# Wondering where I went wrong with my Southwest Chase cards and companion pass



## rickandcindy23 (Dec 26, 2013)

I applied for and received two Chase Southwest cards, one personal, one business.  Both cards arrived this past year, with the second card arriving in late November.  I spent over the qualifying amount before my closing date in December, and I received no 50K bonus miles after that December statement closing date.  

I contacted Chase through their link in my account and was told I won't get the points until next month's statement date.  This means I won't qualify for the companion pass.  

We have lots of miles/ points, so it was just about the companion pass for 2014.  

Next year, if this really doesn't work out for me, I will attempt to get the companion pass for 2015 and 2016 under Rick's name. 

What a mess.  Is there something I am missing?  I spent $3,260 by December 7th, which was my last statement closing date.  Why did I not qualify?  I only needed to spend $2,000.  I am baffled and confused.


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## JudyH (Dec 26, 2013)

http://thepointsguy.com/2013/08/maximize-monday-southwest-companion-pass-faq-and-strategies/

http://thepointsguy.com/2013/11/rem...-cards-50000-point-sign-up-bonus-ends-monday/


See if these posts answer your question.  I don't quite understand how the companion pass completely works.

We each got a card and got the 50,000 points.  But I don't see myself accumulating 110,000 points just to use the companion pass, nor will I fly 100 one way or 50 round trip flights in a year.

We just booked flights from Tampa to Chicago round trip and they were under 20,000 for each of us.

Let me know what you figure out.


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## Bnov (Dec 26, 2013)

If you met/exceeded the qualifying amount with your December statement, it appears you should receive credit for it.  It isn't clear if you spent the qualifying amount before the December closing date or paid the qualifying amount as of your December statement.  I believe it's the second that qualifies you for the the award.


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## JudyS (Dec 26, 2013)

rickandcindy23 said:


> I applied for and received two Chase Southwest cards, one personal, one business.  Both cards arrived this past year, with the second card arriving in late November.  I spent over the qualifying amount before my closing date in December, and I received no 50K bonus miles after that December statement closing date....
> 
> I contacted Chase through their link in my account and was told I won't get the points until next month's statement date.  This means I won't qualify for the companion pass.... I spent $3,260 by December 7th, which was my last statement closing date.  Why did I not qualify?  I only needed to spend $2,000.  I am baffled and confused.


The fine print on the Southwest offer says the bonus points can take up to 8 weeks to post. There has been a fair amount of discussion of this on Flyertalk. It seems that Chase does not communicate every day with Southwest -- Chase moves points to Southwest maybe once or twice a month. So, if a person charged $2000 to their Chase account on November 20th, and their Chase billing cycle ended on December 19th, it might take until January 18th for their bonus points to post. 

It's actually better to qualify for the Companion Pass early in the year. If someone qualifies in late 2013, their companion pass would only be good until December 31, 2014. But, if a person qualifies in January 2014, their Companion Pass would be good until December 31, 2015. So, if you haven't gotten either 50,000 bonus yet, that's actually good -- you'll get both bonuses in early 2014 and your Companion Pass will be good for almost two years. If you already got one 50,000 point bonus in 2013, though, that's a problem. I don't know if it's fixable or not, but you could ask on Flyertalk.


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## JudyS (Dec 26, 2013)

Bnov said:


> If you met/exceeded the qualifying amount with your December statement, it appears you should receive credit for it.  It isn't clear if you spent the qualifying amount before the December closing date or paid the qualifying amount as of your December statement.  I believe it's the second that qualifies you for the the award.


No, you don't have to pay off the $2000, just charge $2000 of purchases. (I have the Southwest 50,000 Mile offer right in front of me; I just checked.) The problem is in the timing of when Chase communicates with Southwest. 

I'm sure Chase would prefer people pay just the minimum due each month -- that way, they can charge lots of interest.


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## riverdees05 (Dec 27, 2013)

I think you have to pay instead of just charging on your card.  Could call Southwest and confirm and if that is the case go on line and pay before the end of the calendar year.


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## SMHarman (Dec 27, 2013)

Send the minimum payment that should trigger the billing cycle account still in good standing and then Chase will send the spend record over to SW. 
They may just do this as a once a month batch but that seems less likely these days. 

Sent from my LT26i using Tapatalk


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## rickandcindy23 (Dec 27, 2013)

I did pay the payment in full, just as soon as I got the bill, but it seems my qualifying charge on the card was too close to the closing date of my statement of 12/7/2013.  

I am beyond disappointed.  

