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The Southwest Companion Pass is still worth pursuing, despite these more difficult earning requirements.
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The Southwest Companion Pass is one of the most valuable benefits of any travel loyalty program.
It allows you to bring along a friend — every time you fly Southwest — for just the cost of taxes and fees.
Southwest is making changes to its program, one of which is making the Companion Pass harder to earn.
Read Insider’s guide to the best Southwest credit cards.
The Southwest Companion Pass is one of the best deals in the travel world. It allows you to bring a travel buddy with you every single time you fly Southwest for just the cost of taxes and fees (usually just $11.20 for a round-trip domestic flight). Companion Passes are valid for up to two years — depending on when you earn it.
To qualify for the Companion Pass, you’ve got to earn 125,000 qualifying Southwest points in a calendar year. But beginning in 2023, these requirements are increasing to 135,000 points, making it more difficult than ever to earn.
However, there’s still a trick you can use to earn the Companion Pass for effectively 125,000 points. Here’s what you need to know about this change — and a few other tweaks Southwest plans to make to its loyalty program in the near future.
We’re focused here on the rewards and perks that come with each card. These cards won’t be worth it if you’re paying interest or late fees. When using a credit card, it’s important to pay your balance in full each month, make payments on time, and only spend what you can afford to pay.
Southwest Companion Pass and other changes for 2023
Companion Pass requirements increasing
Beginning January 1, 2023, you’ll need to earn 135,000 qualifying Southwest points to achieve the Southwest Companion Pass. This is 10,000 points higher than the current requirement.
At the same time, Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card holders will receive a boost of 10,000 Companion Pass Qualifying Points each calendar year. There are a few rules to keep in mind:
If your card is already open on the first business day of the calendar year, you’ll receive the 10,000 Companion Pass Qualifying Points by January 31 of that year.If you open a Southwest credit card after the first business day of the calendar year, you’ll receive your 10,000-point boost up to 30 days after opening the card.You can only earn one boost of 10,000 points per member, even if you have more than one Southwest credit card.You can’t redeem the 10,000-point boost; those points are Companion Pass Qualifying only.
The easiest way to earn the Companion Pass has always been by opening Southwest credit cards. That’s because the sign-up bonuses and points earned from spending count toward the qualifying points you need. All three personal cards offer Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card.
You can’t have more than one Southwest personal credit card at once. If you’ve already got a Southwest card, you must cancel it before opening another — and you can only earn a personal Southwest card bonus once every 24 months.
You can easily earn the Companion Pass by earning a bonus from one of these personal cards and a Southwest business credit card. Here’s what the two Southwest business cards are currently offering:
Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card — Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit CardSouthwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card — Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card
As you can see, by opening one personal card as well as the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card, you can still easily qualify for the Companion Pass. Read our Southwest Companion Pass guide for everything you need to know about this excellent deal — including the best time of year to earn it.
Improved boarding for Companion Pass companions
When you use the Companion Pass to book a travel partner for (nearly) free, they’ll now be able to board at the same time as you. Even if you have A-List or A-List Preferred Southwest elite status (which entitles you to be near the front of the line), you and your companion will receive sequential boarding numbers.
There are some exceptions:
You’ve purchased a Business Select fare (companion will get a boarding position based on whichever is applicable — time of check-in, A-List or A-List Preferred status, or EarlyBird Check-InYou’ve purchased Upgraded BoardingYou added your companion after you’ve been assigned a boarding position
You also may not board together with any same-day changes or same-day standby.
Less customer-friendly no-show policy
Currently, if you book an award with points and don’t show up for the flight, Southwest will redeposit the points you used into your Rapid Rewards account and hold your taxes and fees as a travel credit, with no action required on your part.
Southwest will change its no-show policy for award flights. Starting in summer 2023, if you don’t cancel your reservation at least 10 minutes before the flight’s original scheduled departure time, the points used for booking will be forfeited (as well as taxes and fees paid for the reservation). This applies to Wanna Get Away and Wanna Get Away Plus award flights; for Anytime or Business Select award bookings, your points will continue to be redeposited into your Rapid Rewards account, and any taxes and fees will be converted into a flight credit.
Bottom line
Southwest is making some changes in 2023:
You’ll have to earn 10,000 more qualifying Southwest points to earn the Southwest Companion Pass (though because the easiest way to earn the Companion Pass anyway is to open Southwest cards, this shouldn’t make much of a difference to most — Southwest cardholders will receive an annual boost of 10,000 qualifying Southwest points). When booking a friend with your Companion Pass, you’ll (almost always) board flights together.You’ll lose your points and the money you paid in taxes and fees if you no-show for your flight and fail to cancel within 10 minutes of departure (for Wanna Get Away and Wanna Get Away Plus award bookings only).
This news shouldn’t ruffle the feathers of too many Southwest flyers. But there comes undeniably more bad news than good with the carrier’s latest changes.