(14:25) - Hotel partners, or book hotels through Rocketmiles
(15:03) - Rental Cars
(15:09) - Referring businesses for SWABIZ (25K per business)
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Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads
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