The Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards program Companion Pass is one of the most valuable perks in all of travel. Once you earn it, you can bring a designated companion with you on both paid and award flights, paying only the taxes and fees on their ticket.
Whether you’re looking to fly to Las Vegas, take the family to Orlando or explore Cancun, this guide will walk you through the current ways to earn the Companion Pass fastest, what counts and what doesn’t, and how to maximize the benefit through 2026.
Related: 1 in 4 Southwest planes now have extra-legroom seats — here’s how to snag one
What is the Southwest Companion Pass?
The Southwest Companion Pass is earned when you collect 135,000 Companion Pass qualifying points or fly 100 qualifying one-way flights in a single calendar year. Once you hit that threshold, you can designate one companion to travel with you on both cash and award tickets.
The pass is valid for the rest of the year in which you earn it, plus the entire following year. For example, if you reach 135,000 Companion Pass qualifying points in September 2025, your Southwest Companion Pass is good through Dec. 31, 2026.
You can change your designated companion up to three times per calendar year you hold the pass, which means you could potentially fly with up to four different people across two years.
Related: How to earn Southwest Rapid Rewards points
What counts toward earning the Companion Pass?
The following all count toward your Companion Pass qualifying points goal:
- Base points earned from taking Southwest revenue flights (before taxes and fees)
- Points from Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card welcome offers and ongoing spending
- Base points earned from purchases with Rapid Rewards partners, such as hotels, car rentals and the Rapid Rewards shopping portal
- The 10,000-point annual Companion Pass boost for Southwest Rapid Rewards cardholders
- Points earned on the cash portion of Cash + Points bookings
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The following do not count toward your Companion Pass qualifying points goal:
How much does it cost to earn a Companion Pass from flying alone?
Southwest has “rapidly” changed its business model in 2025, and now sells four fare bundles, each with its own earning rate:
- Basic: 2 points per dollar
- Choice: 6 points per dollar
- Choice Preferred: 10 points per dollar
- Choice Extra: 14 points per dollar
To reach 135,000 Companion Pass qualifying points from flights alone, you’d need to spend:
| Fare bundle | Earning rate | Spending needed for 135,000 Companion Pass qualifying points |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | 2 points per dollar | $67,500 |
| Choice | 6 points per dollar | $22,500 |
| Choice Preferred | 10 points per dollar | $13,500 |
| Choice Extra | 14 points per dollar | $9,643 |
Earning a Companion Pass from flying alone requires significant spending. That’s why savvy travelers turn to credit card welcome offers.
How to earn a Companion Pass faster with Southwest credit cards
Chase issues five cobranded Southwest credit cards. Their welcome offers are the fastest route to a Companion Pass, as they count toward your Companion Pass qualifying points.
The three personal Southwest credit cards each currently offer 100,000 Rapid Rewards points after you spend $4,000 in the first five months from account opening:
The information for the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
The Southwest Rapid Rewards business credit cards also offer generous welcome offers:
All of these cards also provide a boost of 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points each year, though note the boost is limited to one per Rapid Rewards member per calendar year (not per card).
This means if you are approved for the welcome bonus on a personal Southwest credit card right now, you can earn 114,000 Companion Pass qualifying points as follows (with 104,000 being redeemable Rapid Rewards points):
- Welcome offer: 100,000 points
- Required spending to earn the welcome offer ($4,000): At least 4,000 points
- Annual Companion Pass boost: 10,000 points
You’ll only need 21,000 more points to hit 135,000 Companion Pass qualifying points, which could be achieved with about $21,000 in card spending on everyday purchases — or less on categories that earn more than 1 point per dollar spent, like on Southwest flights.
Using a credit card welcome offer reduces the requirement from nearly $67,500 in flights to just about $21,000 in everyday card spending after the bonus and annual boost.
Other ways to earn a Companion Pass
While credit card bonuses are the fastest route, you can also boost your balance with partner activity:
- Hotels: Earn Companion Pass qualifying points when booking through the Rapid Rewards hotel portal
- Car rentals: Partners like Hertz, Avis and Budget award Companion Pass qualifying points for rentals
- Rapid Rewards Dining: Link a card to earn Companion Pass qualifying points when dining at participating restaurants
- Rapid Rewards Shopping: Earn Companion Pass qualifying points for online purchases through the Southwest shopping portal
- Other earning partners: Laithwaite’s Wine, Reliant Energy, Xoom and other select partners offer Companion Pass qualifying points for online purchases
Keep in mind: Only base points from partners count toward Companion Pass qualifying points — bonus points generally do not.
Bottom line
The Southwest Companion Pass can be an incredibly lucrative benefit, especially if you can earn it early enough in a calendar year to enjoy almost two years of companion travel for just the taxes and fees. It’s not too late to plan your strategy to earn the pass in 2025 — and potentially for some (or all) of 2026.
For those eligible, getting a nice bonus from a Southwest credit card or two can help you earn a Companion Pass easily (and quickly). While you can earn a Companion Pass through flying or credit card spending alone, a combination is often the easiest approach.
With Southwest now charging for checked bags, the Companion Pass remains a standout value — especially since Southwest cardholders still get one checked bag at no additional cost for themselves and up to eight companions on the same reservation.
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