Some perks within the frequent flyer universe might be extremely rewarding, taking up an nearly too-good-to-be-true aura. Automated top-tier Hilton Diamond standing from a bank card? Completely doable. As much as $300 in journey credit that publish robotically every year? Signal me up.
Nevertheless, one profit stands above the remaining — and isn’t too difficult to earn. We’re speaking in regards to the Southwest Companion Go. With the Companion Go, you’ll be able to deliver a chosen pal or member of the family for (nearly) free on any Southwest flight you’re taking. You’ll have to pay the taxes and charges on the second ticket, similar to you’ll on an award ticket — however aside from that, your companion flies at no cost.
Proper now, sign-up bonus affords on all three Southwest private bank cards include 30,000 bonus factors plus a Companion Go (excludes taxes and charges from $5.60 one-way) legitimate by means of Feb. 28, 2024, after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening. This supply ends on March 13, 2023.
That’s an unimaginable deal. When you earn a promotional Companion Go from certainly one of these playing cards, you’ll have almost one yr of almost free BOGO Southwest flights.
Overview
The flexibility to deliver alongside a journey companion for almost free will not be distinctive to Southwest. Many bank cards supply some type of single-use companion fare, which let you deliver alongside a journey companion at a closely discounted fee.
Nevertheless, the magic of the Southwest Companion Go is that you should use it as many instances as you need till the move expires. Even in the event you had been to fly day by day of the yr, your companion might include you for simply the price of taxes and charges. It even applies to award tickets, permitting you to redeem Southwest Speedy Rewards factors for your self and produce your companion with out utilizing any extra factors.
TPG values Southwest factors at 1.5 cents every. However incomes the Companion Go can successfully double the worth of your factors (or money) when flying on Southwest utilizing the move.
Bear in mind, you’re not restricted to flights throughout the decrease 48 states, both. During the last a number of years, Southwest has expanded to (and inside) Hawaii and added short-haul worldwide flights. So whereas you will want to pay these taxes and charges on your companion, you’ll be able to put this perk to work on any Southwest-operated flight.
As well as, you’ll be able to change your designated Southwest companion as much as thrice per calendar yr. In different phrases, you’ll be able to have 4 totally different companions within the first calendar yr, then three within the second yr (as much as seven complete throughout the lifetime of your Companion Go). It’s value noting that even in the event you change again to a earlier companion, it nonetheless counts as certainly one of your three allotted modifications per calendar yr.
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Bear in mind, too, that Southwest permits you to cancel or change tickets with out charges. Locking in flights whilst you verify different plans could possibly be a wonderful strategy to snag a few of these seats earlier than they’re gone.
Associated: How you can redeem Southwest Speedy Rewards factors
Timing and qualification
After all, a profit like this doesn’t come low cost. Incomes a standard Companion Go requires that you simply accrue 135,000 qualifying factors or take 100 qualifying one-way flights in a calendar yr. That’s why getting a promotional Companion Go from a Southwest client bank card’s sign-up bonus is a giant deal — it’s simply really easy to earn.
However there’s one vital distinction between this promotional Companion Go and a standard Companion Go: the expiration date.
Whenever you earn the at the moment provided promotional Companion Go, it is legitimate by means of Feb. 28, 2024. Whenever you earn a standard Companion Go by gathering 135,000 qualifying factors, you’ll be capable of use it for the remainder of the yr wherein you earn it plus all the following calendar yr. So in the event you meet the necessities in early 2024, you’ll get the Companion Go by means of Dec. 2025. This makes a standard Companion Go superior, because it’s legitimate for probably round two years in the event you time it proper.
So what are “qualifying factors”?
It’s vital to notice that not all Speedy Rewards factors depend towards the 135,000-point requirement. Right here’s how Southwest defines factors that may depend:
“Companion Go qualifying factors are earned from income flights booked by means of Southwest®, factors earned on Southwest Speedy Rewards® Credit score Playing cards, and base factors earned from Speedy Rewards® companions.”
As you’ll be able to see, all income flights booked on Southwest will depend towards incomes the Companion Go, as will factors earned on Southwest’s cobranded bank cards (extra on this in a second). The place issues get a bit trickier is the “base factors earned from Speedy Rewards companions” verbiage. Do all companions depend?
- Speedy Rewards bank cards, together with sign-up bonuses.
