Earn Southwest Companion Pass-Qualifying Points
The race is on to earn the Southwest Companion Pass the old way one last time. Before next year’s Rapid Rewards changes take effect, there’s still time to rack up Companion Pass-qualifying points through Rapid Rewards® personal and business credit card welcome bonuses. But with business card applications now hinging on the new 3/24 rule, it’s not quite as easy to earn two credit card welcome offers anymore. If you expect to be close to reaching the required 135,000 Companion Pass-Qualifying Points but are unsure quite how you’ll get there, don’t give up. Through the end of the year, certain Rapid Rewards partner activities will still earn Southwest Companion Pass-Qualifying Points. Let’s look at some of the better options to earn Southwest Companion Pass-Qualifying Points.
Earning the Southwest Companion Pass for 2026 and 2027
Starting on January 1, 2027, Southwest is eliminating Companion Pass-qualifying points as a separate currency. From that point on, earning Companion Pass benefits will be tied to elite status, Tier Qualifying Points (TQPs) and taking qualifying flights. But through 2026, you can lock in the Companion Pass the old-fashioned way. Get there either by earning by earning 135,000 Companion Pass-qualifying points or flying 100 qualifying one-way flights in the same calendar year. Earn the Companion Pass under the current system in 2026, and it will be valid until December 31, 2027.
Here is what still counts as Companion Pass-Qualifying Points. We’ll look at credit card and partner earning opportunities in more detail below.
- revenue flights booked through Southwest
- points earned on Rapid Rewards® Credit Cards and Debit Card
- base points earned from Rapid Rewards partners
According to the terms, the following items do NOT count as Companion Pass-Qualifying Points:
- purchased points
- points transferred between members
- points converted from hotel and car loyalty programs, e-Rewards®, Valued Opinions and Diners Club®
- flights completed on Getaways by Southwest™ vacation bookings
- points earned from Rapid Rewards program enrollment
- tier bonus points and flight bonus points
- partner bonus points (with the exception of the Rapid Rewards® Credit Cards from Chase)
Credit Cards
Before we dig into some of the less-discussed ways to earn Southwest Companion Pass-Qualifying Points, let’s note a couple important things about earning points from Rapid Rewards® personal and business credit cards.
New Cardmember Timing Exception
When it announced the 2027 changes, Southwest noted that, “Eligible new cardmembers who apply for the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Credit Cards by December 2, 2026, are approved and meet the requirements for the new Cardmember welcome bonus will have the opportunity to have those points count as 2026 Companion Pass-qualifying points towards a Companion Pass valid through December 31, 2027. This applies even if the spending threshold is met in early 2027.” As we explained here, these Companion Pass-qualifying points will effectively be backdated to 2026. This means you will want to earn the rest of the 135,000 Companion Pass-qualifying points in 2026 in order to earn the Companion Pass for the remainder of 2026 and all of 2027.
Billing Statement Timing
“Only points posted on your billing statements and posted to your Rapid Rewards account during the same calendar year are available for qualification for Companion Pass status. For example, if you make a purchase after your December billing statement cycle date, the points on those purchases will not count toward Companion Pass status in the year the purchase was made; they will appear on your January billing statement and post to your Rapid Rewards account in January,” per Southwest’s Companion Pass terms.
Other Card Perks
Through 2026, credit card referral bonuses and cardmember anniversary bonus points will continue to count as Companion Pass-Qualifying Points. Current cardholders can refer friends and family to earn 20,000 bonus points for each friend who gets any Rapid Rewards® Credit Card, for up to 100,000 bonus points per year. Anniversary bonus points range from 3,000 to 9,000 points, depending on the card. Cardholders also get one 10,000 Companion Pass points boost each year.
Hotels
Booking stays through Southwest Hotels is probably the most lucrative non-credit card option on this list. Just note that our standard travel portal cautions apply. These stays unfortunately won’t be loyalty-eligible, either. To find the stays worth the most points, plug in your destination and dates. Next, filter the results by most points earned.
Once you select your hotel, the booking page will show you different room rate options. There is often an option to boost your points earning by paying extra. This usually comes with a pretty hefty upcharge, though. Before deciding whether to take the bait, calculate how much you’re spending to earn those extra points. Weigh that amount against your value for those points to determine if the extra spend is worth it to you.
The points will look like this once they post to your account:
You can also book via Southwest’s Hotel Partners. Find participating partners and the amount of points you can earn for stays with each here.
Rental Cars
Book with the airline’s rental car partners to earn Southwest Companion Pass-Qualifying Points. Keep in mind that any points earned over 600 per rental are considered bonus points, which do not count toward Companion Pass qualification. But if you need to rent a car a few times, this can be a good way to rack up a chunk of points.
Shopping Portal Spend
The Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Shopping portal is another solid way to earn Southwest Companion Pass-Qualifying Points. Leverage purchases you were already planning on making anyway toward earning the pass. Just note that bonus points, such as the Holiday Bonus that’s currently running through 11/23/26, will not count toward the pass. The points will look like this once they post to your account:
Earn the Southwest Companion Pass: ToP Thoughts
Have you figured out your plan for earning BOGO flights through 2027? Hopefully, a Rapid Rewards® personal and/or business credit card welcome offer will get you a good part of the way there. But if you’re still short thousands of points, take a look at partner activities like hotel stays, rental car bookings, or shopping portal purchases. There’s just one important caveat to remember: Timing is tight. Southwest publishes a chart that shows when to expect end-of-year purchases to post to your account. Some of these points may post sooner than the listed timelines suggest. But there’s no guarantee. So if you’re in a crunch to earn points, the sooner you can complete qualifying activities, the better. Are you earning the Southwest Companion Pass this year? Tell us over in the ToP Facebook group!
