# Southwest Companion pass and CC sign up bonus



## mdurette (Oct 20, 2021)

For anyone looking to earn their SW companion pass again for 2022/2023 or want your first, they just launched updated signup bonuses for their CC.      100,000 points in the end after a $12k spend.    Good deal, just need to get 25K more points for the CP.      Mine is up this December.  I just closed out my SW cards and will apply in November for this.   Worth it.


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## dsmrp (Oct 20, 2021)

Yup, I was looking fora Southwest CC bonus as I'm preparing to retire, and this fits perfectly. Now if I could only pay property taxes with a CC. Don't have think we've ever have. Gotta check.


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## mdurette (Oct 21, 2021)

dsmrp said:


> Yup, I was looking fora Southwest CC bonus as I'm preparing to retire, and this fits perfectly. Now if I could only pay property taxes with a CC. Don't have think we've ever have. Gotta check.



A know around here you can, but there is typically a fee around 3% to do so.   Normally never worth it, but to meet the 12K spend on this to get the CP as early as possible it can be worth considering.    I have never paid Uncle Sam or tuition bills with a CC either, but may because I have flights Feb/March of next year with SW and it will be worth it.

Data point if you are new to this, very important.   Don't earn you points until calendar year 2022.....this way you get the CP for the rest of 2022 and all of 2023.


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## KimmieM (Oct 21, 2021)

dsmrp said:


> Yup, I was looking fora Southwest CC bonus as I'm preparing to retire, and this fits perfectly. Now if I could only pay property taxes with a CC. Don't have think we've ever have. Gotta check.


Most counties add a 3% charge for paying with credit card.


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## callwill (Oct 21, 2021)

I paid tuition with a CC to earn bonuses.  

_[*Moderator Note*: Political content deleted.] <-- SueDonJ_


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## PigsDad (Oct 21, 2021)

mdurette said:


> Data point if you are new to this, very important.   Don't earn you points until calendar year 2022.....this way you get the CP for the rest of 2022 and all of 2023.


Yes, a good point.  Also, your points are not earned until the end of your billing period.  For example, if your billing period is from the 11th to the 10th of the month, purchases after December 11th would be included in the January 10th billing statement, and all of those points would be in the 2022 calendar year, even though you made purchases in 2021.  It also means you need to have all of your 2022 purchases completed by December 10th, 2022, or they won't count toward your 2022 points.

Kurt


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## klpca (Oct 21, 2021)

mdurette said:


> For anyone looking to earn their SW companion pass again for 2022/2023 or want your first, they just launched updated signup bonuses for their CC.      100,000 points in the end after a $12k spend.    Good deal, just need to get 25K more points for the CP.      Mine is up this December.  I just closed out my SW cards and will apply in November for this.   Worth it.
> 
> View attachment 41286


Is there any way to see when you last closed a card? My husband and I each used to have a SW card and canceled them awhile ago but I can't remember which one of us had the card earlier and when each one of us closed the cards. When I look at our credit report it just says "chase card" so it isn't much help.


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## mdurette (Oct 21, 2021)

klpca said:


> Is there any way to see when you last closed a card? My husband and I each used to have a SW card and canceled them awhile ago but I can't remember which one of us had the card earlier and when each one of us closed the cards. When I look at our credit report it just says "chase card" so it isn't much help.



If you log into Chase, the account still may show as a "closed" card and you could look at past statements for an idea of when they stopped.


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## klpca (Oct 21, 2021)

mdurette said:


> If you log into Chase, the account still may show as a "closed" card and you could look at past statements for an idea of when they stopped.


Thanks. Yeah that's what I have found. I am a former churner (had to take a break because it got too confusing). Hyatt, Marriott, Southwest and of course, Chase all say "Chase" so I am definitely confused when I try to figure it out, lol. My own fault. It's been awhile since I have applied for a card so I just keep putting things off to get past the 24 month rule. I am probably there but I don't want to be surprised.


