What if I told you all you had to do was sign up for two Chase Southwest Airlines credit cards, earn an additional 10,000 miles, and upon completion you’d receive a free companion ticket every time you booked a flight? And what if I told you that companion pass lasted the rest of the calendar year plus the entire following calendar year?
Sound too good to be true? Well it’s not. It’s called the Southwest Companion Pass (CP) and it is phenomenal.
Here’s how it works:
- Earn 110,000 Southwest miles in a calendar year (January to December).
- Receive Companion Pass.
- Every time you book a flight, whether with cash or points, you get a free ticket on that flight or flights!
So how do you earn 110,000 Southwest miles? Easy.
Step 1: Sign up for the Chase Southwest Plus credit card to earn 50,000 miles after spending $2,000 in the first 3 months (find referrals here: Southwest Plus Referrals)
- You’ll have to ask for the referral on Reddit, but in my experience you’ll receive more than one in less than 24 hours.
- One nuance about this card is you have to apply for it over the phone; doesn’t make it any easier/harder, you just have to call and give the representative your information. The phone number should be provided with your referral.
Step 2: Sign up for the Chase Southwest Premier credit card to earn another 50,000 miles after spending $2,000 in the first 3 months (find referrals here: Southwest Premier Referrals)
Step 3: Now you’re at 104,000 miles so all you need is an additional 6,000 to hit 110,000. Manufacture that spend or go about your normal spending until you hit it (pay rent, student loans, Venmo two friends each $3,000 – you’ll have to pay a 3% fee to do this (and only once per month), etc. Just spend that $6,000!).
Step 4: Once that last statement in which you hit 110,000 miles closes, they will post to your account and you will be issued your Companion Pass (check your Rapid Rewards account on Southwest’s website for it).
Step 5: Purchase tickets with those 110,000 miles or cash and receive a companion ticket every time you do so for the rest of the calendar year, plus the following calendar year!
Here’s an example timeline:
| 1 | February 1, 2018 | Apply and get approved for the Chase Southwest Plus card (50,000 miles) |
| 2 | February 1, 2016 | Apply and get approved for the Chase Southwest Premier card (50,000 miles). (Note that Chase has a 2/30 rule meaning you can’t apply for more than 2 cards in a 30-day period) |
| 3 | February 28, 2018 | Complete $2,000 minimum spend for both cards |
| 4 | March 1, 2018 | Pay rent for you and your roommate for $3,000 (using Plastiq or another program if your landlord doesn’t allow for credit card payments) |
| 5 | March 1, 2018 | Venmo a friend $3,000 (and pay a $90 fee) and have them write you a check back. All 110,000 miles earned! |
| 4 | March 15, 2018 | Pay off Chase Southwest Plus and Premier cards. |
| 7 | April 1, 2018 | Final miles post to Rapid Rewards account for total of 110,000. |
| 8 | April 15, 2016 | Companion Pass posts to account. |
| 9 | April 15, 2018 through December 31, 2019 | Enjoy use of the companion pass! |
Tips:
- Take it slow! Remember, churning is a marathon, not a sprint.
- If you’ve applied for a lot of Chase cards recently don’t apply for both cards on the same day as you’re likely to get denied (I was!). When I called the reconsideration line the representative said I had applied for too many cards recently and that I would not be able to move existing credit around.
- Aim to complete this in the first half of the calendar year to maximize the value of the Companion Pass. Ideally you want to apply for the first card at the end of December, that way you can hit the spend and get the next card in January, giving you up to 23 months to hold the Pass!
- You can only have one companion listed at a time and can only change it three times per calendar year, so keep in mind who your companion will be ahead of signing up for cards. If you’re married and have kids (ideally two for this), you and your spouse can both get passes and each add a child as your companion so the whole family flies free!
