One of the exception to not getting an airline credit card early on is to obtain the lucrative Southwest Companion Pass that you can get for almost two whole years. This pass allows you to fly a companion for free on all your Southwest flights - whether booked by points or by cash. Follow the rules in the blog post to see the how most points enthusiasts get this pass quickly and with minimal spend using the traditional two-card method. This is way better than flying 100 Southwest flights.

The One-Card Promotional Path

The magic number of points you need to qualify for CP is 135,000 points. But guess what? Right now the Southwest Performance Business credit card has a massive 120,000 points sign-up offer (after $10,000 spend over 3 months.) Please also read the caveats in the blog post and below.

If you get the card now and complete the bonus in January, you’ll qualify for CP from January 2026 through December 2027!

It’s time to put that holiday shopping to work! (Of course, never spend extra money just to get credit card points - but usually around this time of year there are some higher spending + you can prepay for things)

By signing up for this card you’re basically all the way to CP (see this free guide to learn how to apply for Chase business cards without an LLC or EIN) and you don’t even need to book a flight!

The Breakdown

• 120,000 points from the bonus (after spending $10,000 over 3 months)

• 10,000 points (minimum) from the spending of $10,000

• 5,000 points from a mixture of additional spend, Southwest shopping portal, or Southwest dining portal. See details below.

Getting the remaining 5,000 points

• Normal spending: You would need to spend a minimum $5,000 to get the additional points, which does seem like a lot - so let’s try other strategies

• Southwest Shopping Portal: While doing your normal online shopping this season, use this portal to get extra Southwest points. You can also see in the below image some key retailers that will give you a large sum of points for signing up (and then canceling after using)

• Southwest Dining Portal: Similarly, by signing up for the dining program, you get bonus points when you go out to eat at certain restaurants. Also there is a 500 bonus point sign-up going on right now.

• Southwest Personal Card: You don’t need to get a personal card, but if you already have one, it gives you enough points automatically each year to push you over to get the pass. So you’d be all set!

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT

• DO NOT complete the minimum spend until AFTER January 1st - or even come close to a few thousand dollars of it. You want the points in 2026 to qualify for 2026 and 2027.

• If you got the bonus on this business card in the past 2 years, you don’t qualify - get your companion to do this instead.

• If you’ve opened more than 5 personal cards within the past 2 years, you don’t qualify - again, get your companion to do this instead.

• You can only change your designated Companion up to 3 times each calendar year, so make sure you know your trips and who you'll be going with

• You still have to pay taxes and fees for the Companion, but that is usually $5.60 per one-way

• You can retroactively add the Companion to future flights you have already booked before you got the pass

What’s In our Wallets (Newsletter Exclusive)

Our lineup for this week is below. See our rationale here just for newsletter subscribers like you.

Matthew: Chase Ink Unlimited, World of Hyatt Business, World of Hyatt

Sarah: Chase Ink Unlimited

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About WuhooPoints

WuhooPoints focuses on the credit card consultation side of Wuhoo Group. We help you unlock the power of your credits cards for free luxury travel.