Southwest Just Killed the Easy Companion Pass. You Have Until December 2.

Hey family,

On October 15, Southwest announced the biggest Rapid Rewards overhaul in years. The press release calls it "More to Love." Some of it is good. One part ends the best domestic deal in points travel.

The short version: starting January 1, 2027, credit card welcome bonuses no longer count toward the Companion Pass, unless you're approved for the card by Dec. 2, 2026. The pass turns into a perk you earn through spending and flying: three companion trips at 95,000 tier qualifying points (TQPs), or unlimited at the new Platinum tier at 140,000.

There is one transition window, and it closes December 2, 2026. Here is everything, with the math.

If you want a Companion Pass the cheap way, through card bonuses, get approved for your Southwest card(s) on or before Dec. 2, 2026. Southwest's FAQ says Cardmembers "approved for a Rapid Rewards Credit Card on or before Dec. 2, 2026" who meet the welcome bonus requirements "will have the opportunity to have those points count as Companion Pass qualifying points, even if the spend threshold is met in early 2027." Starting Jan. 1, 2027, Southwest says new Cardmember welcome bonuses "do not earn Tier Qualifying Points," so under the new rules they won't help you earn Companion Pass trips.

If you don't fly Southwest at least a few times a year with the same person, skip it. A pass you don't use is just an annual fee.

Compared with 2026: A-List takes 20 flights or 35,000 TQPs and A-List Preferred takes 40 flights or 70,000 TQPs. So Silver and Gold each need five or ten more flights than the tiers they replace. Gold's points requirement drops by 5,000. The Gold flight bonus also drops: A-List Preferred earns a 100% bonus today, and Gold earns 60%.

What now counts toward the Companion Pass (2027+): only TQPs or qualifying flights. TQPs come from paid Southwest flights, Southwest card spending (1 per $1), the Rapid Rewards Debit Card, Getaways by Southwest bookings, and Southwest Groups bookings.

What stops counting, straight from Southwest: new cardmember welcome bonuses, referral bonuses, anniversary points, the extra points from bonus categories (the second point on a 2X purchase), and partner earning such as hotels and rental cars. You still earn those points to spend. They just won't move you toward the pass.

Flight earning is lower on the expensive fares. Points per base-fare dollar, before any elite bonus:

What stays: points don't expire, no blackout dates on Southwest award flights, and free WiFi for members.

Protections if you already earned something in 2026:

Milestone fine print: each Milestone can be earned once per calendar year. Progress resets every January 1. Rewards are valid through December 31 of the following year. A Companion Pass trip used on a one-way is used up, so put them on round trips.

Partners: Southwest's terms say a companion flies with you on Southwest-operated flights, and the pass can't be added to interline itineraries, so don't plan on using it for Icelandair, China Airlines or Etihad trips. Southwest hasn't published partner award prices yet, so I won't guess at them.

Southwest says existing cardmember benefits continue in 2027. Every card below, including the Plus, earns 1 TQP per $1 starting Jan. 1, 2027. On top of that, primary cardmembers get a one-time 10,000 TQP boost after reaching 130,000 TQPs in 2027. The boost is limited to one per member, counts toward status through 2028, and has been announced for 2027 only.

Public offers and fees as shown on Chase's site on Oct. 20, 2026 (they change, so check the terms before you apply):

About the last column: Southwest's 2027 terms list card earning as 1 TQP per $1 and say TQP earning from card spend "changes" on Jan. 1, 2027. Southwest hasn't said whether today's per-$5,000 TQPs continue on top of 1 TQP per $1.

Eligibility, per Chase: you can't get a personal card's bonus if you currently hold any personal Southwest card, or if you received a personal Southwest bonus in the last 24 months. Business cards follow their own rule: you're eligible unless you have that specific business card now or got its bonus in the last 24 months.

Two things to keep in mind. Chase's card pages still describe the 2026 rules (the TQPs-per-$5,000 earning and a yearly 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points boost). Southwest hasn't said what happens to that yearly boost after the qualifying points currency is retired, so don't plan around it for 2027. And the premium lounge card has no published fee or benefits yet. Anything you read about it right now is a guess.

Under the 2026 rules you need 135,000 Companion Pass qualifying points (or 100 flights). Welcome bonuses count, but only if you're approved by Dec. 2, 2026.

The cleanest pairing uses bonuses only, so it doesn't depend on any other points posting in time:

The cheaper pairing is Premier (55,000, $149) plus Premier Business (80,000, $149). That's 135,000 exactly for $298, with zero cushion. The $4,500 of required spending earns points too, but if that spending posts in 2027, it isn't clear whether those points count. I'd want a cushion.

