(This one is for reader Paul who requested a Southwest post)
I’ve said it a lot, so why not one more time…
The Southwest Airlines Companion Pass is the single best deal in domestic travel.
Bar none.
Since it’s getting close to that perfect window of time to start working on one again, let’s go through the facts:
- You have to earn 110,000 Southwest points in a calendar year to get one.
- Another option is flying 100 paid one-way Southwest flights in a calendar year to get a Companion Pass. Very few of you are doing that.
- What’s the point of one? On all of your Southwest flights (paid or points), your companion files free.
- The most common strategy is to get a 50,000-point Personal card, a 50,000-point Business card, and then find a way to earn the last 10,000 points.
- When you earn a Companion Pass, you hold it until the end of the following year. That is very, very important.
- Let me paint a better picture of this one. If you earn it today, you’ll have it until the end of 2016. If you earn it in January, you’ll have it until the end of 2017. The better choice is obvious.
- Again, all 110,000 points have to post in the same calendar year.
- If you’re going for it soon, the goal is to get your credit cards late in 2015 and have the 100,000 bonus points post early in 2016. Don’t mess this up.
Some more advanced Companion Pass topics:
- If you’re rich in Marriott points, look at their Hotel + Air packages. You can earn the Companion pass pretty easily this way. Take a look at Package 3. You could book a 7-night trip for 270,000 Marriott points AND earn 120,000 Southwest points for your trouble. This would automatically get you the Companion Pass (and a vacation).
- Other hotel points that transfer to Southwest include: Hyatt, Choice, Wyndham, and Club Carlson. None of those transfers are very good values.
- Chase Ultimate Rewards points (from cards like Sapphire, Ink, or Freedom) also transfer to Southwest. The ratio is much better (1 to 1). But there is a catch. Chase transfers won’t count towards your Companion Pass.
- If you’re interested in tracking how close you are to reaching the 110,000 points, you can do it here.
- Shopping portals often give big bonuses…Sears was recently 18 or 19 Southwest points per dollar spent. Some people rack up huge numbers this way and resell the merchandise.
- You can change your designated companion 3 times per calendar year.
One final note on Southwest. Everyone thinks about them as a bus in the air. Sure, it’s a no-frills airline but which domestic Coach flights are luxurious these days? As deals go, this is hard to beat.