Yes, Judy, I did get the 50K for the personal card in October.  It posted the very statement in which I qualified.  I really messed this up.

I applied for this business card with Chase for the Southwest 50K miles in plenty of time, back in October.  We left early November for Orlando, got back on the 18th, and I called Chase and said, "Hey, where is my card?"  They told me they mailed it to the business address, which is our daughter's home address, 90 miles from my house (our business is registered with the Colorado Sec of State).  

I have no idea why they would mail it to the business address!!!  Laura moved from that house back in July and into her new home.  She never did get the card at her new house.  The post office didn't forward the card or send it back to Chase.  I have no idea where _that_ card is. I finally received another copy of that card around the end of November.  I had very little time to use the card, thanks to that mishap of mailing it to the wrong address.  

Now I am going to apply for another Southwest Chase card early in 2014, as soon as it's been at least 90 days between apps, and I will try again.  It's worth it.  They may turn me down for a 3rd SW card.  We will soon see.


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## JudyS (Dec 27, 2013)

Cindy, I would post on the Southwest board www.flyertalk.com. The folks there may know of some way to get your credit card bonus credited towards your 2013 Companion Pass qualification. It seems Southwest has some flexibility with this. I am sure you will need to speak to the right person at Southwest -- _not_ at Chase. 

Also, without the 50,000 bonus, how close are you to having 110,000 miles for 2013? If you are reasonably close, you may want to buy some stuff (or take some flights) to reach the 110,000 miles qualification.  Southwest currently has some excellent year-end deals for topping-off one's Rapid Rewards account. One of the best is a special promo code on 1-800-flowers. Through the end of 2013, spent at least $29.99 plus taxes and shipping and get 1750 RR points, plus you can get extra RR points for going through the Rapid Rewards mall and by paying with your Southwest Visa. There is a thread on this on Flyertalk, including ways to reduce the shipping costs. I am *very* tempted to send small gifts of flowers to lots of people, because the value of the points almost completely covers the cost of items that are exactly $29.99 (and, I love getting and sending flowers.) 

There's some other good year-end deals, too. 1000 Bonus miles at the RR mall, maybe bonus miles for buying Southwest Gift Cards, etc. 

Even if the charges don't post until 2014, things purchased in 2013 might count towards the 2013 Companion Pass qualification. Again, ask on Flyertalk. 

If you aren't close to 110,000 for 2013, then I would just try for 2014 instead. If you can qualify early in 2014, that's better than qualifying late in 2013. Although the really good year-end deals will be going way, there will still be some reasonably-priced way to generate RR miles. If all else fails, check out the "Manufactured Spend" forum on Flyertalk.


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## rickandcindy23 (Dec 27, 2013)

I will check Flyertalk.  I have read a lot of Daraius's advice (millionmilesecrets.com) on spending to qualify for a particular threshold.  

There are a lot of MF's to pay to Wyndham in the next month.  I planned to pay with the Chase Ink Plus because of the 2X points.  

For me, this was about the thrill of attaining the companion pass.  Rick says I need to just book our airfare for upcoming trips at this point and stop wishing for something that isn't going to happen.  

In total, I have only 85K miles for 2013.  That's about 11,000 in actual travel points, and the rest is the credit card spend and 50K bonus points.  I should have worked harder at it.  

I currently do have 144K points in my Southwest account, and Rick has 85K.  I wish those Chase Ink Plus points counted toward the companion pass.  

Having just discovered how to really take advantage of miles and points, I have learned much.  But I have more to learn, apparently.  I am going to still hope for a miracle of the additional points.  Seems that it doesn't happen mid-statement month, so I am not hopeful.


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## dougp26364 (Dec 27, 2013)

rickandcindy23 said:


> I applied for and received two Chase Southwest cards, one personal, one business.  Both cards arrived this past year, with the second card arriving in late November.  I spent over the qualifying amount before my closing date in December, and I received no 50K bonus miles after that December statement closing date.
> 
> I contacted Chase through their link in my account and was told I won't get the points until next month's statement date.  This means I won't qualify for the companion pass.
> 
> ...



I'd let them deposit my miles into my account. Then I'd call and inquire as to why, after spending more than the required amount, I didn't qualify for the companion passes. If they didn't have a good answer (ie: I didn't read the fine print and they were correct) I'd tell them to close the account. 

Telling them you're closing he account typically triggers a supervisor to take the line. If it does, you might get your passes assuming you qualified for them. If they don't work to keep your business then you probably don't want to keep their card anyway.