One more unknown: Southwest's FAQ says a welcome bonus that posts in early 2027 counts as 2026 Companion Pass qualifying points. It doesn't say the same for the regular points you earn on that spending, so plan with a cushion rather than landing exactly on 135,000.

Plus (50,000) and Performance Business (80,000) add up to only 130,000. That pair doesn't get there on bonuses alone.

Is $378 worth it? The companion pays only taxes and fees, starting at $5.60 each way. Your break-even is:

Hypothetical example (plug in your own fares): if your companion's round trips usually cost $250, then $378 ÷ $238.80 ≈ 1.6 round trips. So two companion round trips in 2027 pays for both annual fees. You also keep 140,000+ redeemable points.

How long the pass lasts. Southwest's FAQ now answers this: a welcome bonus from a card applied for and approved by Dec. 2 counts toward a pass valid through Dec. 31, 2027, even if you finish the spend in early 2027. That's the same end date as any pass earned under the 2026 rules. Plan for Dec. 31, 2027.

From 2027 on, card spending earns 1 TQP per $1, and bonus categories don't add anything. Southwest hasn't said whether the per-$5,000 TQPs some cards earn today continue on top of 1 TQP per $1, so these numbers leave them out. With no flying at all:

Compare that with Math #1: $5,000 in spending and $378 in fees. Paid Southwest flights help: on a Choice fare, a $1,000 base fare earns 6,000 TQPs. Even so, most of the family won't get anywhere near these numbers without running a business through the card.

The real upgrade is for the middle tiers. Silver = $35,000 of spending on any Southwest card. Today, $35,000 on a Premier earns just 10,500 TQPs (1,500 per $5,000). In 2027 it earns 35,000.

Take a $1,000 Choice Extra base fare:

That's a 43% drop for new Gold members on the same ticket.

My June issue, "The Southwest Companion Pass Is a Timing Game," explains the 2026 rules (135,000 points, card bonuses count). Those rules now apply only through Dec. 31, 2026. The "earn it in January, use it for two years" play is over after this cycle.

Answers as of Oct. 20, 2026, from Southwest's and Chase's own pages. Where Southwest hasn't said, I say so.

No. Starting Jan. 1, 2027, you earn it with tier qualifying points (TQPs) or flights instead of Companion Pass qualifying points. 95,000 TQPs or 75 qualifying one-way flights gets you three Companion Pass trips, and 140,000 TQPs or 100 flights gets you Platinum status with unlimited trips.

Yes. If you earned your pass under the 2026 rules, Southwest says you keep unlimited Companion Pass trips through Dec. 31, 2027, and your exact end date is listed in My Account. If your pass ends Dec. 31, 2026 and you don't earn a new one this year, it ends as scheduled.

Yes, through Dec. 31, 2026. You need 135,000 Companion Pass qualifying points or 100 qualifying one-way flights, and your qualifying activity has to post by the end of 2026. The one exception is a card welcome bonus: if you're approved for a Rapid Rewards card by Dec. 2, 2026, Southwest says that bonus counts as 2026 qualifying points even if you hit the spend in early 2027. A pass earned this way runs through Dec. 31, 2027.

Yes. Southwest's FAQ says cardmembers who apply on or before Dec. 2, 2026, are approved, and meet the welcome bonus requirements can have those points count as 2026 Companion Pass qualifying points toward a pass valid through Dec. 31, 2027, even if the spend is met in early 2027. Another Southwest page words it as approved by Dec. 2, so apply early enough to be approved by that date.

The early 2027 exception doesn't cover you. Under the 2026 rules the bonus has to post by Dec. 31, 2026, and Chase says to allow 6 to 8 weeks for a bonus to post after you qualify (up to 8 weeks on the business cards). A bonus that posts in 2027 still earns points you can spend, but it earns no TQPs, so it won't help you get a pass.

Only TQPs or qualifying flights. TQPs come from paid flights operated by Southwest, Southwest credit card purchases (1 TQP per $1), the Rapid Rewards Debit Card, Getaways by Southwest bookings and Southwest Groups bookings.

New cardmember welcome bonuses, referral bonuses, anniversary points, the extra points from bonus categories (like 2X on gas) and partner earning such as hotels and rental cars. You still earn those points to spend. They just don't earn TQPs.

With no flying, $95,000 on a Southwest card gets you three trips, since every card earns 1 TQP per $1 with no cap. For unlimited trips at Platinum, primary cardmembers get a one-time 10,000 TQP boost in 2027 after reaching 130,000 TQPs, so $130,000 gets you there. My Companion Pass 2027 guide has more on the new rules.

Each trip covers one one-way or one round-trip itinerary, and it's used up either way, so put them on round trips. Milestone progress resets every Jan. 1, and the rewards stay valid through Dec. 31 of the year after you earn them.

