IMPORTANT! On October 15, Southwest announced major changes to how you can earn a Companion Pass starting January 1, 2027 (see details here). The changes mean it will be nearly impossible for most people to earn a Companion Pass in 2027, unless you do an enormous amount of spending on credit cards or flights (like $130,000+ in a year).
You can still earn a Companion Pass through credit card welcome offers but it will expire on December 31, 2027.
If you want to earn a Companion Pass via credit card offers, you will need to
1) Confirm that you're actually eligible for the credit cards. Check here with our eligibility checker
2) Check the exact number of points you have on your Companion Pass Tracker. In the Southwest app, click the profile icon in the top right corner. Then you'll see how many points you have towards 135,000 so far.
3) Then you can head to the Card Combo Calculator to see which cards can help you get there.
4) Apply for the business card ASAP since approval is harder there. My affiliate links
5) Wait to apply for a personal card for a few weeks -- we often see elevated offers roll out around November.
The latest I recommend applying for any card for this is November 15. That's because of this term in the fine print:
Cardmembers who are approved for a Rapid Rewards Credit Card on or before Dec. 2, 2026 and meet the requirements for the new Cardmember welcome bonus will have the opportunity to have those points count as Companion Pass qualifying points, even if the spend threshold is met in early 2027.
Translation: Southwest will allow a grace period and will be backdating points earned from a welcome bonus to 2026 if you opened the card before December 2, 2026.
Since it can take up to 14 days from application to approval, November 15 is the last day I recommend applying for a new card.
