Southwest question

[mfly]

Whoa thats a lot to get the companion pass- but thanks for explaining it.

I totally get where you're coming from - I thought the same thing when I first learned about the CP. A few months later, I now have $1500+ in SW points, just from the CC bonuses, as well as a Companion Pass through December 2017. I paid $168 out of pocket to earn all of that.

By the time you open both personal credit cards (in one calendar year), you're only 6k points away. As has been mentioned, you can get that last 6k rather easily via SW's Shopping Portal, Dining Portal, e-rewards, e-miles, etc.

Also important to note: you don't trade your 110,000 points for the Companion Pass. Once you reach 110,000 points, you're automatically awarded CP and you keep your points to spend on flights.

 

[kreckl]

"By the time you open both personal credit cards (in one calendar year), you're only 6k points away."

How? Thanks for helping me figure this all out.

 

[Marionnette]

"By the time you open both personal credit cards (in one calendar year), you're only 6k points away."

How? Thanks for helping me figure this all out.

You need to spend $2K on each card in order to earn the bonuses. At 1 RR/$ spent, that's 4K in RRs that you will receive just for your spending. You also get the 50K sign up bonus from each card. That's 100K in RRs. Your total =104K RR. You need 110K RR to reach Companion status.

 

[limpy]

I earned the companion pass in March. The great thing is that you book your companion for free, no points/no money! I opened two SW cards and earned the remaining 6K points by getting a Marriott card and transferring points from there. Also, you can change your companion - I think maybe up to three times. For instance, in our upcoming flight, my daughter is my companion, but after the trip I will probably change that to my husband.

 

[KristinU]

The companion pass is great if you decide to go for it. Thanks to some of the folks on this thread and other budget-boarders, I got mine in January. (if anyone remembers and cares - my dog is doing great post-ACL surgery, which is where the bulk of the initial 50k + 50k bonus charges came from)

Anyway, we have been able to fly twice with it so far: once for 4 of us for April vacation (3 plus companion), and once for Mother's Day weekend for me and my DS (my companion). The SWA points made it easy for us to invite DS's friend along with us in April, which made for an awesome and totally epic trip for them! And I would have never paid for airfare for DS and I to visit my mom for Mother's Day just for Friday through Sunday, but the SWA points and companion pass made it entirely possible and a wonderful Mother's Day gift!

It really is a great thing to have if you think you can make the numbers work for you.

 

[kreckl]

Ok, now I'm working numbers in my head
I was thinking since we needed our return flight tickets and park tickets there would be no problem spending $2000. So if I get another card, would I be able to spend another $2000. Yes. I could use it for all of our meals and other expenses. But we aren't going until the end of august so I can't get that card now. Then I would need to also spend $6000 more within 3 months of getting the 2nd card.....I just can't imagine on what. A thousand or two, if I used it a lot, but.....
So anyway I could/should get the other card. Right?

 

[Marionnette]

Ok, now I'm working numbers in my head
I was thinking since we needed our return flight tickets and park tickets there would be no problem spending $2000. So if I get another card, would I be able to spend another $2000. Yes. I could use it for all of our meals and other expenses. But we aren't going until the end of august so I can't get that card now. Then I would need to also spend $6000 more within 3 months of getting the 2nd card.....I just can't imagine on what. A thousand or two, if I used it a lot, but.....
So anyway I could/should get the other card. Right?

There are a lot of ways to spend the $2K...car insurance payments, doctor/hospital bills, cellphone, cable, utilities, etc. If you think hard enough, you even find ways to "manufacture" spending like buying Disney GCs during your 3-month spending period and using those GCs to pay for your expenses while you are on your trip.

 

[WiscMomof2]

If you're going to continue charging to the SW Visa, you may want to consider opening the other personal Visa SW has - either Plus or Premier (whichever you don't have). You can get the same 50k signup bonus with $2k spent. Additionally, all of your credit card points would be companion pass eligible, so after completing the minimum spend on both cards, you'd only be 6k points away from the companion pass.

Just curious how far apart you spaced applying for each card, or does that even matter? I could kick myself for not going for a CP using this method. I didn't think you could be approved for two personal cards, I thought the other one had to be for a business. I wonder if I could have DH sign up for new cards in the future? He's an approved user on our SW Visa account, but I was the original applicant.

 

[KristinU]

Ok, now I'm working numbers in my head
I was thinking since we needed our return flight tickets and park tickets there would be no problem spending $2000. So if I get another card, would I be able to spend another $2000. Yes. I could use it for all of our meals and other expenses. But we aren't going until the end of august so I can't get that card now. Then I would need to also spend $6000 more within 3 months of getting the 2nd card.....I just can't imagine on what. A thousand or two, if I used it a lot, but.....
So anyway I could/should get the other card. Right?

