The Southwest Companion Move permits a member of the family or buddy to fly free of charge with the passholder on all flights. That’s proper, it’s primarily a journey hack to limitless half-priced flights, and is a good way to make frequent lengthy weekends at Walt Disney World inexpensive when paired with an AP. This information to Southwest Airline’s Companion Move covers get it, which is simpler than you would possibly suppose!
Let’s begin with the nuts and bolts about how the Southwest Companion Move works as soon as acquired. After getting the Companion Move, you designate a traveler who will you employ it (typically, your associate–however you’re not restricted to husbands, wives, or different relations), after which any fare you purchase or e-book with miles on Southwest Airways (SWA) comes with a free fare on the identical flight for that companion. There are nonetheless a small quantity of taxes and charges they’ll need to pay, however that solely quantities to ~$6 on most airfare.
So let’s say you e-book a fare for $99 from Chicago to Orlando. Your companion flies free of charge, that means that you simply’re primarily getting half-priced flights for each of you (purchase one, get one free). With Southwest’s many ‘Wanna Get Away’ gross sales, you possibly can pay even much less. Actually, there’s presently a sale on flights earlier than 8 a.m. or after 7 p.m., beginning at $29–that means you possibly can be paying ~$15 per individual to fly! (Not so coincidentally, that sale is what prompted this put up, as I really like redeye flights and late returns to maximise the park time throughout these lengthy weekend journeys to Walt Disney World!)
Again to the fundamentals, there are a bunch of little guidelines and quirks that make the Southwest Companion Move much more advantageous. As famous above, you may designate anybody as your companion. Nevertheless, you can too change your SWA companion as much as 3 times by calling Southwest Speedy Rewards. (We’ve by no means finished this, however have buddies who’ve strategically used their allotted modifications to make use of the Southwest Companion Move to journey with totally different folks.)
The true worth of the Southwest Companion Move comes all the way down to its restrictions. Or moderately, lack thereof. Lots of you might be possible followers of SWA as a result of it’s household pleasant and doesn’t cater to enterprise vacationers just like the legacy carriers. Properly, similar concept applies right here. The Southwest Companion Move can be utilized a limiteless variety of instances and it isn’t topic to any particular fare class limitations. That means that as there’s a seat accessible on the market on the aircraft, you should use it for the most affordable money fares or Speedy Rewards factors redemptions.
In different phrases, the Southwest Companion Move is NOT a kind of illusory “reductions” that permits you to “save extra” by spending extra. Walt Disney World dealhounds ought to know this recreation fairly nicely, having seen not-so-special gives that require the acquisition of full priced tickets or lodging to be able to qualify for Free Eating or another perk. With the Southwest Companion Move, you may spend as little as attainable and nonetheless save. I’ll be trustworthy with you–it turns into like an addictive problem to maximise your financial savings and beat your previous “scores.”
All of this most likely sounds too good to be true, or like there’s a giant catch coming. Maybe that you simply solely can qualify for the Southwest Companion Move by repeating some ridiculous feats of power or spending a boatload of cash with SWA. No, you don’t have to fly within the center seat for 124 consecutive flight segments or buy $33,000 price of in-flight meals & drinks.
To make certain, there are methods to qualify for the Southwest Companion Move which can be extra “conventional.” The 2 strategies marketed on SWA’s web site are flying 100 qualifying one-way flights in a calendar yr, or incomes 135,000 Speedy Rewards factors in a calendar yr. Clearly, these are huge hurdles. At the same time as a frequently-flying blogger, I’ve by no means hit the necessities the “trustworthy” means. (To not say the choice is dishonest–since SWA is just not aimed toward enterprise vacationers, I’m guessing it’s how greater than 90% of vacationers qualify for the Companion Move.)
As an alternative, what we’ve at all times finished is open two Southwest Chase bank cards, one private card and one enterprise card (one thing as pedestrian as promoting on eBay qualifies you for a enterprise card). I most likely misplaced a good variety of you proper there, as I do know many individuals have this intense hatred for bank cards.
I’m not happening the street of debating whether or not bank cards are an evil gadget created to line the pockets of rich monetary establishments or are nice instruments that allow you to acquire advantages for the cash you spend on a regular basis, anyway. All I’ll say is that since we’ve held our first bank cards, the 2 of us have obtained tens of 1000’s of {dollars} in rewards, and I’ve by no means paid a single cent in curiosity…all with out making any Faustian Bargains!
