GUEST POST BY LYN METTLER

Are you looking to save on the cost of travel? Who isn’t, right?!

In 2015, I stumbled upon, what I would later realize to be, one of the best-kept secrets in travel – something that allows many people to fly almost entirely for free every year.

It’s called the Southwest Companion Pass. It allows one person to fly for free, with the holder, for the life of the pass (which is typically the end of the following year after it’s earned).

A Background In Bargains

I’m a longtime couponer, always collecting coupons and pairing them with sales to score the lowest possible price. When I happened upon the fact that it was possible to earn airline miles and points without actually flying (since I always assumed loyalty programs were just for people flying regularly and accruing points in doing so), I was stunned!

You mean there’s a way to collect miles and points to redeem when flights go on sale for the lowest possible fare? And, book for free? And, bring someone with me for free? I was in! This was a much better deal than couponing for 10 free boxes of toothpaste!

But I quickly realized collecting miles and points could get very complicated, very fast. After all, there are airline alliances, lots of credit cards, redemption levels, and all sorts of jargon. So, I decided to make it simple so that more people could experience the joy of travel by reducing or eliminating the cost.

That’s my mission at Go to Travel Gal – to help you save on your own travel expenses. And what’s the simplest step, with the highest return, to start traveling for less?

The Southwest Companion Pass.

Saving with the Southwest Companion Pass

Once I learned about the Southwest Companion Pass, I realized this was the secret to traveling for free. If I could eliminate the cost of a family member every single time we traveled, I flat out couldn’t beat those savings.

And if I could accrue enough points for the rest of us to fly, then we were golden!

We earned our first Southwest Companion Pass in 2015 by collecting 110,000 Southwest points through signing up for two credit cards, one personal and one business. Pairing those 110,000 points with the pass and another 50,000 points earned on a card whose rewards transfer to Southwest (Chase Sapphire Preferred), I flew my entire family to six destinations within one year for less than $100 per trip!

Since then, we fly free almost everywhere! We went from one or two road trips to six or more trips by plane every year.

It’s been absolutely life-changing, and you can do it too!

How To Earn A Southwest Companion Pass

To earn the Southwest Companion Pass, you need to collect 110,000 qualifying Southwest points. While 110,000 points sound like a lot, you can quickly earn half, if not all, by meeting the minimum spend requirement after one or two credit card sign-ups.

The kicker is, not all Southwest points qualify for the pass. Anything that is marked as a “bonus” point (aside from “bonus” points earned by applying for one of their credit cards) doesn’t count.

Still, there are several routes to earning the Southwest Companion Pass.

1. Apply for no credit cards and earn the 110,000 points in a variety of ways.

2. Apply for one Southwest credit card (business or personal) and use a mix of other techniques to earn the remaining points.

3. Apply for one business and one personal Southwest credit card

There are a few things to keep in mind when earning the Southwest Companion Pass by applying for Southwest credit cards. They are:

• You can have only one Southwest personal card. So, you need to close any others before opening a new one for its bonus points offer.

• You can’t earn a bonus on any personal Southwest card more than once every 24 months.

Top Ways to Earn Southwest Companion Pass Points

There are numerous ways to earn Southwest points that qualify towards the Companion Pass. A few of my favorites include:

Rapid Rewards Shopping Portal

Start all online shopping at Southwest’s shopping portal and earn between .5 and 25 points for every $1 spent. Aside from Amazon, you’ll find most stores here, including Lowe’s, Target, CVS, Old Navy, Bed Bath & Beyond, and more.

Cheap Subscriptions for High Points

The Rapid Rewards Shopping Portal also has regular point deals, which allow you to earn high points for low spend. For example, sometimes you can earn 1,100 points for spending $1 on a Wall Street Journal subscription or 700 points for trying Blue Apron or HelloFresh.

SouthwestHotels.com

Book your accommodations through Southwest’s hotel site and earn up to 10,000 points per night. Not all hotels offer high points, so target the ones that do. The site also promises to price match, so if you find a lower price let them know!

Spending on the Southwest Credit Card

Pay everyday expenses, for which you have cash in the bank to cover, on your Southwest card to quickly rack up points. Use a service like Plastiq to pay bills you can’t ordinarily pay with a credit card, like health insurance, car payments, and rent. Unfortunately, mortgages are not included in that list. Despite charging a small fee to pay with your card, the points are well worth it.

And that’s just a start! There are other ways to accumulate points, like switching utility companies, ordering flowers, and even eating at your favorite restaurants.

Fly Everyone Else For Free, Too

Once you have a Southwest Companion Pass, you’ll have 110,000 earned points to spend on free flights for your travel partners.

With Southwest, I try not to spend more than 10,000 points per round-trip ticket. And with the Companion Pass covering flights for one family member, the rest can fly a lot on 110,000 points.

Keep in mind, you have to pay any mandatory security fees (which are $5.60 per way within the U.S.)

If you’d like someone to walk you step-by-step through exactly how to earn the Southwest Companion Pass, check out my online course! It gives specific roadmaps, checklists, and case studies to help you earn the pass and tips for maximizing the pass once you have it.

You can also get freebies on GoToTravelGal.com like my 10 Things You Must Know to Earn the Southwest Companion Pass tip sheet. Plus, I always share the latest Southwest Airlines news, like when they’ll start flying to Hawaii.

Imagine bringing someone to Hawaii for free… yes, please!

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