The Southwest Companion Pass continues to be the hottest thing in free travel. I know people who don’t engage in this hobby but swear by the Companion Pass. Most of these people earned the Companion Pass from normal travel and credit card spending, which is pretty incredible.
But we aren’t these people and we don’t have time to fly 110,000 miles or spend $110,000 to get the same benefit. In fact, spending $110,000 on your Southwest Card can be risky and get your account shut down (especially if that amount exceeds your stated annual income). So what are the alternatives? Here are 6 low risk ways to earn the Southwest Companion Pass:
1 – Credit Card Sign-up Bonus
Picking up a Southwest credit card isn’t just a great way to give your Rapid Rewards balance a boost, it’s also a relatively low risk way to help you earn the Southwest Companion Pass. Sign-up bonuses usually range from 40,000 – 60,000 points after $1,000 – $3,000 in spending requirements are met. This gets you about halfway to meeting the 110,000 point requirement for the Companion Pass. That’s much less risky than putting $40,000 – $60,000 on your Southwest credit card to earn the same number of points.
2 – Anniversary Bonus
If you decide to keep your Southwest credit card past the first year, you’ll be rewarded with an anniversary bonus that counts towards the Companion Pass. This bonus ranges from 3,000 – 6,000, depending on which card version you have:
- Southwest Plus Credit Card – 3,000
- Southwest Premier Credit Card – 6,000
- Southwest Business Credit Card – 6,000
3 – Shopping Portal
Got some online shopping to do? Be sure to head over to Rapid Rewards Shopping and see if the merchant is on their list. If so, you could earn 1 – 8 extra bonus points per $1 spent. The best part? These points count towards the Southwest Companion Pass! Regardless of whether you’re a frequent online shopper or not, you can earn a good number of points towards the Companion Pass this way.
4 – Dining Rewards (except bonus points)
I’ve long preached the virtues of joining a dining rewards program. Pretty much every major rewards program has one and it’s an easy way to earn miles and points without even trying. Just register your card and earn up to 3 bonus points per $1 spent – in addition to the rewards paid out by your credit card!
I’m always pleasantly surprised when I get a notification that a random restaurant charge earned me bonus miles. The best part? Points earned through the Southwest Rapid Rewards Dining Program count towards the Companion Pass. The only thing that doesn’t count are spending bonuses like the welcome bonus or any promotional bonus offers based on meeting certain spending thresholds.
5 – Paid Flights (with Arrival Miles)
Southwest flights are usually quite cheap and while their award flight prices depend on the paid fare, it can sometimes be cheaper to redeem Arrival miles. Arrival miles earned from the Barclay Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard are worth 2 cents towards travel purchases, plus you get a 5% redemption bonus. So it might make more sense sometimes to redeem these instead of Rapid Rewards points for a flight. Just make sure your total flight purchase comes up to at least $100. The best part? The miles earned from flying on paid fares count towards the Companion Pass!
6 – SouthwestHotels.com Bookings
If you have upcoming travel and can find a good deal on SouthwestHotels.com, then it’s worth pointing out that you’ll earn points towards the Southwest Companion Pass. That’s an easy, generous, and low-risk way to earn points towards the Companion Pass. Most of you probably have some paid hotel stays throughout the year – not only can you save on those bookings but getting closer to The Pass is just another fringe benefit. Again, be sure to compare these rates with the hotel website and OTAs to ensure you’re getting the best deal.
There are lots of ways to earn the Southwest Companion Pass without getting your account shut down. Head on over to the Rapid Rewards website and check out their partners, which pay out points that count towards the Companion Pass. It’s all pretty much normal expenses we all have. Why not channel them towards earning the Southwest Companion Pass, without getting your credit card company suspicious about how much you’re spending?
How did you earn the Southwest Companion Pass? Please share in the comment section.
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