The Southwest Companion Pass Is Changing: Earn It Under the Old Rules While You Still Can

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Friends, I need you to read this one.

The Southwest Companion Pass has been one of my family’s favorite travel tools for years. We’ve used ours on trips to Hawaii and California, with a companion flying along for just the taxes and fees.

On October 15, 2026, Southwest announced big changes starting January 1, 2027. After this year, credit card welcome bonuses will no longer count toward the Companion Pass. That’s been the main way most of us earned it.

The good news: if you earn it this year, you keep it through the end of 2027. But you need to move now.

What’s changing in 2027

• The Companion Pass becomes part of a new top elite tier called Platinum, which takes 140,000 Tier Qualifying Points or 100 one-way flights in a year.
• Welcome bonuses, referral bonuses, anniversary points, and bonus category points won’t count toward it. They still earn regular points you can use for flights.
• Card spending earns 1 Tier Qualifying Point per $1.
• A new middle step, 95,000 points or 75 flights, gets you three companion trips.
• Progress toward this year’s pass doesn’t carry over into 2027.

If you don’t fly much, earning the full pass in 2027 would take about $130,000 in card spending (counting a one-time 10,000-point boost Southwest is adding). For most families, that’s out of reach. So if the Companion Pass is on your list, 2026 is the year.

Your deadline: your December statement

To earn it under the current rules, you need 135,000 qualifying points posted to your Southwest account by December 31, 2026. Credit card points only post after your statement closes.

That means you need to hit 135,000 points by your December statement closing date, by finishing your minimum spend before that statement closes.

Better yet, finish in November

Points take a few days to post after your statement closes. If you finish your spend in December and your statement closes late in the month, your points could land after January 1, and then they won’t count. Finish your minimum spend on your November statement. Treat December as your last chance, not your plan.

A few tips:

• Look up your statement closing date today in your Chase account, and work backward from November.
• Count your boost. Southwest cardmembers get a 10,000-point boost toward the pass each year. The Southwest debit card adds 7,500 more.
• Only spend what you’d already spend on groceries, gas, and bills, and pay your balance in full every month.

And if you’ve followed my old advice to wait until January to finish your spend: not this year.

How to earn it this year

Most families get there with:

1. A welcome bonus from a personal Southwest card
2. A welcome bonus from a Southwest business card (you generally can’t hold two personal Southwest cards at once)
3. The spending to meet those minimums
4. The 10,000-point boost

Check each card’s current offer, spending requirement, and time frame first. One card’s bonus usually won’t get you to 135,000 alone. If you open a card now, you’ll need to get approved, get the card, and finish the spend by November, so don’t wait.

Sole proprietors: expect a denial on the Southwest business card

Since mid-September 2026, Chase appears to be declining business card applications from sole proprietors who’ve opened three or more new cards in the past 24 months. People are calling it the “3/24” rule.

I’ve heard from several of you who were denied for the Southwest business card because of it. Chase hasn’t announced the rule, but if this describes you, expect a denial. Personal cards don’t seem to be affected.

So do the math on a personal-card plan before you apply. A denial costs you time you don’t have.

Quick answers

If I earn the Companion Pass in 2026, do I keep it?
Yes. A pass earned under the 2026 rules is good through December 31, 2027.

What’s the deadline?
Your 135,000 points have to post by December 31, 2026. Finish your minimum spend before your November statement closes. Your December statement closing date is the last possible chance.

Do welcome bonuses count in 2027?
No. Starting in 2027, only card spending (1 point per $1) and flights count toward the pass.

The Southwest cards

When you’re ready for a Southwest card, grab a referral link from a fellow member of our community: get a Southwest card referral link. Using one helps another follower earn points. Check the offer on the Chase page before you submit anything.

This is a big change, and I know it stings. But if the pass has been on your list, you still have time. Go look up that statement closing date, and aim for November.

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Advertiser Disclosure: Stacy Travel Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Stacy Travel Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.