How to Southwest Companion Pass

If you live in Nashville you can cut the cost of your flights in half. And if you time it right (November / December) you'll have the benefit for all of 2025 + 2026.

Maybe you've heard of it, Southwest Airlines has an insane perk named Companion Pass: after you fly 100 flights with them or get 135,000 of their airline points, you can bring another person with you on any flight you take. For free. For two years. Unlimited amounts of times. Unreal.

This guide will go over how to get 135,000 Southwest points and the best way to do it. (Spoiler alert: you get two credit cards).

I don't want to read the guide. Just give me the summary and actions.

Alright dude, respect. Read this chart ^ use this referral link to get those offers, open the cards, spend enough in the time frame, and you're good to go.

Step by Step Guide

Do this in November or December

Do this in November / December for two reasons. 1) The way Southwest's system works is once you do the qualifying action (getting 135,000 points) you are given Companion Pass for that year + the following year. If you get the cards at the end of 2024 you'll have 3 months to finish (January / February 2025) and have Companion Pass for the rest of 2025 + all of 2026.

2) They run their best credit card offers in November and December. Right now they're giving a $400 statement credit + 40,000 bonus points for their lowest tier card. I did this exact process in November of 2023 and used similar offers.

How do I actually get the 135,000 points?

You open two of Southwest's Chase Credit Cards and hit their spend requirement in 2025. That easy.

1) Open Southwest's lowest tier card and once you hit the spend requirement you'll get 40,000 points + a $400 statement credit towards anything. Free $400. Cool.

The spend requirement for this one is $3,000 in 4 months. You can start spending in 2024 but you'll want to spend the last dollar of the $3,000 after January 1st, 2025. That way when the points are granted after you complete the spend they'll count towards 2025's points.

2) Open Southwest's Business Credit card and you'll get 80,000 points.

The spend requirement for this one is $5,000 in the first 3 months. Same deal as before- you can start spending in 2024 but you'll want to finish the total spend after January 1st 2025.

Don't be alarmed by it being a "business" credit card. My business is just my name and Chase doesn't ask / verify any details on your business. I just said my business is my name, it's a sole proprietorship under my SSN, and the total income is my income.

So let's review -

You've gotten both credit cards. Your total annual fee is $268 ($69 for first card + $199 for second card) but that's entirely offset by the $400 statement credit they give you.

You spend the total before the end of the time you were given.

Boom. You have 120,000 reward points + 8,000 points for the money you spent and can get the extra 7,000 points by whatever other spending you do. Now you're at 135,000 points. Congrats, for the entirety of 2025 and 2026 whenever you get a Southwest flight you'll have a free ticket to give to your companion.

Why does being in Nashville make this better?

Nashville is Southwest's second largest hub in the US. BNA is one of the cheaper domestic fare airports, which makes sense - being smack dab in the middle of the country makes it a lot quicker and cheaper to get to anywhere.

Plus, 51.2% of BNA's flights are Southwest flights. That's a huge majority and it's not even close- Delta has the second most and they only have 10.3% of the share. So if you want to get anywhere in the US, Southwest will most likely have a flight there at a time that works well for you.

Final Point

I seriously consider this one of the biggest life hacks I've ever done.

Living in Nashville, my girlfriend and I have flown 15 times in 2024 where her ticket was free. This has made traveling sooo much easier, better, and has honestly encouraged us to travel more when it's so cheap. It's incredibly easy to add your companion to your flight and you'll always sit next to / board at the same time as your partner. I honestly believe Southwest is going to stop offering this in the next year or so because there is no way they have profited off of me through Companion Pass.

Also, those 135,000 points are still redeemable Southwest points (Southwest points convert to 1.4 cents per point, so 135,000 points = $1,890 of Southwest flights). Get traveling dude, bring your Companion, live life.