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## melissy123 (Oct 21, 2021)

So you still have to basically spend $12K then spend another $25K on the card to earn the companion pass.  I like using my Chase Sapphire Reserve card for everything travel related since it serves also as travel insurance.  Decisions, decisions…


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## PigsDad (Oct 21, 2021)

melissy123 said:


> So you still have to basically spend $12K then spend another $25K on the card to earn the companion pass.  I like using my Chase Sapphire Reserve card for everything travel related since it serves also as travel insurance.  Decisions, decisions…


No, you spend $12K to get the 100K bonus points so at that point you have 112K points.  You only need to earn another 13K points to get the Companion Pass.

If you fly SW a lot, the Companion Pass is worth much, much more than any equivalent number of points on any other card.  For example, we fly probably an average of 10-12 times a year.  Let's say our average round-trip flight ticket is $400.  Since my spouse flies free on every one of those trips with the Companion Pass, that is a $4,000 - $4,800 value, just for spending $25K on the SW credit card.  And of course, you also would earn the 100K + 25K SW points and at a value of about 1.5 cents each, that is another $1,875.

But there's more!  When you reach the 125K points needed, you get the CP for the rest of that year PLUS all of the following year.  So if I obtain the CP in March, I will have the CP for 1 year, 9 months.  So in my example, that would add another $3,000+ in value.  So bottom line, I could reasonably get *over $9,000 in value from $25K credit card spend*.  It is a no-brainer for me.  Of course, if you don't fly SW, this doesn't apply.

Kurt


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## rickandcindy23 (Oct 21, 2021)

PigsDad said:


> No, you spend $12K to get the 100K bonus points so at that point you have 112K points.  You only need to earn another 13K points to get the Companion Pass.
> 
> If you fly SW a lot, the Companion Pass is worth much, much more than any equivalent number of points on any other card.  For example, we fly probably an average of 10-12 times a year.  Let's say our average round-trip flight ticket is $400.  Since my spouse flies free on every one of those trips with the Companion Pass, that is a $4,000 - $4,800 value, just for spending $25K on the SW credit card.  And of course, you also would earn the 100K + 25K SW points and at a value of about 1.5 cents each, that is another $1,875.
> 
> ...


That is a great summary.  I hadn't gone that far with my calculations.  We mostly fly SW but stay longer, so less flights.  I am thinking about this for Rick's next card. 

I was also considering the Amex that gets us lounge access at DEN for the new Amex lounge there.  We had a flight delayed, then delayed, then delayed, and finally cancelled by Southwest, this was June.  We sat in the airport for 7 hours before they cancelled the flight.  We bought two meals at the airport, which we never do.  That lounge access would be nice to have.  More comfortable than the C gate boarding areas with flights cancelled all over the place.  There was almost nowhere to sit.  Talk about crowded! 

I wonder if you are guaranteed to get into the lounge at DEN.  Do they refuse you, if the lounge is crowded?

So disappointed we lost the steakhouse for our Priority Pass.


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## melissy123 (Oct 21, 2021)

From the Points Guy:

“Just note that the date your points post is the year in which they will count toward a Companion Pass. For example, if you were to open this card and spend $2,000 on purchases in November, 50,000 points will post to your account before 2022. These will not count toward earning the Companion Pass in 2022.”

So just opened up an account for DH. I should spend the last of the $2000 after January 1 or after whenever my billing cycle closes for 2021.


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## toddvb20 (Oct 21, 2021)

I see that the offer is open to new cardholders. I have a SW card and my wife is an additional cardholder on my account. Would the fact that she is an additional cardholder on my account preclude her from opening an account in her name?

Thanks!


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## melissy123 (Oct 21, 2021)

toddvb20 said:


> I see that the offer is open to new cardholders. I have a SW card and my wife is an additional cardholder on my account. Would the fact that she is an additional cardholder on my account preclude her from opening an account in her name?
> 
> Thanks!


you can always open a new account in your wife’s name. The question is will she be qualified for this offer? maybe call up the number on the back of the credit card and ask.

when this offer was open in 2019, there was a very long detailed thread about the ins and outs of the offer. If someone can find it, that would be great.


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## mark201235 (Oct 21, 2021)

toddvb20 said:


> I see that the offer is open to new cardholders. I have a SW card and my wife is an additional cardholder on my account. Would the fact that she is an additional cardholder on my account preclude her from opening an account in her name?
> 
> Thanks!



