Bad News for Southwest Companion Pass – Hotel Point Transfers No Longer Qualify

Y’all know I’m a huge fan of the Southwest Companion Pass! It’s still my favorite deal in travel. But it’s just become a little harder to get.

Via View From the Wing, Southwest changed the terms for earning the Companion Pass today, January 1, 2017. Without warning!

Effective immediately, points transfers from hotel and car rental loyalty programs will NOT count toward the Companion Pass.

The Southwest Companion Pass Is Still a Terrific Deal – but They Just Made It Trickier to Earn Qualifying Points

I’ll share the details, and show you how you can still easily earn the Southwest Companion Pass!

Southwest Changes Companion Pass Rules

Link: Southwest Companion Pass Terms and Conditions

Link: How to Fly (Almost) Free for 2 Years on Southwest

Without notice, Southwest changed the rules for earning the Companion Pass today, January 1, 2017.

Previously, transferring points from hotels like Hyatt, Marriott, and Choice was a good way to top-up your Southwest account to earn the 110,000 Southwest points required in a year to qualify for the Companion Pass.

Now, according to Southwest:

Companion Pass Qualifying Points are earned from your revenue flights booked through Southwest Airlines, your points earned by making purchases with a Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Credit Card, and your base points earned from Rapid Rewards partners.

Purchased points, points converted from hotel and car loyalty programs, and e-Rewards, e-Miles, Valued Opinions and Diners Club, points earned from Rapid Rewards program enrollment, tier bonuses, flight bonuses, and partner bonuses (excluding points bonuses earned on the Rapid Rewards Credit Cards from Chase) do not count toward Companion Pass.

Points Transfers From Hotels Like Marriott No Longer Count Towards Earning the Companion Pass

This isn’t good news for folks who were planning to earn the Southwest Companion Pass early in 2017 by transferring Starwood or Marriott points to Southwest via a Marriott Air + Hotel package.

And I’m disappointed they made this change without giving folks advance notice!

Still Earn Most of the Points for the Companion Pass With Chase Cards

Link: Perfect Timing for the Southwest Companion Pass – All 3 Southwest Cards Offering 50,000 Points

Link: Chase Southwest Premier (Personal)

Link: Chase Southwest Premier (Business)

Link: Chase Southwest Plus (Personal)

You’ll earn 50,000 Southwest points with the Chase Southwest Premier (Personal), Chase Southwest Premier (Business), and Chase Southwest Plus (Personal) cards when you spend $2,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.

With all 3 cards, you’ll earn 2X Southwest points per $1 spent on Southwest, hotel partners, car rental partners, and points purchases. And 1X Southwest point per $1 spent on everything else.

Here’s a quick chart showing the differences between the cards:

Card Features	Chase Southwest Premier	Chase Southwest Premier Business	Chase Southwest Plus
Sign-Up Bonus	50,000 points	50,000 points	50,000 points
Minimum Spending	$2,000 on purchases within the 1st 3 months of opening your account	$2,000 on purchases within the 1st 3 months of opening your account	$2,000 on purchases within the 1st 3 months of opening your account
Anniversary Bonus	6,000 points	6,000 points	3,000 points
Foreign Transaction Fees	0	0	3%
Annual Fee	$99 NOT waived the 1st year	$99 NOT waived the 1st year	$69 NOT waived the 1st year

Each card is considered a different card product, so you’re eligible for the Chase Southwest Premier if you already have the Chase Southwest Plus, for example.

But Chase is unlikely to approve most folks for 2 personal cards at the same time.

And you can earn the bonus again from the SAME card if you no longer have it and you received the bonus more than 24 months ago.

Remember, Chase has tightened their application rules. That is, if you’ve opened ~5 or more credit cards (from any bank) in the past 24 months (excluding certain business cards, like the The Enhanced Business Platinum® Card from American Express OPEN), it’s unlikely you’ll be approved for most Chase cards.

Emily and I don’t earn a commission from these cards, but we’ll always tell you about the best deals!

How to Earn the Remaining Points

I’ve previously written that hotel point transfers and partner program bonus points were the easiest ways to get the extra points you’d need to earn the Companion Pass.

This is no longer the case. You’ll only earn Companion Pass qualifying points from:

Flying on Southwest
Earning Southwest points from your Chase Southwest cards (sign-up bonus and ordinary spending)
Base Southwest points (not bonus points, like 1-800-Flowers promotions) from partner programs

Only Base Points From Partners Like 1-800-Flowers Count Toward Southwest Companion Pass Status, NOT Bonus Points

Purchased points, points transferred from Chase Ultimate Rewards, or points earned from online survey companies do NOT count toward the Companion Pass, either.

Bottom Line

Without notice, Southwest changed the rules for earning the Companion Pass today, January 1, 2017.

Points transfers from hotel and car rental programs, like Hyatt, Marriott, and Choice, no longer qualify toward the Companion Pass.

That’s lousy news for folks who had plans to earn the Companion Pass early this year by booking a Marriott Air + Hotel package. I know many of us, including Million Mile Secrets team members, were waiting for the new year to pull the trigger on this deal.