We’ve by no means taken the time to calculate the worth of what we’ve obtained through bank card rewards, however it’s simply over $100,000 at this level. I wouldn’t be in the slightest degree shocked if it had been really nearer to $250,000. We first began bank card hacking once we had been freshly out of school, didn’t have a lot cash, and leveraged bank card rewards closely to do aspirational touring that in any other case would’ve been out of attain.
In its early years, this weblog would possibly as nicely have contained a PBS-style disclaimer studying, “this mission is made attainable by a beneficiant grant from the superb people at Visa and American Categorical.” These bank card firms didn’t know they had been funding essential analysis into cupcakes and park touring technique, however I’d wish to suppose they’d’ve supported the trigger regardless. However I digress.
Chopping to the chase, from Chase Financial institution you may presently get for the Southwest Efficiency Enterprise bank card with a sign-up bonus of 80,000 factors after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening. (You possibly can earn these bonuses through our referral hyperlink.)
Together with that, get any of the three private SWA bank cards. (I’d go for the underside tier, because it has the bottom annual payment and this card goes to be largely redundant to the Southwest Efficiency Enterprise card, anyway.) With any of these, you earn 50,000 factors after you spend $1,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.
In tandem, you’ll earn over 135,000 Speedy Rewards factors when you meet the minimal spend. (Bonus factors of 130,000 plus spending of not less than $6,000.) With the vacation buying season proper across the nook, now could be an excellent time to fulfill this spending objective. Or, you possibly can e-book your 2024 Walt Disney World trip or on low cost Disney reward playing cards. Regardless, it is extremely vital that you simply hit your spending objective strategically.
The Southwest Companion Move is sweet for the total calendar yr after the yr you earn it.
Which means a Companion Move earned in December 2023 expires on December 31, 2024 since you earned it this yr. Against this, a Companion Move earned in January 2024 would expire on December 31, 2025.
That’s nearly a full yr of additional use just by guaranteeing that you simply don’t hit the spending necessities till after your December assertion closes, in order that the factors are posted in January 2024. In the event you’re savvy with spending, you may get the Southwest Companion Move by January 5, 2024 and hold it till December 31, 2025!
One vital factor to bear in mind right here is Chase’s 5/24 rule. With this, you received’t be capable to get most Chase playing cards when you’ve opened 5 bank card accounts throughout all banks up to now 24 months. Qualifying for the Southwest Companion Move through bank cards and signup bonuses essentially knocks out 2 of your 5.
In the event you’ve learn the put up up to now, that’s most likely not a priority for you. The Chase 5/24 rule is aimed toward hardcore hackers (or, I assume, serial spenders), who aren’t the target market of this put up. Nonetheless, when you’re contemplating moving into the fantastic world of journey hacking and are extra inclined to fly internationally and on different airways, it is best to give critical consideration as to if you need to burn 2 of your 5 playing cards on Southwest Airways.
In the event you’re a pair or household primarily touring to Walt Disney World or Disneyland, the Southwest Companion Move is just about a no brainer. There are few signup bonuses with as a lot potential as this one–the ‘worth ceiling’ on the Southwest Companion Move is extremely excessive!
A few of you may need apparent use-cases for the Southwest Companion Move. Others could be questioning whether or not that is for you, and the way you’d leverage this to its fullest. Enable us to be ‘unhealthy’ influences…
We’ll as soon as once more provide one other plug for the 10 Finest and 10 Worst Weeks to Go to Walt Disney World in 2023 to 2025. Critically, this combines quantitative and qualitative concerns when figuring out when to go to, and encompasses a variety of dates.
Particularly, we’d advocate those that embody the next:
- 2024 EPCOT Worldwide Competition of the Arts (our favourite EPCOT occasion!)
- Begin of 2024 EPCOT Flower & Backyard Competition (our third-favorite EPCOT occasion–additionally a good time of yr for an escape from chilly climate!)