Of course this is all assuming that you've read the offer correctly and you did actually qualify for the companion passes. If they're right, then I'd take it as a lesson learned and use their card according to my needs. If I qualify for an offer I expect them to keep their word.


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## lily28 (Dec 27, 2013)

I think if your closing date is too close to when you receive the card, you won't get the bonus points till the subsequent month.  I have read some people move their closing date couple weeks later to make sure they receive the bonus points that month.  Cindy, in your case, I think if you can move your closing date to before 12/31, you might able to get the bonus points for 2013.  You might want to give Chase a call and check.
I also applied for both personal and business southwest cards in October but deliberately won't complete the $2000 spending requirement till 1/2014 ( get 100 days to spend $2000) in order to get companion pass good for 2014 and 2015.
Also, Chase will not give you 2 southwest personal cards. You will need to cancel one before apply for a different type of southwest card (the blue $69 card vs the black premier $99 card)


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## JudyS (Dec 30, 2013)

lily28 said:


> ...
> Also, Chase will not give you 2 southwest personal cards. You will need to cancel one before apply for a different type of southwest card (the blue $69 card vs the black premier $99 card)


Ah! I was just wondering about this today. I currently have a personal Southwest RR Visa card that is blue and has a $69 annual fee each year. I receive 3000 SW RR points when I pay my annual dues. It says "Visa Signature" on it. 

So, what I have is the "Plus" card, not the "Premier" card? I'm wondering if I can cancel my current card and wait a while, then get the Premier card with the 50,000 mile bonus. 

(I know I mentioned previously on this thread that "I have the Southwest 50,000 Mile offer right in front of me" but that was actually an offer that my husband received. He has never had a Southwest RR Visa.)


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## lily28 (Dec 30, 2013)

The southwest plus and premier cards are two different product. I cancelled my plus card and applied for the premier card the same day.  I did have to call the reconsideration line to have it approved as I have too many chase cards.


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## Czahara1 (Dec 30, 2013)

*Companion Pass Award Criteria*



rickandcindy23 said:


> I applied for and received two Chase Southwest cards, one personal, one business.  Both cards arrived this past year, with the second card arriving in late November.  I spent over the qualifying amount before my closing date in December, and I received no 50K bonus miles after that December statement closing date.
> 
> I contacted Chase through their link in my account and was told I won't get the points until next month's statement date.  This means I won't qualify for the companion pass.
> 
> ...



The companion pass award criteria does not include points awarded for signing up for their credit cards.  Here is the criteria from their web site.

*To qualify for a Companion Pass, you will need to earn 110,000 points from any combination of Southwest Airlines flights and Rapid Rewards Partners per calendar year, or fly 100 Southwest Airlines one-way qualifying flights per calendar year.*

The points you received from signing up for their credit card offer are not considered "earned points" for determining companion pass eligibility.


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## rickandcindy23 (Dec 30, 2013)

Czahara1 said:


> The companion pass award criteria does not include points awarded for signing up for their credit cards.  Here is the criteria from their web site.
> 
> *To qualify for a Companion Pass, you will need to earn 110,000 points from any combination of Southwest Airlines flights and Rapid Rewards Partners per calendar year, or fly 100 Southwest Airlines one-way qualifying flights per calendar year.*
> 
> The points you received from signing up for their credit card offer are not considered "earned points" for determining companion pass eligibility.



Yes, that is in their wording, but according to all of the frequent flyer sites, the points do count with the actual Southwest Chase cards.  The wording is there (possibly?) for the future denial of points toward the companion pass. But for now, they are counting toward the pass.  My Chase Ink Bold mile count definitely is not counting toward my companion pass.  I transferred 65K miles from that card just a few months ago.


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## Czahara1 (Dec 30, 2013)

*I would contact Southwest Rapid Rewards for clarification*



rickandcindy23 said:


> Yes, that is in their wording, but according to all of the frequent flyer sites, the points do count with the actual Southwest Chase cards.  The wording is there (possibly?) for the future denial of points toward the companion pass. But for now, they are counting toward the pass.  My Chase Ink Bold mile count definitely is not counting toward my companion pass.  I transferred 65K miles from that card just a few months ago.



You can use the Southwest site chat feature or call Southwest directly to clarify what qualifies for companion pass qualification.  We have had companion passes awarded from Southwest paid travel, but not from credit card bonus points awarded.  The only way to clarify this point is through direct contact with Southwest.


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## rickandcindy23 (Dec 30, 2013)

Czahara1 said:


> You can use the Southwest site chat feature or call Southwest directly to clarify what qualifies for companion pass qualification.  We have had companion passes awarded from Southwest paid travel, but not from credit card bonus points awarded.  The only way to clarify this point is through direct contact with Southwest.



