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Maximizing Southwest Companion Pass Duration: What Could Go Wrong? (Updated for 2022)

*This is an update to my 2020, 2019, and 2018 posts. All comments and DPs welcome.

At this time of year, many comments suggest that people should apply for Chase Southwest credit cards from now through December, delay meeting the minimum spending requirements so that the bonus points post in January 2023, and get a 2023-2024 Companion Pass. This is a valid concept, but there are potential pitfalls along the way. Since there are tens of thousands of new members in this sub since my last update in 2020, let's review the ways in which this has gone wrong. But first a brief refresher.

What is the Southwest Airlines Companion Pass?

The Southwest Airlines Companion Pass allows you to take a designated companion with you for free (not including taxes/fees) on each of your Southwest flights for up to two years. You get this valuable benefit by having 125,000 SW Rapid Rewards points post to your Rapid Rewards account during a single calendar year. Once you qualify, your CP is valid for the remainder of the year in which you earned it and for the entire next year.

Why apply in the fall?

Many people try to maximize the amount of time for which they have the CP by applying for Chase SW credit cards late in the year and having the credit card bonus points post in January of the next year. In this way, it is possible to use the CP for 23 months or so.

How early can I apply?

To maximize the length of your 2023-2024 CP, you must complete MSR(s) after your December statement(s) close, so that the points post to your RR account in 2023. In addition, the terms and conditions for the bonus points say that the minimum spending requirement must be met "within three months of account opening." Historically, Chase has given 115 days to meet the MSR, but starting about June 2019, many people became concerned that Chase may be enforcing a 90 day timeframe. Since that article was written, I haven't seen any DPs where a bonus was denied for completing the MSR from 90-115 days, and I have seen several DPs of success. Take all of this into account when deciding how early to apply.

Whether you abide by the 90 or the 115 day approach, it is technically possible to be approved for a SW card today and complete the MSR after your December statement closes, although you may have to change your statement dates.

Due to personal travel plans, expiring bonus offers, or just plain eagerness, some people want to apply for SW cards as early as they can and still have the bonuses post in January of the following year. But as we shall see, earlier is not always better. (There are also other factors to consider when planning your application schedule, such as 0/30 for a Business card, the One Southwest rule for personal cards, relative bonus offers, etc.)

What could go wrong when you apply in the fall?

In Fall 2019, nobody foresaw that the Covid-19 pandemic would shut down travel starting in March 2020 and limit the utility of the CP in 2020-2021. Although things have opened back up since that time, judge your own risk tolerance for that kind of thing.

In three recent years (2020, 2019, and 2018), I categorized previous reports of Companion Pass failures/issues by those who had applied for Southwest cards in the fall. Over the last two years, I've gathered a fresh crop of data points (reported below). There are lots of ways to meet the MSR too early (or too late), and sometimes unexpected things mess up the timing (fraud, vendor double charge, Chase mistake). I do not summarize these DPs to embarrass anyone, just to alert you to some of the issues you might face when applying early and to help you succeed in your pursuit of the CP. The good news is that the number of failure DPs that I've found has decreased each year since I've been tracking them!

My advice:

Technically, you are OK to meet the MSR after your December statement has closed -- your bonus will then post in January. However, if you don't have urgent plans for using the CP as soon as possible, consider giving yourself plenty of time to meet the minimum spending requirement in January. Don't try to pause your spending at one dollar less than the MSR in 2022 -- give yourself a good cushion in case you make a mistake. No reason to stress yourself out over this by cutting things close. Proceed with care, and good luck!

Documented Companion Pass Issues from Applying in the Fall, by Category:

These are DPs collected over the last 24 months. For categories without a DP listed, check the 2020, 2019, and 2018 posts for more DPs.

There are enough pathways to get the required 125k RR points in a single calendar year that a misstep is not necessarily fatal. Of the DPs below, people either recovered or discussed recovering by:

 (x) Changing a statement date
 (xx) Achieving the second stage of a two-stage personal card bonus and getting a business card bonus
 (xxx) Using bonuses from two business cards

- A. Met the MSR too soon and bonus points posted before January

  • Due to normal spending: One(x), two, three(xxx), four, five, six, seven, eight(xxx)

  • Due to a double charge by a vendor: One(xx)

  • Due to returns/refunds (Chase counts them toward MSR): One(xx)

  • Due to autopay/saved payment method:

  • Due to misunderstanding of statement closing date: One

  • Due to misunderstanding MSR amount: One

  • Due to not understanding that you must collect 125k RR points in the same calendar year: One(x)

  • Due to misunderstanding of when points post (couple of days after statement close, not 6 to 8 weeks):

  • Due to misunderstanding of "calendar year" (it's January through December):

  • Due to fraud:

  • Due to preauthorizations:

  • Not enough information to tell why MSR met too early: One, two

B. Met the MSR too late and bonus points posted after December (wanted the points in the current year)

  • Didn't meet MSR before December statement date: One(x), two

  • Due to misunderstanding of when points post:

  • Did not properly account for annual fee (it doesn't count toward MSR):

  • Due to spending too close to December statement date:

C. Did not meet minimum spending deadline

  • Forgot/didn't know deadline:

  • Did not calculate spending properly:

D. Unexpected application of "three month" MSR deadline

E. Chase mistakenly applied the wrong promotion (based on 40k/$1k instead of the actual 60k/$2k offer)

F. Unknown reason/inconclusive information

Posted Sep 11, 2022, 1:09 PM UTC

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