- Buying and eating companions, together with Speedy Rewards eating.
- House and life-style companions.
Nevertheless, many issues don’t depend towards incomes the Companion Go. The primary is any switch from Chase Final Rewards. So if in case you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve® or the Chase Sapphire Most well-liked® Card, for instance, and had been hoping to switch your factors to earn the Companion Go, you’re out of luck. Bought factors additionally don’t depend, nor do flight bonus factors and factors transferred from lodge and automotive loyalty packages.
In a nutshell, right here’s the perfect technique to earn a standard Companion Go:
- Open a brand new Southwest bank card (or two) someday in November
- Don’t attain any minimal spending necessities till after your December assertion closes.
- As quickly as your December assertion closes, start spending to succeed in these thresholds.
Doing this can make sure that any bonuses you earn will publish to your Speedy Rewards account early within the following yr — and thus depend towards subsequent yr’s qualification. Nevertheless, you possibly can miss incomes the move totally in the event you mistime it. With that in thoughts, right here’s a rundown of three methods.
Associated: How you can use the Southwest Companion Go
Southwest bank cards
As well as, Southwest cardholders will get pleasure from an annual enhance of 10,000 factors towards Companion Go qualification yearly. This may publish inside 30 days of opening your account after which once more initially of each calendar yr. This successfully reduces the variety of factors you will need to earn to 125,000.
New affords simply launched on the Southwest Speedy Rewards® Plus Credit score Card, Southwest Speedy Rewards® Premier Credit score Card, and Southwest Speedy Rewards® Precedence Credit score Card. Every of those playing cards comes with the identical bonus of 30,000 bonus factors plus a Companion Go legitimate by means of Feb. 28, 2024, after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening (supply expires March 13).
That’s an ideal limited-time supply, however proper now, we’re targeted on a technique to earn a standard Companion Go. These playing cards usually include sign-up bonuses of between 40,000 and 60,000 factors after assembly minimal spending necessities — which matches a great distance towards assembly the 135,000-point threshold. That is very true when you think about every card provides 10,000 Companion Go qualifying factors yearly.
As famous above, you’ll maximize the validity of your Companion Go by incomes it as early within the yr as doable. A great technique is to open a Southwest bank card in November or December and start spending on the cardboard— however wait to full your minimal spending requirement till you’ve entered the brand new yr.
You may even need to wait till your December assertion closes to start spending in your new card. In spite of everything, this can guarantee all of the factors you earn in your new card will depend towards incomes a Companion Go, legitimate for as much as two years. Right here’s an instance of how this may work:
| Date | Exercise |
|---|---|
| Nov. 2023 | Apply and get authorised for a Southwest bank card. |
| The primary assertion closes with a stability of the annual price (you haven’t spent something but). Now, begin spending. | |
| Dec. 9 or 10 | 0 Speedy Rewards factors are credited to your account. |
| Jan. 8, 2024 | The second assertion closes with a brand new stability of $3,000 or extra. |
| Jan. 9 or 10 | The sign-up bonus and factors earned from minimal spending are credited to your account — all of which depend towards the Companion Go. |
When you embody the brand new 10,000-point enhance for cardholders, you’ve now earned not less than 88,000 qualifying factors towards the Companion Go. And since all of them hit your Speedy Rewards account in 2024, you’re now nearly two-thirds of the best way to incomes the move for the remainder of 2024 and all of 2025.
There’s additionally a strategy to velocity up your qualification much more, since Southwest additionally affords a pair of playing cards geared towards small companies. When you mix certainly one of these with a private card (and once more time your spending rigorously), you possibly can qualify for a Companion Go with none further exercise.
Now could even be one of many best possible instances to attempt to obtain a standard Southwest Companion Go by opening two Southwest playing cards. By incomes the bonus on a Southwest private card, you’ll instantly obtain a promotional Companion Go and be 40,000 factors nearer to the 135,000-point requirement (30,000 bonus factors + 10,000-point annual enhance). You possibly can then benefit from the Companion Go whereas incomes the remaining factors at your leisure all through 2023.
Later within the yr, you possibly can earn the Southwest Efficiency Enterprise sign-up bonus to rapidly catapult your self to 125,000 factors. You’d have to earn simply 10,000 extra factors in 2023 to unlock a further eight months of Companion Go.