Don't need to do that.  I know for sure these points count for now.  I think the future is bleak for those wishing to get cards for the bonus points toward the companion pass.  Who knows how long it will last?  

My 50K from earlier in the year is included in my companion pass mileage totals.   I am at 85% toward my goal of a companion pass.  That is not enough to get me there by tomorrow.


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## sjsharkie (Dec 30, 2013)

rickandcindy23 said:


> For me, this was about the thrill of attaining the companion pass.  Rick says I need to just book our airfare for upcoming trips at this point and stop wishing for something that isn't going to happen.



I think people are missing the OP's point here -- regardless of what is printed in the T&Cs, historically people have qualified using the credit card points.  I did for one year several years back.  So unless things have changed (which they could at any time), cc points qualify.

The problem is getting the miles credited within the calendar year.  If I were you, I'd take Rick's advice.  There isn't anyway around it if you missed the calendar cutoff barring some Chase intervention.  I will say that if you are a high-value customer, there is a small chance of this happening as a gesture of goodwill.  (AMEX jumped through hoops for me a few years ago when I had a large business spending balance on the card and I complained enough about the problem).

However, in most cases, I think you should take Rick's advice and start planning out for 2014.

Good luck.

-ryan


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## rickandcindy23 (Dec 30, 2013)

Yes, Ryan, you are right, I should just book our airfare now and stop waiting for the companion fare.  

Or, because my 50K is post after 2014, maybe I should get another card and get to the 110K level quickly, then get the companion pass for longer than 1 year.


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## sjsharkie (Dec 30, 2013)

rickandcindy23 said:


> Yes, Ryan, you are right, I should just book our airfare now and stop waiting for the companion fare.
> 
> Or, because my 50K is post after 2014, maybe I should get another card and get to the 110K level quickly, then get the companion pass for longer than 1 year.



True.  Good way to make lemonade out of lemons.

Just be careful -- not sure how many new cards and new card bonuses Chase will issue to you given the recently acquired cards you already have.

The nice thing about Southwest is that you can cancel and reuse the fare without penalty.  So I would plan the first few trips where you know airfare will rise.  Then hold off on the others until you can determine whether or not you will have a companion pass to use in 2014.  My thinking is that once you have the companion pass, you won't need to book so many paid fares for the named companion -- you will want to strategize since SWA changed the rules a few years back and restricts fare credits on non-refundable fares to the name on the original reservation.

Good luck.

-ryan


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## JudyS (Dec 30, 2013)

Czahara1 said:


> The companion pass award criteria does not include points awarded for signing up for their credit cards.  Here is the criteria from their web site.
> 
> *To qualify for a Companion Pass, you will need to earn 110,000 points from any combination of Southwest Airlines flights and Rapid Rewards Partners per calendar year, or fly 100 Southwest Airlines one-way qualifying flights per calendar year.*
> 
> The points you received from signing up for their credit card offer are not considered "earned points" for determining companion pass eligibility.


Dozens, if not hundreds, of people on Flyertalk.com have recently used Chase credit card sign-up bonuses towards qualifying for a Southwest Companion Pass. And, counting Chase sign-up bonuses towards a Companion Pass is not new, either. I got a Companion Pass about a decade ago and I used Chase sign-up bonuses to get most of the old-style Southwest credits I needed to qualify.

If someone at Southwest told you that the sign-up bonuses don't count towards a Companion pass, then they told you wrong. 

Did you sign up for a Chase credit card, receive the sign-up bonus, and have it not count towards Companion Pass qualification? If so, I'd ask on Flyertalk for help. (If not, then why are you so convinced that sign-up bonuses don't count?)


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## pointsjunkie (Jan 8, 2014)

rickandcindy23 said:


> Yes, Ryan, you are right, I should just book our airfare now and stop waiting for the companion fare.
> 
> Or, because my 50K is post after 2014, maybe I should get another card and get to the 110K level quickly, then get the companion pass for longer than 1 year.



that is exactly what you should do. 
Dh applied for the personal and business card in dec. we spent the $2000 in dec(my mistake)and that got posted but the 50,000 are not getting posted until 2014. so the 2000 points won't count for 2014 so i have to spend an additional $2000 in 2014(my mistake). the business card has not arrived yet so it will definitely be in 2014, I am charging all our large purchases on the card we have now and then will spend $2000 as soon as i get the card. by feb 2014 we will have 110,000 points and will have the companion pass for most of 2014 and all of 2015.


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