If you’ve been patiently waiting until mid-to-late October to apply for your first of two cards to earn the coveted, incredibly valuable, easy to use, unlimited-for-nearly-two-years Southwest Companion Pass, it’s time!

Applying between now and early November will get you started on a solid timeline to open two Southwest credit cards before the end of 2023.

If you’ve already read my deep dive on the Companion Pass and how to get it, here’s a quick reminder of things to think about so you don’t have to reread!

A refresher on the basics you need to know to make sure you hit it just right

• You can only hold one personal card at a time, so you’ll need to either apply for one personal card + one business card OR two business cards to earn the 125,000 points necessary to get the Companion Pass (or 135,000 points total after Southwest throws in 10,000 qualifying points in January just for being a cardholder).
• If you’re at 4/24, you need to apply for a business card first. After that, you can apply for a personal card, and that personal card will take you to 5/24. (If you apply for the personal card first, you’ll be at 5/24 off the bat and then won’t be approved for a business card the next month.)
• You should leave a 30-day window between when you apply for your first Southwest card and when you apply for your second Southwest card.
• You’ll need to earn both bonuses from hitting the cards’ spending requirements on or after January 1, 2024 in order to secure the Companion Pass for the remainder of 2024 + all of 2025.
• If you hit the bonuses before January 1, you will only earn the CP for the rest of 2023 (hardly anything!) and all of 2024. Don’t do this!
• Buying Rapid Rewards points doesn’t count toward earning a CP.
• Transferring bank points to your Rapid Rewards account doesn’t count toward earning a CP.
• Spending on your Southwest cards does count toward earning a CP.
• Referral points do count toward earning a CP.

How to apply for the cards that will help you earn the Companion Pass

The best available offers for all the Southwest credit cards are on my Travel Freely page as always! Take a look and let me know if you need advice on which specific cards to get.

If you want access to my free Companion Pass cheat sheet, which includes a helpful timeline to follow, subscribe to my free newsletter.

What else do you want to know about how to earn the Southwest Companion Pass? Let me know in the comments!