Associated: Selecting the perfect Southwest bank card
Chase software restrictions
Earlier than happening an software spree, do not forget that Chase has restrictions on Southwest bank cards associated to sign-up bonuses. The next verbiage seems on the applying pages for the Precedence, Premier and Plus playing cards:
“The product will not be obtainable to both (i) present Cardmembers of any Southwest Speedy Rewards® Credit score Card, or (ii) earlier Cardmembers of any Southwest Speedy Rewards Credit score Card who obtained a brand new Cardmember bonus throughout the final 24 months. This doesn’t apply to Cardmembers of the Southwest Speedy Rewards Enterprise Card and Worker Credit score Card merchandise.”
Consequently, you’ll be able to’t open a brand new Southwest private card if you have already got one or earned a sign-up bonus on one throughout the final 24 months. You’ll additionally need to make sure you’re conversant in Chase’s basic software restrictions, together with the issuer’s notorious 5/24 rule and the final rule of thumb you could open one private card and one enterprise card each 90 days.
Nevertheless, the Southwest small-business bank cards don’t — as of now — have the identical verbiage. As a substitute, the enterprise playing cards notice:
“This new Cardmember bonus supply will not be obtainable to both (i) present Cardmembers of this enterprise bank card, or (ii) earlier Cardmembers of this enterprise bank card who obtained a brand new Cardmember bonus for this enterprise bank card throughout the final 24 months.”
After all, all of the factors you earn from spending on Southwest playing cards additionally depend towards incomes the Companion Go. So, you possibly can spend in your card to earn a Companion Go. However, two different choices I’ll talk about under ought to make the duty simpler.
Associated: The perfect bank card pairings to earn the Southwest Companion Go
Flying with Southwest
- $22,500 on Wanna Get Away.
- $16,875 on Wanna Get Away Plus.
- $13,500 on Anytime.
- $11,250 on Enterprise Choose.
You probably have journey deliberate early subsequent yr, contemplate reserving with Southwest to earn factors towards the Companion Go. However, as you’ll be able to see, you’d have to fly on a number of paid Southwest fares to earn sufficient Companion Go qualifying factors.
Associated: Cool locations you didn’t know you possibly can fly on Southwest
Mixture of bank cards and flying
After all, the most suitable choice will doubtless be some mixture of flying and bank card bonuses.
Let’s say you open the Southwest Speedy Rewards Efficiency Enterprise card on the finish of this yr and earn the complete sign-up bonus in early 2024. As well as, let’s assume you spend a complete of $10,000 on the cardboard, and a part of that spending is $2,000 on Wanna Get Away base fares, all of that are on flights flown in January or February 2024. You’d earn:
- Signal-up bonus (for reaching $5,000): 80,000 factors.
- Flying: 12,000 factors ($2,000 x 6 factors per greenback on Wanna Get Away base fares).
- Southwest airfare purchases on the cardboard: 8,000 factors ($2,000 x 4 factors per greenback spent on Southwest purchases).
- Different purchases on the cardboard: 8,000 factors ($8,000 x 1 level per greenback spent).
This exercise would earn you 108,000 Companion Go-qualifying factors, and whenever you embody the ten,000-point enhance as a Southwest cardholder, you’re now simply 17,000 factors away. When you can leverage different incomes alternatives — like Speedy Rewards Buying or a automotive rental by means of Southwest — you possibly can simply make up that distinction.
And since these factors will all hit your Speedy Rewards account in 2024, your Companion Go will likely be legitimate by means of Dec. 31, 2025. That’s a number of (almost) free flying.
Keep in mind that your bank card factors gained’t seem in your account till a couple of days after your month-to-month assertion closes, whereas any factors from flying gained’t publish till a couple of days after you’re taking the journey. Once more, timing is essential to make sure you earn the Companion Go and put it to use for so long as doable.
Associated: 13 classes from 13 years’ value of Southwest Companion Passes
Backside line
The Southwest Companion Go might be an extremely profitable profit, particularly in the event you can earn it comparatively early in a calendar yr to get pleasure from nearly two years’ value of free companion journey.
For these eligible, getting a good bonus from a Southwest bank card or two makes rapidly scoring the Companion Go a vastly extra manageable process than flying alone.
Extra reporting by Summer time Hull and Sarah Hostetler.