No. My wife and I have been alternating for years to keep the Companion Pass. As long as you don't apply together (enter both SS#'s in order to get approved) then you will be fine. And also that your wife hasn't had a qualifying card within the appropriate amount of time. You can add a cardholder after the account is set up. Our CP (currently in my wife's name) will expire end of 2021. I booked flights for next month using the promo Southwest had to get CP from early Jan 21 through end of Feb 21. I will apply (again) for a personal card and business card in early December and complete the necessary spend to get the bonus points to get a new CP for 2022-2023. I believe Chase also has a stipulation that you can't open more then a certain amount of Chase credit card accounts within a certain period of time, I'm thinking 5 cards in 2 years or something like that. The Companion Pass is an absolutely great deal. I'd hate think how much additional we would have to spend on airfare without it.

Mark


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## rickandcindy23 (Oct 21, 2021)

toddvb20 said:


> I see that the offer is open to new cardholders. I have a SW card and my wife is an additional cardholder on my account. Would the fact that she is an additional cardholder on my account preclude her from opening an account in her name?
> 
> Thanks!


I have two cards in my name, but one is my business.


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## rickandcindy23 (Oct 21, 2021)

It would be better to apply early December and leave the card alone until 2022.  I need to get Rick to apply.  It's a great offer.  I have insurance due soon.  Maybe I should pay our income taxes with the card.  I wonder if that would count.  I know of one processing site that is 1.87% for using a credit card.  I am trying to think of how I would get that spend done.  I could switch my Wyndham payments from CSR for a while.


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## mdurette (Oct 21, 2021)

rickandcindy23 said:


> I have two cards in my name, but one is my business.



I have read that you cannot have a current card, even if you apply for a different.   I have cancelled my one and only personal (business closed a while ago) and will reapply fo personal with referral link from husband sometime next month.


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## dsmrp (Nov 11, 2021)

I applied for the SW card in late October, and got the physical card 9 business days later.
Online in the Chase site, the 11th was the payment due date, but I couldn't see the statement closing date.  I called the number on the card, and rep told me it's 25 days from closing date to due date, so would have been 14th for closing date.  I requested a change to the closing & due dates, to the 5th & 2nd, which the rep made, but I don't see online yet.   So whatever we charge in November won't be credited to my  SW acct until January.

I also initially had a lower credit limit for the SW card compared to my 2 other Chase cards. It's not enough to cover all my TS MFs.  I also asked the rep to move some of the credit line I had on another Chase CC to my SW acct. That was reflected online right away.


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## mdurette (Nov 12, 2021)

dsmrp - I have reread you post a few times, but I'm confused, I could be reading it wrong.
If your statement now closes Dec 5th and your due date is Jan 2nd.
Your points would post around Dec 5th for your Nov charges.  

Also, for others, my understanding after research is:
1.  Chase has a 5 and 24 rule.   If you have opened 5 new credit cards in the last 24 months, you are not eligable for a new product with them.
2.  SW card has a 24 month lookback.   You are not eligable for SW bonus points if you have received another SW sign up bonus in past 24 months
3.  You cannot hold a current SW card and get the sign up bonus.    Reports are you should wait 30 days after to cancelling to reapply

melissy123:  agreed the CSR is great for travel spend for benefits.   I learned couple things this past year, the entire cost of the trip doesn't need to go on the card to get the benefits.   Example:   pay cruise deposit with CSR and then final payment with another means and insurance coverages still there.    The other is I was using my CSR for almost all my non catagory daily spend and was leaving points on the table.   I opened up a Freedom unlimited which gave me 5x on groceries for a year (up to 12k) and 1.5 on all other and 3x at restaurants.    I now carry this card with me for daily spend for the extra .5 on "all other".    Then, sweep all the points into my CSR UR account


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## dsmrp (Nov 12, 2021)

mdurette said:


> dsmrp - I have reread you post a few times, but I'm confused, I could be reading it wrong.
> If your statement now closes Dec 5th and your due date is Jan 2nd.
> Your points would post around Dec 5th for your Nov charges.



Thanks so much @mdurette, you are right, the points will post to my SW acct after the statement billing/closing date, not the due date.  I re-read the T&C and in Chase's terms the points will post automatically after each "billing" period.  I have another Chase Airline branded CC, and those post to my airline account 2 days after that card's statement closing date. 

