[Final Hours! Here’s How To Earn A Companion Pass Valid For 2 Years And 120K Points!] WOW! Earn Up To 120K Southwest Points, And A Companion Pass When You Signup For A Southwest Business Card!

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Update: This offer will end around 7am ET on 9/17. Apply by 9/16 if you want to take advantage of it before it disappears!

Here’s how you can use this offer to get a Companion Pass good for unlimited companion travel through 12/31/26. After getting approved for the card, call Chase to change to statement closing date to the 1st of the month. While Chase signup bonus deadlines are marketed as 3 months, typically you’ll have about 115 days after approval to finish spending, so if you’re approved today you should have until about January 8th to complete your spending. Be sure to ask Chase for the exact date by which you need to complete your spending. 

Spend the $5,000 any time after your December statement closes on 12/1 and before the signup bonus deadline and the 80K signup bonus points will count towards earning a 2025 Companion Pass.

Then spend the next $10,000 within 9 months of opening to earn another 40K bonus points, which will also count towards earning a 2025 Companion Pass.

After you get the 2nd bonus, you’ll have earned enough to get a 2025 Companion Pass, good through 12/31/26!

Originally posted on 6/27:

  • Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card: Earn up to 120K points: Earn 80K bonus points for $5K spend in 3 months, plus another 40K bonus points for spending another $10K ($15K total spend) in 9 months.
  • Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card: Earn up to 120K points: Earn 60K bonus points for $3K spend in 3 months, plus another 60K bonus points for spending another $12K ($15K total spend) in 9 months.

Limited time card signup bonuses:

Through 9/16/24, you can earn a limited time signup bonus on Southwest business cards:

  • The Chase Southwest Performance Business Credit Card has a signup bonus of up to 120K points! Earn 80K bonus points for $5K spend in 3 months, plus another 40K bonus points for spending another $10K in 9 months. If you spend the full $15K in 2024, you’ll earn at least 135K Southwest points, enough for an unlimited use Companion Pass valid through 12/31/25!
    • The card offers some amazing benefits for Southwest loyalists including 4 annual A1-A15 boarding upgrade certificates, 9K Southwest points upon every card anniversary, 365 free Wi-Fi passes annually, 4 points per dollar spent on Southwest, double points on social media and search engine advertising, internet, cable, and phone services, local transit and commuting, and rideshare, Global Entry/Pre-Check credit, and the ability to earn unlimited tier points towards A-List status. Having this card also allows for $500 in credits to transfer Southwest points between accounts. $199 annual fee.


  • The Chase Southwest Business Premier card has a signup bonus of up to 120K points! Earn 60K bonus points for $3K spend in 3 months, plus another 60K bonus points for spending another $12K in 9 months. If you spend the full $15K in 2024, you’ll earn at least 135K Southwest points, enough for an unlimited use Companion Pass valid through 12/31/25!
    • The card offers 6,000 points every card anniversary, 25% off in-flight purchases, 2 earlybird checkins per year, 3 points per dollar spent on Southwest, double points on local transit and commuting, and rideshare, has no foreign transaction fees, and the ability to earn unlimited tier points towards A-List status. Having this card also allows for $500 in credits to transfer Southwest points between accounts. $99 annual fee.


Comparison chart:

CardSouthwest Business PremierSouthwest Performance BusinessSouthwest Consumer PrioritySouthwest Consumer Plus
Signup bonus60K Southwest points for spending $3K in 3 months80K Southwest points for spending $5K in 3 months.85K bonus points for $3K spend in 3 months85K bonus points for $3K spend in 3 months
Annual Fee$99$199$149$69
Anniversary Bonus6K Southwest points9K Southwest points7.5K Southwest points3K Southwest points
Annual Southwest travel creditNoneNone$75None
Annual Southwest A1-A15 boarding upgrade certificatesNone44None
Annual Southwest EarlyBird Checkins2NoneNone2
Points per dollar spent on Southwest3432
Points per dollar spent on social media and search engine advertising1211
Points per dollar spent on Internet, Cable, and Phones1222
Fee credit for transferred points$500 per cardmembership year$500 per cardmembership yearNoneNone
Points per dollar spent on select streaming1122
Points per dollar spent on local transit and commuting, and rideshare2222
Points per dollar spend elsewhere1111
Credit for Southwest in-flight WiFi25% cash backFull credit, up to 365 times per year25% cash back25% cash back
Credit for Southwest in-flight drinks25% cash backNone25% cash back25% cash back
Credit for Global Entry/Pre-CheckNoneFull credit every 4 yearsNoneNone
Points count towards companion passYesYesYesYes
Foreign transaction fees0%0%0%3%
Annual Companion Pass Bonus 10K points (Max 10K per Southwest account)10K points (Max 10K per Southwest account)10K points (Max 10K per Southwest account)10K points (Max 10K per Southwest account)
Tier qualifying points towards A-list Status1.5K tier points for every $5K spent.1.5K tier points for every $5K spent.1.5K tier points for every $5K spent.None

Welcome bonus terms:

Officially you can only have one active Southwest consumer card, but you can have each of the Southwest business cards. However there are DDF reports of getting approved for multiple Southwest consumer cards at the same time. Post your results in the comments!

