What is the Southwest Companion Pass?

If you’re unfamiliar with what the Southwest Companion Pass is check out our other post here or this video for a full break down and the best strategy. But simply put, this companion pass allows you to bring a plus one on any paid or reward flight for up to 2 years. You need to earn 125,000 rapid rewards points in one calendar year to ge it. It’s truly the best travel hack available and it’s easier to get than you might think. The easiest way is through credit cards.

Southwest partners with Chase for all of their credit cards. Something to keep in mind if you have opened 5 or more credit cards in the last 24 months. If you have you wont be approved for a Southwest credit card.

What are the Two Best Credit Cards to Earn The Southwest Companion Pass?

Now these can be subjective. But if your goal is to earn the Southwest Companion Pass that means you plan on flying Southwest frequently. So, with that in mind, don’t you want to get the most out of every flight?

I knew you would say a resounding yes!

To earn the companion pass fast and easy you need to open two of these Southwest credit cards. You will need to open up one personal credit card and one business credit card. Now you might be thinking, I don’t own a business. Well, if you sell anything online that is considered a business. 

For the personal credit card you will want to get the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card which comes with a $149 annual fee. For the business version you will want to get the Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Card which comes with a $199 annual fee. 

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So now you have two cards in your wallet that are costing you $348 per year. Is it worth it? Absolutely! Let’s look at the numbers.

Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card Benefits

Let’s take a look at the personal credit card first. What do you get for $149 per year? After the 75,000 point sign-up bonus which is worth about $1,125, here is what else you will get:

• 7,500 points every anniversary ($112.50 value)
• Four Upgraded Boardings per year when available ($30-$50 value per pass)
• $75 Southwest annual travel credit
• 20% back on inflight drinks and WiFi
• 2 points per $1 on Southwest Airlines purchases

Since you won’t receive your 7,500 points until your year one anniversary we won’t include that into our valuation. I also don’t value the boarding passes at $30. I value those at a modest $10 since I would easily pay that amount. So that means in year one you are getting a whopping $1240. Now once those points have been used. Does it still make sense to keep this card?

Now we can include those 7,500 anniversary points as those can be used to redeem for flights. Just on the value of the points and the annual travel credit alone you are already at $187.50 which gives you more than the $149 annual fee. Add in $40 worth of value for those 4 boarding passes and based on my value you’re sitting at $227.50 worth of value. This card more than pays for itself and this is the one I always recommend to apply for between the three.

Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Card Benefits

Now let’s take a look at the Business credit card. What do you get for $199 per year? After the 70,000 point sign-up bonus which is worth about $1,050, here is what else you will get:

• 9,000 points every anniversary ($135 value)
• Four Upgraded Boardings per year when available 
• Inflight Wifi Credits (limited to 365 $8 credits per year)
• $100 Global Entry or TSA Pre-Check statement credit every 4 years
• 3 points per $1 on Southwest Airlines purchases
• 2 points per $1 on social media and search engine advertising, Internet, cable, and phone service

Since again on this card you won’t receive your 9,000 points until your anniversary we won’t include that in our year one valuation. We also use the same value for the boarding passes. We now have have a couple more things to add that we get with this card. We get those inflight WiFi credits as well as that $100 Global Entry Credit. Even though it is every 4 years, we will include that in the year one valuation instead of averaging it out over 4 years. Now the inflight credits are going to be based on how many times you fly. If you are getting the companion pass the plan is to fly as often as possible. For the sake of this article we will use a consevative number of 6 flights to use that credit. That means in year one you are getting $1,238 worth of value.

Now let’s look at year two and beyond. Without the signup bonus value and the global entry credit. But we now get to add the value of the 9,000 rapid reward anniversary points. The value of everything comes to $223. Which is $24 more than you’re paying for the annual fee. 

Final Thoughts

If you already fly Southwest or plan on it. These two cards are must adds. We’ve done the math and know the value you are getting more than covers the cost of the annual fees. All that’s left to do now is to plan your trip.

The post Southwest Companion Pass | The Two Best Cards appeared first on My Credit Card IQ.

If you have been thinking about applying for a Southwest Credit Card now is the perfect time to apply. All 3 personal credit cards have an increased sign-up bonus. You’ll have to hurry though as this limited time offer ends 02/10/2020. You can earn up to 75K sign-up Bonus on all 3 southwest credit cards. These signup bonuses only put you 50,000 points away from earning the coveted Southwest Companion pass. In this article we will take a quick look at how to earn those 75,000 points and the benefits of each card.

The three personal cards are the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card, the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card, and the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card. All three cards come with the same tiered sign-up bonus. So the card you go with will come down to which benefits you want. 

How to Earn the 75K Sign-Up Bonus

It is a tiered sign-up bonus. You’ll earn 40,000 points after you spend $1,000 in the first 3 months of when you open the account. Then You’ll earn an additional 35,000 points for an additional $4,000 spent in the first 6 months of account opening. Totaling $5,000 spent in the first 6 months of account opening. Which should be attainable for most.