Another item from Chase's SW card terms is that bonus points can take up to 8 weeks to post to your SW account! So if I'm counting on that 2nd 50K point bonus to earn a companion pass, then I need to get that additional $10K spend done by September-October at the latest. Of course we all want to earn the companion pass as early as possible next year


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## mdurette (Nov 13, 2021)

dsmrp said:


> Thanks so much @mdurette, you are right, the points will post to my SW acct after the statement billing/closing date, not the due date.  I re-read the T&C and in Chase's terms the points will post automatically after each "billing" period.  I have another Chase Airline branded CC, and those post to my airline account 2 days after that card's statement closing date.
> 
> Another item from Chase's SW card terms is that bonus points can take up to 8 weeks to post to your SW account! So if I'm counting on that 2nd 50K point bonus to earn a companion pass, then I need to get that additional $10K spend done by September-October at the latest. Of course we all want to earn the companion pass as early as possible next year




You're welcome.   I'm just going to mention this again because it is important.    DO NOT earn any of those sign up bonus points in 2021.   If you make the first $2K spend now and your statement generates on 12/5 you will get the first 50,000 in 2021 and these WILL NOT count towards earning a CP for 2022/2023.  

It sounds like you are ok earning the CP not until the end of 2022 (since you mention that is your goal to make that other 12K spend by Sept/Oct)   If that is the case, don't rush this first 50K, what until mid Dec to hit the $2K spend so you know those points will be good for 2022.


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## dsmrp (Nov 13, 2021)

mdurette said:


> You're welcome.   I'm just going to mention this again because it is important.    DO NOT earn any of those sign up bonus points in 2021.   If you make the first $2K spend now and your statement generates on 12/5 you will get the first 50,000 in 2021 and these WILL NOT count towards earning a CP for 2022/2023.
> 
> It sounds like you are ok earning the CP not until the end of 2022 (since you mention that is your goal to make that other 12K spend by Sept/Oct)   If that is the case, don't rush this first 50K, what until mid Dec to hit the $2K spend so you know those points will be good for 2022.


Yes, I'm certainly holding off on making any MF payments or other spend until Dec 6. I did charge some to the card, but am under $2K. 
Will be interesting to see next year when the 1st 50k bonus pts actually do post to our SW accts ...if it really takes 8 weeks as mentioned in the CC terms.


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## mark201235 (Dec 16, 2021)

I received my Southwest Premier card last week and have just about reached the $2K spend for the 50K points. I was thinking that the statement closing date would be mid-January but just called Chase to be sure. I was told the first statement closing date would be January 2, 2022. That is cutting it close and I'm glad I didn't get the card a week or so earlier!  I'm still waiting on the SW Performance Business card which was mailed the other day so no worries there. My thinking is that if I can get those bonus points to reach CP as early as possible we may have time to use it before the end of February while also using my wife's CP which is good through the end of February because of the recent promotion. We could take our daughter and granddaughter on a trip with us. Southwest is great.


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## mdurette (Dec 18, 2021)

I received mine a couple weeks ago.   I haven't started using it yet, I want every point to go to 2022.   Soon, it will be my go-to card everything.   

I do love SW, especially the flexibility for cancellations and changes and have held a CP for what feels like forever. Extremely loyal and happy with pricing and flight options that I didn't look anywhere else.  But, over the last year and upcoming flights I have booked, I have started explore other airlines many because I was finding less non-stop options with SW,   I ended up finding JetBlue and Frontier to be strong competitors on the routes I desire.


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## Blues (Jan 1, 2022)

mdurette said:


> Data point if you are new to this, very important.   Don't earn you points until calendar year 2022.....this way you get the CP for the rest of 2022 and all of 2023.





