This info is a little bit more complex but I know a lot of you have families and may want to earn two Companion Passes and I want to make sure you pick the right strategy for you.

If you remember from last lesson, it is pretty easy to earn a Companion Pass with one business and one personal card.

And while yes you COULD earn 2x Companion Passes with two business and two personal cards, there's actually a way to earn it with just three cards. This is especially important because following this strategy will also make it easier for you to re-earn the Companion Pass x2 again in two years.

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Three cards/Two pass method

The timing on the three card/two pass method will be different than it is with the two cards/one pass method.

This method leverages referral bonuses. The first person (we'll call them P1) will earn the bulk of his/her points by applying for the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card but will earn the rest of his/her Companion Pass points through referring the second person (we'll call them P2) twice.

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Open Card One in the late fall

P1 is going to open the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card sometime after October 15th.

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The timing is similar, but a little delayed

In some ways the timing is the same as the “standard” two cards/one pass method. If you are applying for cards late in a calendar year, you need to do everything to make sure your points do not post until after January 1st the following year.

That's because your Companion Pass Tracker will reset to 0 on January 1st. You'll still have all your points! It's just that the points you have no longer count towards this goal of earning a Companion Pass.

If you're doing the three card/two pass method, you still need to make sure that your welcome offer posts in January, but you also need to make sure your REFERRAL points don't post until after January 1st, either.

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When to open cards Two & Three

P1 can refer the P2 to one Southwest business card and one Southwest personal card only after their December statement closes. That's because Southwest points only post to your account in conjunction with your credit card statement closing.

So while in the standard two card/one pass method you can open up your second card in late October or in November, you CANNOT do this with the three card/two pass method.

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Example

Let's make this easier to understand with an example using my husband Micah and I. To be clear, we aren't actually utilizing this method this year, but we could!

STEP ONE: In mid-October, Katie opens the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card which will eventually earn her an 80,000 point bonus + 5,000 points for the $5000 she spent on it. She does some spending but doesn't come close to the $5000 required.

STEP TWO: On December 15, her credit card statement closes. The following day, she refers Micah to the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card.

STEP THREE: Katie and Micah spend and spend to reach their minimum spend requirements. Katie earns 20k points for that referral.

After January 1st, Southwest adds 10,000 bonus points to Katie and Micah's Southwest Companion Pass trackers since they hold Southwest cards. These points can't be redeemed but help them reach 135,000 faster.

STEP FOUR: Around January 15, Katie refers Micah to a Southwest personal card. Katie earns 20k points for this referral.

STEP FIVE: Micah finishes all his spending.

Sample numbers based on common offers:

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Why this helps next time (and an important caveat)

Remember how you can only hold one Southwest personal card at a time? You can also only qualify to earn the bonus on a Southwest personal card once every 24 months.

But! There are two business cards that you can apply for. So when you follow this method, there is one person who remains eligible to open a personal card next time around. And you're both eligible for whatever business card you didn't get.

Now if you think you want to do this all again in 2 years, I'd emphasize one more point. Micah (or the P2) should apply for the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card. It will make it easier for him to be the one starting up the process in two years with the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card. It does mean he may be just shy of the earning of the Companion Pass on welcome bonuses alone (though it is pretty common for the personal cards to raise their offers in the winter so it might be easy). We have more tips to top off earning here.

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Video Walk-Through of this Strategy