Consumer cards: You can get the bonus as long as you don’t have an active Southwest consumer card and haven’t received a Southwest consumer card bonus in the past 24 months.

Business cards: You can get the bonus as long as you don’t have the exact same business card active and you haven’t received a bonus on the exact same business card in the past 24 months.


5/24:

Typically, Chase cards are subject to 5/24 restrictions, meaning that you are not likely to be approved if you have been approved for 5 or more consumer credit cards in the past 24 months. Note that the Chase system automatically counts cards like authorized user cards and store cards as cards that count towards 5/24, but if you explain to Chase that those cards are merely authorized user cards or store cards they can manually approve you for a new card.

However there have been many reports of 5/24 rules being waived for co-brand consumer cards like these.

You can check your credit report for free at the federally authorized annualcreditreport.com to check how many accounts are shown as being open in the past 24 months.


Value of Southwest points:

The value of Southwest points is variable based on the paid fare.

For example a nonstop flight from LaGuardia to Atlanta on 9/4 costs $58.98 or 3,389 points+$5.60. That’s a value of 1.58 cents per point.

If you’ll redeem points for an average of 1.5 cents each, that makes an 120K signup bonus worth $1,800. Plus, with the companion pass that number can double to a whopping $3,600 signup bonus!

Plus, each Southwest card comes with anniversary bonus points!


Companion pass and spend timing:

If you earn 135,000 points in 2024 from select sources, including earnings from credit card signups and credit card spending!

However, if you held a Southwest credit card on the first business day of the calendar year, you were awarded with 10,000 Companion Pass points, so you would only need to earn 125,000 Companion Pass points to earn a pass good through 12/31/25.

The same rule applies for future years.

With this offer, if you earn the full 120K bonus for $15K spend in 2024, you’ll earn an unlimited use Companion Pass valid through 12/31/25!

The pass allows you to bring a companion with you for free whenever you fly Southwest, including Hawaii, even if you are flying on a free ticket! That effectively doubles the value of your Southwest points. There is no limit to the number of free companion flights that you can take.

You can designate a companion and change that companion up to 3 times in a calendar year, so you can name up to 4 companions over the course of a year.


Pay yourself back for the annual fee

You can redeem Southwest points to pay yourself back for the annual fee at a rate of 1 cent per point.


Fee credit for transferred points:

Southwest charges a fee of 1 cent per point for points transferred to other members. Business card holders can now get a credit of up to $500 per cardmembership year for transferred points, which would cover the fees for up to 50K points. You can effectively pool together your family’s points for free!


Upgraded boarding certificates:

If you have the Southwest Performance Business Card you’ll get reimbursed for 4 annual purchases of upgraded A1-A15 boarding positions so that you can get some of the best seats on the plane.  Upgraded boardings may be purchased at the departure gate or ticket counter on the day of travel. These cost $30-$80, so this is a benefit worth up to $320 per year!

On other cards you’ll get 2 EarlyBird checkins per year, which cost $15-$25 each.


25% cash back on in-flight purchases:

Most Southwest cards now offer 25% cash back on top of points for purchases of drinks and Wi-Fi on Southwest flights!


Inflight WiFi Credit: 

If you have the Southwest Performance Business Card you’ll receive a statement credit equal to $8 Southwest WiFi charge on up to 365 charges per year! That will let you connect all of your family’s devices when you fly Southwest so that you can save a bundle!


Global Entry/Pre-Check credit:

If you have the Southwest Performance Business Card you’ll get reimbursed for Global Entry/Pre-Check Membership. You can get reimbursed for those fees ($78 for Pre-Check or $100 for Global Entry and Pre-Check) every 4 years. Membership lasts for 5 years, so you will be able to renew before your membership lapses. Global Entry/Pre-Check make flying so much easier and its great to see more cards add this benefit as I can get Global Entry and Pre-Check for free for my entire family that way!


A-List Status:

With Southwest cards besides the Plus card you can earn 1,500 tier points towards A-List status for every $5,000 spent with no cap on earnings. You can learn more about A-List status here.