PigsDad said:


> Yes, a good point.  Also, your points are not earned until the end of your billing period.  For example, if your billing period is from the 11th to the 10th of the month, purchases after December 11th would be included in the January 10th billing statement, and all of those points would be in the 2022 calendar year, even though you made purchases in 2021.  It also means you need to have all of your 2022 purchases completed by December 10th, 2022, or they won't count toward your 2022 points.
> 
> Kurt



Thanks to you both.  OK, please help de-confuse the situation for me.  DW got the CC just before the 100K promotion expired.  We thought her billing period wouldn't end until January, which would have made it easy.  Unfortunately, we eventually found out that the billing period ended in late Dec.  So let's consider 3 buckets of purchases:
A. Purchases in early/mid Dec, which made it onto the first bill.  Bill was available in late Dec, but we have the payment scheduled in mid-Jan.
B. Purchases made in late Dec, after the billing cycle ended; so they'll show up in late Jan.
C. Purchases made in Jan and later.

I assume that purchases from A will count toward the $2k needed for the first 50K points, but the (approx $1k) purchase credits won't count toward the 2022/23 companion fare.
Will B count for both purposes? (both the 50K or 100K bonus, plus credits for purchases)
I assume C will count for both.

I'm a bit confused.  I assume that the first 50K bonus, which we should satisfy in Jan or Feb, will count toward 2022/23 companion.  Ditto the 2nd 50K.  If the first $1K of purchases were too soon, I assume that we'll just need an extra $1K of purchases after we satisfy the rest of the requirements for 100K bonus.   IOW, we'll eventually need $26K in purchases.

Do I have that correct?  Thanks.

ETA - off to pay some MFs with this card ;-)


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## PigsDad (Jan 1, 2022)

Blues said:


> Thanks to you both.  OK, please help de-confuse the situation for me.  DW got the CC just before the 100K promotion expired.  We thought her billing period wouldn't end until January, which would have made it easy.  Unfortunately, we eventually found out that the billing period ended in late Dec.  So let's consider 3 buckets of purchases:
> A. Purchases in early/mid Dec, which made it onto the first bill.  Bill was available in late Dec, but we have the payment scheduled in mid-Jan.
> B. Purchases made in late Dec, after the billing cycle ended; so they'll show up in late Jan.
> C. Purchases made in Jan and later.
> ...


I think you have it all correct, but you could always call customer service to confirm.

Kurt


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## mdurette (Jan 2, 2022)

Yes, you do have it correct.    You can log into your SW RR account to see what points posted from the late December statement to confirm.

Your only "issue" will be if your spend in early December that showed up on the late December statement was more than $2K.   If so, then the first 50K would have posted in year 2021 and will no longer count towards your 2022/2023 CP.   

Now that 2022 is here, my new card came out and will be my go-to card for the next couple of months.    Some tips for earning outside of just having it in your pocket for your daily charges.
Install the SW shopping portal button for your toolbar.    Everytime you go to a site for an online purchase, the button will automatically notify you that you can earn extra points.  

Sign up for SW dining, some of the local restaurants you frequent may get you extra points.    There is usually a first time user bonus too.

Have a hotel stay, car rental coming up.    Check out rates via SW site for more bonus points.
(just know you will not earn hotel rewards for that brand because of the 3rd party booking)


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## CalGalTraveler (Jan 2, 2022)

rickandcindy23 said:


> I was also considering the Amex that gets us lounge access at DEN for the new Amex lounge there.  We had a flight delayed, then delayed, then delayed, and finally cancelled by Southwest, this was June.  We sat in the airport for 7 hours before they cancelled the flight.  We bought two meals at the airport, which we never do.  That lounge access would be nice to have.  More comfortable than the C gate boarding areas with flights cancelled all over the place.  There was almost nowhere to sit.  Talk about crowded!
> 
> I wonder if you are guaranteed to get into the lounge at DEN.  Do they refuse you, if the lounge is crowded?
> 
> So disappointed we lost the steakhouse for our Priority Pass.



Bummer. I wanted to try the steakhouse. Didn't know they stopped it. We used a steakhouse at JFK - not enough to cover buying a steak though. Be careful with the AMEX priority pass because they don't include restaurants. I believe you know this, but reminding.

My DH just cancelled his old plus card and got the new priority card. Time to spend...


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## Blues (Jan 2, 2022)

mdurette said:


> Your only "issue" will be if your spend in early December that showed up on the late December statement was more than $2K.   If so, then the first 50K would have posted in year 2021 and will no longer count towards your 2022/2023 CP.