You can also look for ways to rack up points beyond the standard dollar per point via Rapid Rewards Shopping. It looks like the famous Wall Street Journal one is no more (I think it was around 2000 bonus points for doing a trial subscription for under $20), but there are others. We got a great bonus when we switched cell phone carriers to T-Mobile (something we were looking to do anyway), and we also got a big bonus by booking a hotel stay through the SWA site.

 

[KristinU]

Just curious how far apart you spaced applying for each card, or does that even matter? I could kick myself for not going for a CP using this method. I didn't think you could be approved for two personal cards, I thought the other one had to be for a business. I wonder if I could have DH sign up for new cards in the future? He's an approved user on our SW Visa account, but I was the original applicant.

We applied on the same day for both. One was online and one was via phone. I put both in just my name in case we want to do this again in two years under DH's name when the companion pass expires.

 

[danielw888]

I would space online apps by at least a few days, if not by at least two weeks. Chase has a new policy to only approve one app/day if you apply online. They then will re-run your credit a few days/weeks later to attempt to approve the second app.

If you have a small business/hobby(Or thinking about starting one/fibbing about one), you can also apply for the Chase SW Premier Business card. It will also give you an additional 50k. So for a total of 6k spend, you can end up with 156k Southwest points, and a companion pass for the rest of this year, and all of next year.

Depending on what Malls(Simon)/Grocery stores you have in your area there are some easy ways to do 6k spend in a matter of a couple days for a total of $60-$100 out of pocket.

 

[limpy]

We applied on the same day for both. One was online and one was via phone. I put both in just my name in case we want to do this again in two years under DH's name when the companion pass expires.

It's important to note that, for anyone wondering, that you CANNOT get two cards in two different names (even spouses) and combine the points to achieve the companion pass.

Ok, now I'm working numbers in my head
I was thinking since we needed our return flight tickets and park tickets there would be no problem spending $2000. So if I get another card, would I be able to spend another $2000. Yes. I could use it for all of our meals and other expenses. But we aren't going until the end of august so I can't get that card now. Then I would need to also spend $6000 more within 3 months of getting the 2nd card.....I just can't imagine on what. A thousand or two, if I used it a lot, but.....
So anyway I could/should get the other card. Right?

You definitely don't have to spend another $6K. Like I said above, I opened a Marriott card and transferred points from that signing bonus. There are other options for transferring points. If you google this issue, there are a ton of blog posts about it.

 

[Marionnette]

It's important to note that, for anyone wondering, that you CANNOT get two cards in two different names (even spouses) and combine the points to achieve the companion pass.



You definitely don't have to spend another $6K. Like I said above, I opened a Marriott card and transferred points from that signing bonus. There are other options for transferring points. If you google this issue, there are a ton of blog posts about it.

Marriott point transfers work for reaching Companion Pass status. Other point transfers, like Chase Ultimate Rewards, do not. It's important to know what will work before applying for a CC if your end game is the Companion Pass.

 

[Disneytam]

We just got an offer for 60,000 points for a business card in the mail. Having a dairy farm we had no problem putting spring cropping costs on it to get the $3,000 spending to get the 60,000 points. I haven't paid for a flight with cash in years, and since SW has non-stop flights to Orlando from our nearest airport I just love it!

 

[sdmom]

Very useful information in this thread - thank you!

I see the annual fee for the regular card is $69 and $99 for premier. What is the annual fee for the business card?

thank you!

 

[danielw888]

$99

 

[kreckl]

Can't seem to find this info-
I have the card, and am putting $2000 on it now. My billing date is the 2nd. Will I have the points in June, or will it not work until July ( just got the card a few days ago)?

 

[danielw888]

Its based on your statement date. If you complete your spending (and it posts) 5+days before your statement, you used to get your points on that statement. There have been a few reports lately that some people have completed their spending 10+ days before their statement date, and did not receive their points on the statement. So there is no guarantee.

So no one can tell you for sure. If your statement date is the 2nd, and you have finished your spending posts by tomorrow, you would be ok in my experience. But some recent reports seem to suggest they might not be posting as quick as they did a month ago.

 

[kreckl]

Okay- just bought our park tickets and am now over $2000. Fingers crossed that I get the points next week to book our flights~

 

[danielw888]

Good luck. You will be pushing it but you might just squeak in.