- Submit-Easter (nice climate and low crowds)
- Mid-September (very low crowds, Halloween + Meals & Wine, depressing climate)
- Submit-Thanksgiving (100% Christmas, nice climate, low crowds)
After all, that’s simply Walt Disney World. We actually ought to put collectively an identical greatest & worst weeks put up for Disneyland. For now, right here’s what we’d goal:
- Lunar New Yr (low crowds & cool climate)
- Meals & Wine (similar)
- Early Halloween
- Early Christmas
The primary couple of instances we had Southwest Companion Passes, we additionally went laborious on seeing the U.S. Nationwide Parks and cities we had by no means visited. Amongst these had been Acadia Nationwide Park (for fall colours), Rocky Mountains Nationwide Park, San Francisco and Pinnacles Nationwide Park, Yosemite Nationwide Park, Nice Smoky Mountains Nationwide Park, Grand Canyon Nationwide Park, and others I’m most likely forgetting.
Clearly, everybody has totally different pursuits–the salient level is that there’s so much to see in the US, and also you don’t want to make use of the Southwest Companion Move simply on Walt Disney World or Disneyland. As revenge journey involves an finish in every single place, there are prone to be nice offers throughout the board–together with on airfare–making the subsequent couple of years a good time to have this go.
We communicate from expertise, as we first acquired the Southwest Companion Move on the bottom of the Nice Recession. I nonetheless have spreadsheets with journey prices from again then and, holy cow, had been a few of these journeys low cost!
With that in thoughts, we also needs to share our story with the Southwest Companion Move paired with a Walt Disney World Annual Move to function a cautionary story. It was ~15 years in the past and we lived within the Midwest, already visiting Walt Disney World a pair instances per yr. Annual Passes had been a fraction of their present value, however so too had been common tickets (and the no-expiration choice nonetheless existed then).
After getting the Southwest Companion Move in hand, you’ll use that “free” airfare to justify much more journeys. Belief us. You get a ‘wanna get away’ electronic mail with low cost airfare from SWA, and e-book a fast 3-day go to. Costly as they’re now, you purchase an Annual Move, justifying it on a per-day value foundation and on the resort reductions it’ll get you.
You begin doing D23 and different area of interest occasions. You e-book journeys only for tender openings or AP previews. A number of lengthy weekend journeys per yr turns into being at Walt Disney World each month. “Needing” to save lots of much more cash on lodging, you be a part of Disney Trip Membership. You get super-into images and begin a weblog to show the world to your whole loopy ideas and obsessions. (Okay, maybe that final very particular instance is just not universally relevant!)
It’s a slippery slope and qualifying for a Southwest Companion Move to economize would possibly find yourself costing you way more cash within the long-term. It may additionally improve your happiness and high quality of life. We communicate from expertise on all of this. So do with this info what you’ll.
Joking apart, getting the Southwest Companion Move in our newlywed years was probably the greatest choices we’ve ever made. Sure, it did result in extra journeys to Walt Disney World and Disneyland, together with the entire above, which in a roundabout method additionally unleashed all of my rambling ideas on the web. However it additionally allowed us to see the US and have many memorable experiences collectively that formed our relationship and who we’re.
To not finish this on a sappy be aware or something, however we’re agency believers within the worth of journey to develop horizons, be taught concerning the world and your self. The Southwest Companion Move is a superb conduit for all of that. And to be clear, this weblog is just not really funded by a beneficiant grant from Chase Financial institution, Visa, The Walt Disney Firm, or Southwest Airways (…but?). We’re simply actually keen about journey and see the worth it has had in our lives. With or with out this, we’d encourage everybody to journey extra–even when meaning Megabus $1 fares, taking the practice someplace new, and many others!
Planning a Walt Disney World journey? Study motels on our Walt Disney World Motels Opinions web page. For the place to eat, learn our Walt Disney World Restaurant Opinions. To economize on tickets or decide which sort to purchase, learn our Suggestions for Saving Cash on Walt Disney World Tickets put up. Our What to Pack for Disney Journeys put up takes a novel have a look at intelligent objects to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Trip Guides will assist. For complete recommendation, the very best place to start out is our Walt Disney World Journey Planning Information for every little thing you’ll want to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Have you ever ever had the Southwest Companion Move? Did you earn it the ‘trustworthy’ means or benefit from bank card hacking to acquire it? Are you a fan of SWA or do you like different low value or legacy carriers? Will you strive for Southwest’s Companion Move in 2024-2025? Do you agree or disagree with our recommendation? Any questions we will help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even while you disagree with us–is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!