Ooh, dodged that bullet!  My December spend was closer to $1K.  Thanks for the warning. 

I still don't understand how a card/account that was approved on Dec 6 had a closing date in late Dec instead of early Jan.  It's almost as if they were trying to trip people up.


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## dsmrp (Jan 3, 2022)

Blues said:


> Ooh, dodged that bullet!  My December spend was closer to $1K.  Thanks for the warning.
> 
> I still don't understand how a card/account that was approved on Dec 6 had a closing date in late Dec instead of early Jan.  It's almost as if they were trying to trip people up.



I think the closing dates will vary depending upon when you are approved.
I applied at the end of October and was approved immediately. My closing date was the 11th of each month and I had to call Chase to find this out. I had them change the date to the 5th of each month, so and held off on big purchases to avoid the $2K spend. (The payment date is 25 days after the monthly closing date).
Reading Chase's T&C, it might be that the bonus points are applied to SW RR accounts by a different means than the CC spend.  T&C said something like 4-8 weeks for bonuses.  So let's post when we see those 50K points in our SW accounts. thx.


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## mark201235 (Jan 3, 2022)

I was approved for personal card on December 6th. First statement just closed yesterday January 2nd. Met spend and 50K bonus points showed up in my RR account today.


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## dsmrp (Jan 8, 2022)

My 100K bonus points were posted to my SW account today!
I need about 10K more points for companion pass; should be able to get by early March with some planned flights in February.
It took about 3 days after my cycle closing date (5th) for points to show up.  
Actually the Chase site showed I had earned the bonuses 2 days before the points posted.


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## lily28 (Jan 11, 2022)

i got the companion pass today after completed required spending on 2 cards.  i previously booked 2 tickets using points to cancun for april.  now that i have the companion pass, can one ticket be cancel and then apply the companion pass as the flight now is more expensive


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## mdurette (Jan 12, 2022)

lily28 said:


> i got the companion pass today after completed required spending on 2 cards.  i previously booked 2 tickets using points to cancun for april.  now that i have the companion pass, can one ticket be cancel and then apply the companion pass as the flight now is more expensive



Did you book each party separately or together on the same reservation?


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## PigsDad (Jan 12, 2022)

lily28 said:


> i got the companion pass today after completed required spending on 2 cards.  i previously booked 2 tickets using points to cancun for april.  now that i have the companion pass, can one ticket be cancel and then apply the companion pass as the flight now is more expensive


Yes, you can do that.  If they were originally booked together, you will have to call to cancel that one ticket, otherwise you can do it all online.

Kurt


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## lily28 (Jan 12, 2022)

i booked both tickets together. i couldn’t figure out how to do it online so called southwest who cancel only my daughter’s ticket then i add her back as companion


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## mark201235 (Jan 13, 2022)

Flight that my daughter, son-in-law and grandson were booked on last Thursday was cancelled. I was on hold with Southwest for over 2 hours to re-book them. I was unable to make changes online because my grandson was added as a lap baby. Since there were only two nonstops from FLL to DCA that day I used some of my RR points to rebook my daughter and son-in-law while I was waiting on the phone. I knew there would be many people rebooking online and didn’t want that flight to fill up. There were only three seats left by the time it was my turn to speak with an agent. He went ahead and rebooked from the original canceled flight and canceled the “backup“ reservation that I made using the points. Unfortunately, there are a few things that cannot be done online. I also earned companion pass on Monday. Good through 12/31/23.  I consider myself lucky with the timing. It was literally just over one month from the time I applied for both personal and business Southwest cards to the time both of the first statements were generated. RR points posted the following day on each. Now it’s back to only using the personal card to work towards the spend for the additional 50k RR points as part of the 100K offer. 

Mark


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## buzglyd (Jan 13, 2022)

I'm just about to qualify when my Business card hits the Jan 15 closing date. I already got my first 50k from the personal card. The business is 80k. I'll then work on getting my next 50k. 

I currently have the promotional pass that is good until the end of Feb. Already flew with my son once. I'll switch my companion to my wife once I'm done flying with my son. Nice to have it for two full years!


