Earn More Points for a Southwest Companion Pass Fast

When working towards a Southwest Companion Pass, every point counts! If you’re getting close to reaching that 135,000 point goal to earn a Companion Pass but you’re not quite there, this post is for you.

We’ve put together several ways to help you earn those last points quickly so you can reach your goal and earn that Companion Pass. These are especially for you if you find yourself just a tiny bit short of what you need. 

These aren’t the quickest way overall to earn the Companion Pass. We cover that in detail here. 

Quick Review

You earn a Southwest Companion Pass when you have 135,000 Companion Pass qualifying points earned in a calendar year.

This doesn’t mirror the number of Rapid Rewards points you have in your account, these are separate numbers. 

You can find your Companion Pass tracker by logging into your Southwest account. From a desktop, click “My Account” and then you’ll see the tracker on the right side of the screen when you scroll down. From the Southwest app, click the person icon in the top right corner, then look for the tracker part way down (you’ll see an airplane). Then you need to click the small grey arrow to the right of that airplane to see your Companion Pass tracker. 

The tracker resets every year on January 1.  

Open a Southwest Debit Card

• Earning potential: 7500 Companion Pass qualifying points (plus more for the bonus if you pursue it)
• Time to post: Typically within 7-14 days of opening the debit account
• Cost: $6.99 per month. You don’t need to keep this open long term and the first month you likely won’t be charged. 

Southwest debit cardholders earn 7,500 Companion Pass qualifying points just for holding the card. These aren’t points that can be used for flights, but they count towards the total 135,000 points you need to earn a Companion Pass.

The 7,5000 qualifying points you get by holding the debit card can be stacked with the 10,000 qualifying points you get as a Southwest credit cardholder.

Read all about the Southwest Debit Card here. 

The terms state that it can take up to 30 days for the points to post to your account. In Katie’s experience, the points posted much sooner than that! Katie opened the Southwest debit card on November 21, and the Companion Pass qualifying points posted on November 26.

   

Southwest Hotels

• Earning potential: Up to 10,000 points per night booked 
• Time to post: If you book a pre-paid, nonrefundable rate, you will earn the points within a few days after you book the hotel. 
• Cost: Varies per hotel. Use the filters to sort by “Points earned” when searching for properties. You can also filter for a cost per night. 

If you will be paying for hotels and are not concerned with trying to earn hotel elite status, booking via Southwest Hotels can be a great option. You can earn up to 10,000 points per night though it is harder to find the 10,000/night rates. Earning rates vary based on location and inventory.

If you want your points to post ASAP, you’ll want to book a pre-paid, nonrefundable rate. With these rates, points typically post right away to your Southwest account. 

Spending on a Southwest Credit Card

• Earning potential: Varies on spending, some offers will earn 5x
• Time to post: Generally will post when your next credit card statement closes. Bonus offers may not post until the end of the quarter. 
• Cost: No cost to you. 

All the spending you do on a Southwest Credit Card will count towards earning your Companion Pass. The earning rates will vary per card. Check your card’s rates in our Southwest Card Guide. 

Pro Tip: Every quarter you should also make sure to check all your Chase cards for additional targeted offers for earning in different categories. You can check at https://www.chase.com/mybonus. You just need to enter in your card details. 

Earning a Welcome Offer on a new Southwest Card

• Earning potential: 50,000+ (depends on time of year)
• Time to post: Will post when your statement closes after you meet minimum spend requirements
• Cost: Annual fees range from $99+

This is the primary way we teach of earning a Companion Pass quickly. You can find our full guide and timeline here. Depending on which Southwest cards you have or have recently opened, you may be eligible to open an Southwest card and earn another welcome offer. 

If you don’t already have a Southwest credit card you’ll also get 10,000 bonus points added to your tracker. These aren’t points you can spend but do “boost” you towards a Companion Pass. You’ll get these every year you hold the card. 

Southwest Rapid Rewards Shopping

• Earning potential: Lots of offers
• Time to post: Some will post within a few days, some will take over a month to post. Read the terms!
• Cost: Varies per deal. 

Southwest Rapid Rewards Shopping is available as a browser extension, or you can click through from their website to different deals. You can earn for online purchases at places you already shop – like Walmart, Kohls, Home Depot, etc.

Some deals offer fixed points per dollar, and others have a larger point amount per purchase. Read the terms carefully and screenshot them! Here are some sample deals that I’ve found that can help you quickly earn more points. There are more on the site for you to browse, too.

You”ll want to double check the fine print on a specific offer to see how long before it might post. For some subscription services, you’ll need to hold the subscription 30+ days. That means if you’re looking for points to post quickly, you’ll have to vet deals carefully. 

Note: these current deals might be expired when you view this.

Southwest Rapid Rewards Dining

• Earning potential: Not huge, but might give you some over time. You earn 3 points per dollar spend. 
• Time to post: Posts pretty quickly after dining out. 
• Cost: No additional cost to enroll. 

Link a credit or debit card to Rapid Rewards Dining and you will automatically earn extra points when you pay for a meal at a restaurant in the program. I suggest linking whatever card you use the most to keep it easy. It doesn’t have to be a Southwest credit card.

Note that the 500 point bonus for signing up will not count towards your Companion Pass tracker.

Refer a Friend to Open a Southwest Credit Card

When you refer a friend, and they open any Southwest credit card using your link, you earn 20,000 Rapid Rewards points (up to 100,000 points total per year). To get your personalized referral link, go to Chase.com/referafriend.

Other options

You can also browse the “Shop and Dine Partners” and “Home and Energy Partners” sections on Southwest’s website.

Keep in mind that the “Specialty Partners” category will earn points, but those points don’t count towards a Companion Pass. This includes taking surveys through Rewards for Opinions.