Free changes and cancellations. Lock in low fares with no penalty:

Southwest allows you to cancel an award flight and redeposit the points in your account for future use without any penalties.

Thinking of taking a trip but not 100% sure about it? With Southwest points you can lock in a good rate and just cancel the trip free of charge at any point before the flight if you can’t make it!

You can use the points for yourself or book award tickets for anyone else you want to give a ticket to.

Southwest allows you to redeem points for any seat on any flight. There are no blackout dates or capacity controls.

When Southwest has a fare sale the amount of points go on sale as well as it tracks to the price of the ticket. Best of all Southwest will refund your points if the price of your award ticket falls!  Just rebook your trip online for the same dates or give them a call for the credit.

Southwest points will never expire as long as you earn points every 24 months.


Transfer Chase Points To Southwest to maximize the value of your Companion Pass:

You can transfer points from the following Chase cards to Southwest at a 1:1 ratio. You can redeem those Southwest points and bring a companion with you for free!

If you, a member in your household, or an authorized user has one of the following Chase cards, you can transfer points into miles:
  • Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has a 60K signup bonus for spending $4K in 3 months, earns 2.1 points per dollar on travel after the card's 10% anniversary bonus, 3.1 points per dollar on dining, streaming, and online groceries after the card's 10% anniversary bonus, has a $50 hotel credit, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1.25 cents each for paid travel ($95 annual fee). Read more here.
  • Chase Sapphire Reserve® has a 60K signup bonus for spending $4K in 3 months, earns 3 points per dollar on dining/travel, has a $300 travel credit, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1.5 cents each for paid travel ($550 annual fee with $300 travel credit). Read more here.
  • Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card has a 90K signup bonus for spending $8K in 3 months, and earns 3 points per dollar on up to $150K of annual spending on shipping, advertising, and travel, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1.25 cents each for paid travel ($95 annual fee). Read more here.
Chase no-annual fee cards that are fantastic for earning points, but require one of the cards above for points transfers include:
  • Ink Business Cash® Credit Card has a 35K signup bonus for spending $3K in 3 months and another 40K signup bonus points for spending another $3K in 6 months for a total of 75,000 Chase Ultimate points, plus if you have a Chase business checking account open on the card's first anniversary you will get a 10% points bonus on all earnings from card spending, this card earns 5 points per dollar on the first $25,000 in combined purchases on cable, TV, telecom, cellular, and office supply stores, plus 2 points per dollar on dining and gas on up to $25,000 in purchases ($0 annual fee). Read more here.
  • Chase Freedom Flex has a 20K signup bonus, plus 5 points on rotating categories, 5 points per dollar on travel purchased through Chase Travel, and 3 points per dollar on dining and drugstores ($0 annual fee). Read more here.
  • Chase Freedom Unlimited® has a signup bonus that earns an extra 1.5% cash back in the form of 1.5 points per dollar everywhere on up to $20K of spending during your first year, on top of at least 1.5 points per dollar everywhere, 5 points per dollar (marketed as 5% cash back) on travel purchased through  Chase Travel℠, and 3 points per dollar on dining and drugstores ($0 annual fee). Read more here.

Business card information, benefits, and 5/24

Some Chase cards are subject to 5/24 restrictions, meaning that you might not be approved if you have been approved for 5 or more consumer credit cards in the past 24 months. Enforcement of 5/24 has been patchy for the past year and the only way to know if you can get approved is by trying to apply.

2 of the cards in the chart above are business cards, but you may already have a business that needs a card to keep track of expenses. For example if your name is Joe Smith and you sell items online, or if you have any other side business and want a credit card to better keep track of business expenditures you can open a business credit card for “Joe Smith” as the business. You don’t need to file any messy government paperwork to be allowed to do that. Just be sure to select “Sole Proprietorship” as the business type and just use your social security number in the Tax Identification Number field.

It’s important to just write your own name as the business name if you are just applying for your own small business as a Sole Proprietorship that doesn’t have any business paperwork.

It’s important to note that business cards from most banks, including Chase business cards, do not get added to your 5/24 count of recently opened cards. That’s because business cards from most banks don’t show up on your personal credit report and the 5/24 count is based off of your personal credit report.