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## jwalk03 (Jan 13, 2022)

2022 will be my third year in a row with a Companion Pass, earned primarily though credit card spend on my SWA Priority Card-  Its such a GREAT benefit!  My wife also has the Promo Companion Pass through the end of Feb so our son is her companion and daughter is my companion and we are headed to Florida next week for next to nothing as a result.  Both kids have free flights and we had points to cover the adult flights!


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## SHG (Jan 13, 2022)

PigsDad said:


> No, you spend $12K to get the 100K bonus points so at that point you have 112K points.  You only need to earn another 13K points to get the Companion Pass.
> 
> If you fly SW a lot, the Companion Pass is worth much, much more than any equivalent number of points on any other card.  For example, we fly probably an average of 10-12 times a year.  Let's say our average round-trip flight ticket is $400.  Since my spouse flies free on every one of those trips with the Companion Pass, that is a $4,000 - $4,800 value, just for spending $25K on the SW credit card.  And of course, you also would earn the 100K + 25K SW points and at a value of about 1.5 cents each, that is another $1,875.
> 
> ...


I have never used a SW companion pass but have been told that there are quite a few FEES that you still have to pay, so the CP is not free. How much are these fees? This could have a large impact on the example above (although I am sure it is still a great value!)


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## Blues (Jan 13, 2022)

SHG said:


> How much are these fees?



You have to pay the TSA fees, which are $5.60 per flight segment.


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## SHG (Jan 13, 2022)

Blues said:


> You have to pay the TSA fees, which are $5.60 per flight segment.


Oooh! Is that all....  Cool.


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## lily28 (Jan 13, 2022)

tax on international flight is higher like $35 going to cancun and $58 coming back. but still great price for $500 all in for 2 during spring break to fly to cancun nonstop from chicago using the companion pass


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## PigsDad (Jan 13, 2022)

SHG said:


> I have never used a SW companion pass but have been told that there are quite a few FEES that you still have to pay, so the CP is not free. How much are these fees? This could have a large impact on the example above (although I am sure it is still a great value!)


As Blues said, only $5.60 per one-way flight.  Plus you can change the flights any time w/o any fees.  CP is truly a huge benefit if you fly Southwest.

Kurt


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## buzglyd (Jan 16, 2022)

Just had my business card points post. CP until the end of 2023! I still have some spend to earn the second half of my bonus on the personal card.


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## MattnTricia (Jan 16, 2022)

I thought I had a perfect plan to complete my companion pass by now. Unfortunately it didn't work out perfectly and I am scrambling a bit to complete my accrual ASAP. 

I am sitting at 119k with the 100k bonus and my December spending plus bonuses. The only challenge is that spending was a one off and 5k bonus from rocket miles posted in 1 week instead of 4 weeks on Dec 28. I have a 2k bonus coming from bright cellars but am now short 5k. 

I would have got this with hotel stays but COVID has derailed all business travel for my company for a while.


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## mdurette (Jan 17, 2022)

MattnTricia said:


> I thought I had a perfect plan to complete my companion pass by now. Unfortunately it didn't work out perfectly and I am scrambling a bit to complete my accrual ASAP.
> 
> I am sitting at 119k with the 100k bonus and my December spending plus bonuses. The only challenge is that spending was a one off and 5k bonus from rocket miles posted in 1 week instead of 4 weeks on Dec 28. I have a 2k bonus coming from bright cellars but am now short 5k.
> 
> I would have got this with hotel stays but COVID has derailed all business travel for my company for a while.



When is your next SW flight that you need the CP for?
When is the next closing date on your CC statement(s)?


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## MattnTricia (Jan 19, 2022)

mdurette said:


> When is your next SW flight that you need the CP for?
> When is the next closing date on your CC statement(s)?



Sadly just got COVID so no flights for next month. 
Credit Card Expiration Date is Feb 4. 

I signed up for Motley Fool to get the 4500 and will trial it for the 30 days. 

Still looking for a couple thousand more but getting close.


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## Goldi (Jan 19, 2022)

MattnTricia said:


> Sadly just got COVID so no flights for next month.
> Credit Card Expiration Date is Feb 4.
> 
> I signed up for Motley Fool to get the 4500 and will trial it for the 30 days.
> ...


Buy some gift cards.


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