Southwest Airlines Quick Rewards Program Companion Pass is one of the most valuable benefits of any trip. Once you make money, you can bring your designated companions on paid and reward flights, paying only the taxes and fees for their tickets.
Whether you want to fly to Las Vegas, take your family to Orlando or explore Cancun, this guide will guide you through the current ways to earn a partner pass, what is, what is, what doesn’t matter, and how to maximize your benefits in 2026 through 2026.
Related: 1 in 1 in the Southwest plane has a super seat – Here’s how to grab one
What is the Southwest Companion Pass?
Southwest Companion Pass will be obtained when you collect 135,000 companions through qualifying or 100 qualified one-way flights in a single calendar year. Once you reach this threshold, you can specify a companion to travel with you with cash and reward tickets.
The pass is valid for the remaining time you earn and the entire following year. For example, if you reach the 135,000 companions eligibility point in September 2025, your Southwest companion pass is good until December 31, 2026.
You can change the designated partner to each calendar year, and you can hold a pass, which means you can fly with up to four different people in two years.
Related: How to Earn Southwest Quick Reward Points
What is the importance of winning a companion pass?
All of the following point to your peers passing eligibility points goals:
- Basic Points to Get from Taking Southwest Income Flights (Taxes and Fees Before)
- Southwest Quick Reward Credit Card Points Welcome Offers and Continuous Expenditures
- Basic points purchased through fast reward partners such as hotels, car rentals and fast reward shopping portals
- Southwest Quick Reward Cardholders 10,000 Points Annual Peer Pass Improvement
- Points earned on cash portion of cash + points booking
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The following do not count to your companion pass the eligibility target:
How much does it cost to fly alone?
Southwest Airlines changed its business model in 2025 and now sells four fare bundles, each with its own revenue rate:
- Basic: 2 points per dollar
- Select: 6 points per dollar
- Selection priority: 10 cents per dollar
- Select Extra: 14 points per dollar
To reach 135,000 companions pass the eligibility points by flight alone, you will have to spend:
| Fare Bundle | Income rate | 135,000 peers need to pass the qualifying round |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | 2 cents per dollar | $67,500 |
| choose | 6 cents per dollar | $22,500 |
| Select priority | 10 cents per dollar | $13,500 |
| Select Extra | 14 cents per dollar | $9,643 |
Flying alone to get a companion pass requires a lot of expenses. That’s why savvy travelers turn to credit card welcome offers.
How to Earn a Companion Pass Faster with Southwest Credit Card
Chase issues five common Southwest credit cards. Their welcome offer is the fastest way to the companion pass as they pass the qualifying match point towards your companion.
Your current three personal Southwest credit cards currently offer 100,000 quick bonus points, and you spent $4,000 in the first five months of opening an account:
Information on the Southwest Quick Reward Prime Minister’s Credit Card has been independently collected by Tocts Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Southwest Quick Rewards Business Credit Card also offers generous welcome offers:
All of these cards also offer 10,000 peer pass eligibility points per year, although note that one quick reward member promotion per year is limited to one calendar year (not per card).
This means that if you get a welcome bonus on your personal Southwest credit card right away, you can earn 114,000 companions through qualifying (below) (104,000 redeemable quick bonus points):
- Welcome discount: 100,000 points
- Need to pay for a welcome offer ($4,000): at least 4,000 points
- Annual Peer Pass Improvement: 10,000 Points
You only need 21,000 more points to reach 135,000 companions through qualifying points, which can be achieved with a daily purchase card spend of about $21,000, or earning less than 1 point per dollar in categories, such as flights on Southwest flights.
Use a credit card welcome offer to reduce flights of nearly $67,500 to about $21,000 after bonuses and annual growth.
Other ways to earn a companion pass
While credit card bonuses are the fastest route, you can also increase your balance with partner activities:
- Hotels: Earn eligibility points for your partner when booking via Quick Reward Hotel Portal
- Car Rental: Partners like Hertz, Avis and Budget Awards Awards Partners Rental Qualification Points
- Quick Reward Meals: Link cards to win a partner’s eligibility point when participating in a restaurant
- Quick Reward Shopping: Earn online purchases through the Southwest Shopping Portal through Qualification Points
- Other Revenue Partners: Laithwaite’s Wine, Reliant Energy, Xoom and other featured partners provide eligibility points for online purchases
Remember: Only the basic points of a partner can calculate the eligibility points – reward points usually don’t.
Bottom line
The Southwest Companion Pass can be a very profitable benefit, especially if you can enjoy a companionship trip early enough in a calendar year to collect taxes and fees. It’s not too late to plan your strategy to earn a pass in 2025, and it may not be too late for some (or all) of 2026.
For those who qualify, getting a good bonus from a Southwest credit card or two can help you get a peer pass easily (quickly). While you can get a peer pass by flying or credit card spending alone, it is usually the easiest way to do it.
With Southwest Airlines’ check bags charged, the companion pass remains an excellent value – especially since Southwest cardholders can still receive a check bag without additional fees, and get up to eight companions on the same booking.
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