EXPIRED: Southwest Companion Pass Welcome Bonus (Ended March 18)

⚠️ DEAL EXPIRED: This elevated offer ended March 18, 2026. Southwest cards no longer include the Companion Pass as a welcome bonus. To earn the pass now, you’ll need to accumulate 125,000 qualifying points in a calendar year — see our Southwest Companion Pass guide for the traditional strategy.

Southwest ran one of the best credit card offers in recent memory. Through March 18, 2026, all three Southwest personal cards included the Companion Pass as part of their welcome bonus.

No gaming the system. No earning 125,000 points. Just hit the spend requirement and you’ve got it — but this offer has ended.

What’s the Offer?

All three Southwest Rapid Rewards personal cards are offering:

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Card

Companion Pass after $4,000 spend in 3 months
30,000 bonus points after $4,000 spend
$99 annual fee

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Card

Companion Pass after $4,000 spend in 3 months
30,000 bonus points after $4,000 spend
$69 annual fee

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Card

Companion Pass after $5,000 spend in 3 months
50,000 bonus points after $5,000 spend
$149 annual fee

All three get you the Companion Pass. The Priority card gives you 20K more points for $1K more spend and a higher annual fee.

Why This Matters

Normally, the Companion Pass requires earning 125,000 qualifying points in a calendar year. Most people do this by:

Getting two Southwest cards
Earning both bonuses
Timing it carefully

This offer skips all that. One card. One spend requirement. Done.

Your companion then flies free (just taxes) on every Southwest flight through December 31, 2026 — that’s over 10 months of free companion flights.

The Math on Value

Let’s say you take 6 round-trip flights with your companion this year:

Route	Avg. Ticket Cost	Companion Savings
LAX → Denver	$180	$180
SEA → Phoenix	$220	$220
OAK → Hawaii	$400	$400
DEN → Nashville	$190	$190
PHX → Chicago	$250	$250
SJC → Austin	$200	$200
Total		$1,440

Taxes cost about $5.60 per segment ($11.20 round-trip), so maybe $70 total for the year.

Net savings: $1,370+ from one credit card offer.

And that doesn’t count the bonus points (30K-50K), worth another $400-700 depending on how you value Southwest points.

Should You Get the Premier, Plus, or Priority?

Get the Priority ($149/year) if:

You want 50K points instead of 30K
You’ll use the 4 upgraded boardings per year
$75 Southwest credit appeals to you
You fly Southwest 5+ times per year

Get the Premier ($99/year) if:

You want solid perks without the higher fee
Anniversary 6,000 points matter to you
You fly Southwest occasionally

Get the Plus ($69/year) if:

You want the lowest annual fee
You mainly want the Companion Pass
You’re not sure how much you’ll use Southwest going forward

For most people chasing the Companion Pass, I’d lean Priority or Premier. The extra points and perks are worth the fee difference if you’ll actually fly Southwest.

Timing Considerations

Here’s the one catch: the Companion Pass you earn is valid through December 31, 2026.

That means:

Apply now (mid-February) → ~10.5 months of use
Apply in March → ~9.5 months of use

Compare this to the traditional method where you earn the pass in January and get it through the end of the following year (up to 24 months).

Is 10 months worth it? Depends on your travel plans. If you have multiple Southwest trips planned this year, absolutely. If you’re not sure you’ll fly Southwest much, maybe wait and earn it the traditional way in late 2026 for 2027.

Who Should Jump on This

This offer is perfect if:

✅ You have Southwest trips planned in 2026 ✅ You travel with a partner, spouse, or friend ✅ Southwest serves your home airport well ✅ You weren’t planning to earn the pass the traditional way ✅ You can meet $4K-5K spend in 3 months

Skip it if:

❌ You already have the Companion Pass ❌ Southwest doesn’t fly your routes ❌ You travel solo most of the time ❌ You’re over Chase 5/24 (these are Chase cards)

How to Apply

Check you’re under Chase’s 5/24 rule (fewer than 5 new cards in 24 months)
Go to Southwest.com/credit-cards
Choose Premier, Plus, or Priority
Apply and get approved
Hit the spend requirement
Companion Pass appears in your Rapid Rewards account

That’s it. No stacking two cards, no timing bonus posting, no waiting for January.

Stacking with Existing Points

Already have Southwest points? Perfect. The Companion Pass works on both cash bookings AND award bookings.

Book a Hawaii trip for 30,000 points → add your companion for $11.20 total.

If you have Chase Ultimate Rewards, those transfer 1:1 to Southwest. Combined with the Companion Pass, you’ve got nearly unlimited cheap travel on their network.

The Bottom Line

This is the easiest path to the Southwest Companion Pass in years. One card, one spend requirement, done.

The 10-month validity is the only real trade-off compared to the traditional method. If you’ve got Southwest trips planned for 2026, it’s a no-brainer.

Offer ends March 18, 2026. Don’t sleep on it.

Related reads:

Planning to grab this offer? Which card are you going for?