Southwest says yes: it will keep offering limited-time promotions that award Companion Pass benefits. If you're registered in a current promotion, your participation is honored, and you get the benefits once you meet that offer's requirements. Southwest hasn't announced any specific 2027 promotion yet.

Yes. Southwest's Companion Pass page says your companion flies with you whenever you purchase or redeem points for a flight, paying only taxes and fees from $5.60 one-way. Southwest's 2027 pages don't say that changes.

Don't count on it. Southwest's terms say your companion flies with you on Southwest-operated flights and the pass can't be added to interline itineraries. Southwest hasn't said anything specific about Icelandair, China Airlines or Etihad bookings.

No. Southwest says your points don't expire as long as your account stays open, and you can still redeem them for Southwest flights with no blackout dates.

Nothing in the Oct. 15 announcement changes how Southwest award flights are priced. Award prices still vary with the fare, and Southwest hasn't published prices for partner awards or seat selection yet. The Points Guy values Southwest points at 1.25 cents each (October 2026).

Rental cars at cars.southwest.com start in mid-November 2026. Partner awards on Icelandair, China Airlines and Etihad start in spring 2027. Points for seat selection come later in 2027, and using points to upgrade seats after booking comes in late 2027.

Southwest expects to finish putting Starlink WiFi on its whole fleet in fall 2027. The first Southwest Icon Lounges are planned to open by the end of 2027, with access through a new premium Chase card launching in 2027. Southwest hasn't published that card's fee or benefits.

It converts automatically on Jan. 1, 2027: A-List becomes Silver and A-List Preferred becomes Gold. If you earned A-List Preferred for 2027, you keep the 100% flight bonus through Dec. 31, 2027 instead of Gold's 60%. If you earned A-List for 2027, you pay $35 for a second checked bag through Dec. 31, 2027.

Silver takes 35,000 TQPs or 25 qualifying one-way flights, Gold takes 65,000 or 50, and Platinum takes 140,000 or 100. The first Milestone (2,000 points or two Preferred Seat Certificates) comes at 20,000 TQPs or 15 flights. TQPs reset on Jan. 1, 2027, and 2026 activity doesn't count toward 2027 Milestones.

From Jan. 1, 2027, every Southwest card, including the Plus, earns 1 TQP per $1 on purchases with no cap. Southwest says existing card benefits continue, including the first checked bag free, boarding no later than Group 5 and seat selection. Chase's pages still describe the 2026 TQP earning, and Southwest hasn't said whether that earning continues on top of 1 TQP per $1.

On Chase's pages as of Oct. 20, 2026: Plus $99, 50,000 points after $1,000 in 3 months; Premier $149, 55,000 after $1,500; Priority $229, 60,000 after $2,000; Premier Business $149, 80,000 after $3,000 (limited time); Performance Business $299, 80,000 after $5,000. My Southwest cards comparison covers the perks on each.

Worth it if you fly Southwest with the same person a few times a year and can get approved by Dec. 2 and hit the spend. Skip it if you won't use the pass, because a pass you don't use is just an annual fee. Priority plus Premier Business is 140,000 points from bonuses for $378 in fees, and Premier plus Premier Business lands exactly on 135,000 for $298.

For 2027 status there's no difference: every Southwest card earns 1 TQP per $1, and the 10,000 TQP boost is limited to one per member. The difference is the bonus: the two business cards carry the 80,000 point offers, while the personal cards offer 50,000 to 60,000.

Usually, yes. Chase won't give a personal card's bonus if you currently have a personal Southwest card or got a personal Southwest bonus in the last 24 months. The business cards follow their own rule: you're eligible unless you have that specific business card or got its bonus in the last 24 months.

Cardmembers keep the first checked bag free for themselves and up to 8 people on the same reservation. In 2027, Silver gets one free bag, Gold two and Platinum three, and all three tiers can pick seats at booking when available. Bag benefits don't apply on flights booked with a partner carrier.

Southwest says no: status converts and pass holders keep their benefits automatically. The one date that matters is Dec. 2, if you want a card bonus to count toward a pass. If you're close to 135,000 for 2026, check your December statement closing date, since card points only count once they post in the same calendar year.

Southwest made status easier to earn by spending and the Companion Pass much harder to earn from bonuses. If the pass has been your thing, Dec. 2 is your last cheap shot, and the math still works if you'll use it. If not, Silver at $35,000 in spending is the new everyday win.

Reply "Southwest" with your home airport and how often you fly with your companion, and I'll check whether the Dec. 2 play makes sense for you.

Forward this to one friend who's been "meaning to get the Companion Pass." That is how the family grows.

Austin 🤌