You may have heard me talk  about the Southwest Companion Pass. We’ve previously had several in 2018-2019 and used it to fly around the country, to Hawaii, and even to Jamaica for half off. We saved over $3000 by having this pass. Typically, after flying a lot, you’ll earn a pass that lets you buy one get one free on any Southwest flight (minus taxes and fees, which is typically $5.60 for domestic flights). However, there is a current promotion where you can get the pass with one credit-card sign-up More details:– Apply for a Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit card– Spend $5,000 within 3 months– Earn 30,000 bonus points– Earn SWCP through 2/28/23 (note this is shorter than the regular pass)  Why We Love Southwest First of all, this is really best for you if your airport flies Southwest. Some people don’t like the no-frills airline and dislike that there aren’t business or first class options. A few people have told me that they don’t like that you don’t have a pre-assigned seat. We think Southwest is great for families due to free bags and change fees for flexibility. In addition, we like the unique boarding situation where families with children 6 and under can board between the A (60 passengers) and B groups. Because of the seating, we’ve also had good luck with getting empty seats for lap babies and car seats. These are a little harder to plan for on typical airlines with pre-booked seating.  What is the Companion Pass? The Southwest Companion Pass lets you bring a companion on any flight that you book and fly and only pay the taxes and fees. (Typically $5.60 for domestic flights.) It works on paid cash tickets and award tickets. If work pays for a trip and you have a companion pass, you can add on a companion for free. If there’s a seat, you can book your companion.  There’s some additional fine print, like you can’t add on a companion to a companion, and there’s a limited number of changes you can make to who your companion is. Your companion doesn’t even need to be your family member. You could temporarily put your bestie as your companion and treat them to a free flight and then change it back to your normal companion. Requirements to Earn a Companion Pass For the traditional earning method, you must earn 125,000 Southwest points or fly 100 one-way flights. You cannot earn points from transferring from Chase. You can earn points from spending money on Southwest flights and some programs that include dining and car rentals. Most importantly, and most applicable to most of us, would be the option to earn points from credit-card sign-ups.  Use the Current Promo to Earn a Companion Pass Good until Feb 2023. – Apply for a Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit card– Spend $5,000 within 3 months– Earn 30,000 bonus points– Earn SWCP through 2/28/23 (note this is shorter than the regular pass)    If you have a partner willing to play the credit game with you, you can also sign up for a card, refer your partner to the card, complete spending bonuses for both cards in the time limit, and earn 2 passes! Alternative: Open 2 credit cards and do some spending for companion pass good until Dec 2023. The Southwest Rapids Rewards Performance Business Credit Card currently offers a 80,000 point bonus after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months. In addition, the Southwest Priority card offers 30,000 points after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months. If you sign up for and get both of these bonuses, you will have 120,000 points and an additional 5,000 of spending will earn you a companion pass after your statement closes and the points post to your Southwest account. You don’t need a “real” business to open a business card or put only business charges on our business card. There’s no way for them to know what a business expense is or isn’t. You don’t need revenue or employees.  If you’ve ever done dog-walking, sold something on ebay or etsy, provided a freelance service, or worked as a consultant. you can qualify. When you sign up, list your social security number as the tax identifier. Other Notes You can’t earn the same bonus within 24 months, so this is not an everlasting cycle – although getting a partner involved could help. Another thing to note is that you get to use the miles you earned for flights as well. So you can use the points to get free flights and adding a companion on for free as well, making the whole cost of the first few trips free. If you’re signing up for 2 cards to get the extended bonus, remember that the timing of the sign-ups for the credit cards is important. The Companion Pass is good for the rest of the year you earn it and the whole next year. So the ideal time to earn the pass is January 1st. To maximize the timing, ideally you should start in November. You will need to sign up for the business card first, the personal card 30 days later, and then spend up to, but not hit, the thresholds for both bonuses prior to the end of the year. You can do this with your regular spending, or buy some Christmas gift cards or even some Visa gift cards if you have difficulty reaching the minimum spend thresholds. Then, right after the New Year, you’ll finish the minimum spend requirements for both cards and earn your pass. Other Questions Does having too many credit cards affect my credit? Nope! As long as you’re responsible with their use and pay it off, more credit cards give you more credit and will raise your score as you show you can handle it.  Is it worth the annual fees and hassle? Will you fly Southwest in the next two years and have someone you want to bring along?

In this post, we’re talking about some various ways to strategically make sure you hit those minimums in order to get your perks

How to Book Many of our trips require a rental car. If our destination has fantastic public transportation, that’s often preferred, but it’s not always the case. While we have young kids still in car seats, it can be difficult to rely on Uber and Lyft to get around, so that leaves car rentals as our best option.  If you find it makes sense for you to rent a car, we like to use our Costco membership to get good deals through Costco travel. We usually just pick whatever’s cheapest and meets our needs. Costco bookings are always refundable and come with an extra driver. I like to check in on upcoming bookings every few weeks to see if there’s a cheaper option, and I’ll cancel and rebook. If you don’t have access to Costco benefits, Kayak and Hotwire are also good options. Be sure to read the cancel policy and the fine print regarding additional drivers! You don’t want to take any chances if you need more than one person to be able to drive. There’s still a car shortage, but it appears to be getting better. Car Trip Essentials Car Charger Car Seat Travel Bag Phone Mount Saving Money on Insurance One way to save money on your car rental is to use a credit card that offers insurance and allows you to skip the upsell at the desk. You might even already have one of these cards. Most car rental companies will qualify, so pick whatever the cheapest or best rental is. There are a few small rules to keep in mind: Large passenger vans, RVs, luxury cars, and moving trucks may not be covered. Rentals need to be for less than a month. Some countries may not be included. This doesn’t cover peer rentals like Avail and Turo. What’s Covered? Does It Really Cover Everything? Many credit cards offer primary insurance which means, in the event of an accident, they will reimburse for the full cost to replace or repair. Instead of using your personal insurance or the rental car agency’s, you will file a claim through the credit card company instead. Which Cards? There are several across Chase, Citi, and American Express that offer coverage. These are some of my favorites:   Chase Sapphire Preferred Apply Here Chase Sapphire Reserve Apply Here Chase United Apply Here Extending Benefits to Authorized Users Many rental car companies require a Credit Card with your name on it for a rental. The Chase United does not cost additional money to add an authorized user. We have used this benefit previously so that my sister-in-law could rent a car for a group trip. Another great benefit to keep in mind!

Learn more about Pre-check and Global Entry and how to use credit card benefits to get both for free!