Southwest Airlines is bringing back one of its most covetable credit card offers — but only for a limited time. Now through March 31, 2025, you’ll have the chance to earn a Southwest Companion Pass and 30,000 Rapid Rewards bonus points when you spend $4,000 within the first three months of opening a new Southwest credit card.
If you’re a regular Southwest Airlines flyer or you’re looking to save on an upcoming vacation, this offer can help you score major discounts on travel in 2025. Here’s how to choose the best Southwest card for your wallet and get started.
You can earn the limited-time welcome bonus when you open any of the three consumer co-branded credit cards from Southwest and Chase:
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Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card
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Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card
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Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
After opening your new card account, you’ll need to spend at least $4,000 within the first three months to get the two-part bonus:
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Earn Companion Pass from Southwest (valid through Feb. 28, 2026)
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Earn 30,000 Rapid Rewards points
With Southwest’s Companion Pass, you can choose a companion to travel with you on Southwest flights for free — not including taxes and fees, which start from $5.60 one-way.
There’s no limit to the amount of flights you can use your Companion Pass on, and it applies to both paid and award flights booked with points. You can change your designated companion up to three times in a calendar year.
Normally, you earn Companion Pass by flying 100 one-way qualifying flights or earning 135,000 qualifying points in a calendar year. The pass is then valid through the end of the next calendar year.
Remember: When you earn Companion Pass through the limited-time welcome offer, it’s only valid through February 28, 2026. To maintain your Companion Pass benefit after that, you’ll need to qualify through these methods of qualifying flights or points earned.
The value of your Rapid Rewards points can vary depending on your trip and when you book, but the points you’ll get as part of this welcome offer can go a long way toward future travel savings.
For example, say you earn 30,000 bonus points with this welcome offer by making $4,000 in non-category purchases. That means you’ll earn 4,000 points on top of the 30,000 bonus points for a total of 34,000 Rapid Rewards points within the first three months.
Here’s where that might take you:
Southwest Airlines primarily serves domestic travelers in the U.S., but it does have some routes to the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America, where you can get a solid value for your points. Traveling from Houston, you could go on a weeklong spring getaway to Cancun, Mexico for as little as 31,540 points. The taxes and fees for this trip will add another $130.55 to the total, but that’s still a great price for an international roundtrip flight.
There are plenty of opportunities to save on domestic travel, too. You can score a nonstop itinerary between New York and Chicago right now for just 26,511 points (plus $11.20 in taxes and fees) — even over the busy Memorial Day holiday weekend.
Later in the summer, roundtrip fare between San Diego and Denver could set you back just 27,593 points (plus the same $11.20 in taxes and fees). These flights, for example, are for a weeklong stay in Colorado on nonstop routes:
And don’t forget: On top of the savings you’ll get for using points for these award flights, you’ll save even more when you bring a friend with the Companion Pass benefit. After you book your ticket, take advantage of your Companion Pass by going into your Southwest account and adding your companion to your trip reservation.
This article was edited by Rebecca McCracken
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