Southwest Airlines Companion Pass – Part 1: Obtaining the Companion Pass the Hard Way

Every travel blog out there will tell you how awesome the Southwest Airlines Companion Pass is and how easy it is to get.  Here is the Cliff Notes / Spark Notes version:

• Apply for 2 Chase Southwest Airlines Credit Cards between October 1 and December 31.
• Don’t spend a penny on the cards during any statements periods that close in 2014.
• Spend $2,000+ during the statement periods that close in 2015.
• Collect 52,000 Southwest Airlines miles x 2 = 104,000 miles.
• Get the remaining 6,000 miles from Hyatt, Marriott, or other points transfers.
• Travel for “free” with a companion for all of 2015 and all of 2016.

If that sounds like something you want to do, please consider signing up for a Chase Southwest Airlines Credit Card through one of my credit card referral links.

However, this post is not about the easy way to get the Southwest Airlines Companion Pass.  This post is about the hard way to achieve the Southwest Airlines Companion Pass.  Let’s say your name is Grant and you find yourself somewhere between no Companion Pass and a Companion Pass for 2015.

Let’s assume you got the Chase Southwest Airlines Premier Credit Card last year and the Chase Southwest Airlines Plus Credit Card earlier this year.  Let’s also assume you cannot get a Chase Southwest Airlines Business Credit Card since you just got a Chase Ink Plus Business Credit.  Lastly, let’s assume you are 41,522 Southwest Airlines miles away from qualifying for the Companion Pass next year.  What do you do?  To view your current Southwest Airlines Companion Pass status, please log into your Southwest Airlines account first and then click this link (you may want to bookmark this link as well).

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