What Each Card Comes With

What to Know Before Applying

You won’t be able to earn these sign-up bonuses if you already have a personal Southwest credit card. You are only allowed to have one open at a time. You also can not have earned the sign-up bonus on a Southwest personal credit card in the last 24 months. Also, if you have opened 5 or more credit cards within the last 24 months Chase won’t approve you for a new credit card.

Overall Thoughts

There is no better time than now to apply for one of these cards to be well on your way to having plenty of points for travel or 60% on your way to earning that Southwest Companion Pass. So, what do you think about these increased sign-up bonuses and which credit card will you get?

The post 75K Sign-up Bonus on Southwest Credit Cards appeared first on My Credit Card IQ.

What if I told you that you could get a buy one, get one on every plane ticket you purchased for the next two years. Would you be interested? Of course you would. It’s easier than you might think. But it does require a bit of planning, but it will be oh so worth it. In this article we will be looking at the Southwest Companion Pass and the best strategy to earn it.

What is the Southwest Companion Pass?

The Southwest Companion Pass allows you to choose one person to fly with you free, all you have to do is pay the taxes. (Which starts at $5.60 each way per person.) This works every time you purchase or redeem points for a flight. YES! You read that right. This even works with flights booked with points. How great is that?

How to earn the Southwest Companion Pass!

There are two ways to earn this golden ticket:

• Fly 100 one-way flights on Southwest in a calendar year

                                   OR

• Earn 125,000 rapid rewards points in a calendar year

Prior to October of 2019 it was only required to earn 110,000 rapid rewards points in a calendar year. Even though the points required has increased now is the perfect time to try and earn the Southwest Companion Pass. I discuss the best way to do this in this youtube video starting at about the 2:15 mark.

Ways to earn Rapid Rewards Points

One way is going to be by flying. You earn rapid rewards points each time you pay for a ticket. A second way is going to be by shopping and dining. You can do this by linking a credit card or debit card to you rapid rewards account. You earn extra points for purchases at participating restaurants and retailers. You can also use the shopping portal for extra points. Last and the way we will focus on is through credit cards and the signup bonus. This is by far the easiest and fastest way to earn The Southwest Companion Pass.

Best time to earn the Southwest Companion Pass?

The best time to obtain it is at the beginning of the year. You want all 125,000 rapid rewards points to hit that account in the same year. As of the writing of this article the date is January 9, 2020. This is an ideal time to get started. Why? Because you earn the companion pass for the remainder of the year in which it was earned and the following full calendar year. So you could get this amazing benefit for nearly a full two years if you plan accordingly. But no worries, I have done all of the homework for you.

Let’s talk strategy

We have already established that the easiest and fastest way to earn The Southwest Companion Pass is with credit cards. We will have to get two Southwest credit cards through Chase bank. Now keep in mind there is well known “rule” in the credit card game with Chase affectionately referred to as The Chase 5/24 “rule”. I use quotes because this isn’t something that Chase actually says exists. What this so called rule entails: If you have opened 5 or more new credit accounts with any bank within the last 24 months (some business cards may not count) you aren’t eligible for any Chase credit cards.

There are 5 different Southwest Credit cards. There are 3 personal versions and 2 business versions. You are only allowed to have 1 personal card. So to earn this you will have to open a personal Southwest credit card and 1 business Southwest credit card. If you sell products, goods, services, etc on any platform that is considered a business. But make sure to check the laws in you local area to make sure you qualify.

The three personal cards have annual fees that range from $69 up to $149. I highly recommend going with the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card which does have the highest annual fee at $149. But the value you get more than covers that fee. But from now until February 10, 2020 no matter which card you choose this strategy will work for you as you will earn 75,000 rapid rewards points. After you spend $5,000 within the first 6 months of account opening you will earn those 75,000 points. You earn it in a tiered way. Meaning you earn 40,000 of those points after only $1,000 of spending within the first 3 months of account opening and then you earn the additional 35,000 points after $5,000 of spending total within the first 6 months.

Now it is time to turn your attention to the business cards. There are two of them. At this time either card will help you obtain the needed amount of rapid rewards points so choose the best option for you.

• Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Card: you will earn 70,000 points after spending $5,000 within the first 3 months of account opening. This card comes with a $199 annual fee.
• Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Credit Card: you will earn 60,000 points after spending $3,000 within the first 3 months of account opening. This card comes with a $99 annual fee.

Are you keeping score?

So now you have spent $8,000 to $10,000 within a 6 month period and have earned at least 143,000 points. You also earned at least 1x point per dollar on $8,000. 

This has put you well over the needed 125,000 rapid rewards points to earn the coveted Southwest Companion Pass. Congratulations, you did it!

Want to know the best part?

Those 143,000 rapid rewards points you earned can still be used to redeem for flights. So get to earning and get to flying. The hardest part might be picking your next destination or maybe your companion to fly with?

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