Another benefit of business cards not reporting on your personal credit report is that your credit score won’t be hurt when you spend money on your cards. When you spend money on personal cards your score will be hurt even if you pay your bill on time. That’s because a whopping 30% of your credit score is based on credit utilization, so you lose lots of points even if you pay your bills before the statement due date. You can pay off your credit card bill before your statement close date to avoid that, but that takes effort and laying out money well before you have to. Additionally it’s good to have the statement close with a couple dollars to show the card is active and being paid every month. On business cards from banks like AMEX and Chase the spending is not reported on your personal credit report, so you can wait until the money is due without it having a negative effect on your score. That also means if you close the card, it won’t have an effect on your credit score.


As always, Southwest benefits include:

  • 2 free checked bags per passenger.
  • Free in-flight messaging.
  • Free in-flight streaming entertainment, including movies, live TV, on-demand TV, music, destination guides, and games.
  • No change fees to switch your flight. Whether you are on a paid or an award flight you can change without penalty!
  • No cancellation fee to cancel your flight (you will get Southwest credit for the full amount paid, even on non-refundable wanna get away fares) or to cancel and redeposit your award flight.
  • A refund of the fare or point difference if the price of your flight goes down after you buy it, just call to get the credit at any time before your flight!

Will you signup for any Southwest cards?

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55 Comments On "[Final Hours! Here’s How To Earn A Companion Pass Valid For 2 Years And 120K Points!] WOW! Earn Up To 120K Southwest Points, And A Companion Pass When You Signup For A Southwest Business Card!"

All opinions expressed below are user generated and the opinions aren’t provided, reviewed or endorsed by any advertiser or DansDeals.

Joe

Apply on the last day, change your closing date to the 1st of the month, do the spending after December 1st and you should be good to go for companion pass through 2026…

Work-for-ur-muny

You forgot to mention that they are now also searchable on Google Flights.

JSTAR

If i wait until jan to qualify for the companion pass then will it be valid through 12/31/2026?

aaron

I smell a devaluation coming…

OD

anyway to avoid or sell some perks to offset the AF.

SW cards seem to never waive the AF first year

OD

Is it true you can now use sw points to pay back the AF similar to united?

APC

Got a link for the Southwest Consumer Plus card?

chad

I own a couple of LLCs and each one has its own EIN. Can I apply for a RR Biz Perf card with each LLC/EIN, but use the same RR member number on each application?

Over the past several years I have had several Chase Biz cards for my sole proprietorship, but have never applied with any of my LLCs.

YoniPDX

I think I saw a DP that the $500 toward points transfers counts toward MSR spend. Will report back next year after trying it.

Anonymous

Can you spend all 15k in December or does the 10k need to be after the first 3 months

M

Can I spend $2,995 or $4,995 before December 1st, but then spend the last $5 within December and still be able to get the companion pass for 2025 and 2026?

Beth

Just got approved today. Do I have to wait until after 1st statement to change statement date? Can I secure message?

YoniPDX

@Dan Your links are great P2 just instantly approved for Biz Performance $13K CL. I was also instantly approved for the CIP $15K CL on 9.4 using DDF links. Having card expedited before our trip rather it not sit in our held mail.

I just learned you can track you card in the app – under manage account.

Its been a long time (years) since being auto approved and not having to recon a biz card. Unsure what changed.

Was auto approved for IHG last October – but had to recon for the 5 *50K cert Boundless denial applied Aug 2023 (found the denial under the Notices & Letters in the app – it was weird – said I had prior derog history with Chase – which was the case even the rep said as much – and was was approved).

Good and peaceful shabbos to you and family.

Dave

Hi Dan first of all thank you for the reminder
Second , shouldn’t we be worried not with the restructuring of Southwest with Elliot shareholder coming in and changing Southwest from its core that all this might change anyway down the road
Having said that do you mind making article about how you see things going for Southwest in the future and if the rumors of them canceling two free bags is actually what’s going to happen what’s going to happen

Leaf

If I have a Chase SW Business card already for one business, can I get approves for the same card for another business?
And, if not, can I close the card and apply for it again 5 minutes later (haven’t received bonus in 24 months)?

Anonymous

Should we ask for the 1st statement date to close on October 1st or November 1st?

Alex

How often does this deal come around, could it possibly come back in the next few months, so that we can earn the companion pass for 25 and 26?

Rachel

It looks like I signed up for the Business Premier. Does this all apply to this card also, or just the Performance business card? If it does apply to my card: I changed my statement closing date to 12/1. And I will spend $5000 between 12/2 and 12/22 (Chase said that’s when my 3 months are up). I will spend an additional $10000 within 9 months (Chase said ending June 22)… then I will get the free companion pass through 2026 plus 120,000 points? Please advise. Thank you!

Rachel

If the 5,000 spend is after 12/1 (with billing period adjusted to 12/1) then the $5000 spend counts towards the 135,000 for the 2025 year?

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