Southwest Airlines Free Flights: Best Deal In Travel Reached Through Increased Credit Card Bonuses

Chase is offering an increased sign-up bonus on the Southwest Plus and Southwest Premier credit cards!

Now is the time to jump on getting these cards in order to get companion pass. The increased bonuses offered from Chase are so good that reaching companion pass is really simple, and that process is detailed below. If you have been debating on getting into the travel rewards business, or if you already have some travel rewards cards and want to take the next step with a new card, this is the time!

I previously wrote about the easiest ways to get the Southwest Companion Pass. If you have not read that article, then I encourage you to start there!

We have taken so many cheap flights for free all because of signing up for the cards and getting companion pass. For example, you can read about our trips to the following places by clicking the links below:

Salt Lake City

Park City, UT

New York City

New Orleans

I used Southwest points for each of those trips, and Elizabeth then was able to fly for free using companion pass. We have upcoming trips using Southwest planned to Cancun, St. Augustine, Key Largo, Miami, Salt Lake City, Denver, and New York. All of those trips will be free because of getting both credit cards and using companion pass.

Companion Pass means a person of your choosing can fly for free (He/she won’t cost cash or points) with you for the remainder of the year and the following year. For example, if you qualify for companion pass in June of 2018, you can have someone fly with you for free for the rest of 2018 and 2019!!! This counts for if you use points for your flight or if you pay for your flight.

There can be some confusion about how companion pass works, so read the following example for clarification:

I have 100,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards points. We decide to book a trip to Chicago that costs me 23,000 points roundtrip. I am down to 77,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards points now. I then go back and add Elizabeth as my companion and she gets a roundtrip ticket on the same flights (to Chicago and back) I booked.

After booking her companion flight, we still have 77,000 points. I flew using points, and she flew for free without using points or cash. That’s the true advantage of how companion pass works!

You get companion pass once you get 110,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards points in one calendar year. I know that sounds like a lot of points, but it is easily attainable if you sign up for the Southwest cards while they are at an increased sign up bonus. They are at an increased bonus right now, and you can get both cards to get you to that 110,000 if you follow the directions below.

Step 1: Get the Southwest Plus credit card from Chase ($69 fee). Spend $2,000 in your first 3 months. You will then have 50,000 Rapid Rewards points (instead of the 40,000 normally) plus your 2,000 points from spend.

Total points so far: 52,000

Step 2: Get the Southwest Premier credit card from Chase ($99 fee). After you spend another $2,000 in 3 months you will get the 50,000 Rapid Rewards Point bonus (instead of the normal 40,000) plus your 2,000 from spend.

Total points so far: 104,000

Step 3: Spend another $6,000 on either of your Southwest Cards as quickly as possible. This can be more easily obtained by

-having a spouse as an authorized user

-getting your college-age son or daughter as an authorized user

-paying for cable, internet, and cell phone services with your credit cards

-prepaying your internet or cell phone service several months in advance (this is recommended if you need to reach a sign-up bonus; do not buy gift cards!)

Total points so far: 110,000

You will receive a package in the mail congratulating you on earning the companion pass. You can get on your online Southwest profile and choose who you want your companion to be, and this person can be changed in the future. Selecting your friend that earns companion pass is very simple, and can easily be done on the Southwest website or by calling the Southwest help line.

***Don’t forget, Southwest let’s you change your flight even after booking for free. Most airlines can charge a hefty fee, but not Southwest. You also get to check two bags for free with Southwest!***

Since you now have 110,000 points plus someone is flying with you for free, you can take several flights on the “wanna get away” fare through the end of 2019!

Great! Southwest will fly you to Cancun, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Grand Cayman Islands, Aruba, Costa Rica, and soon Hawaii (not Caribbean, but still)! However, even without those destinations you can still get gigantic value out of your flight points!

Now! There is no way to know how long the sign up bonus will last. The goal is to get both of the cards below in a 3 month timeframe, and you want them both to still be offering the 50,000 point bonus.

Southwest Plus credit card-Apply for this card first, then apply for the premium card 3 months later.

Southwest Premier Credit Card-Apply for this card three months after you applied for the Plus card.

Southwest is known to offer cheap flights around the country and to areas in the Caribbean, but to my knowledge, no one offers a free pass for someone else to fly with you for almost two full years. Getting two checked bags for free and being able to cancel/change flights for free are huge advantages and cost-saving areas that are unique to Southwest.

Getting both credit cards puts you in perfect position to fly for free using points while also having a companion fly completely free as well. To be clear, the companion flying with you will not cost cash or points.

Please take advantage of this offer, and don’t forget to share on social media!