Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways · Wednesday, October 21, 2026
Megan Coyle and Sally French discuss how earning the Southwest Companion Pass will become harder in 2027, requiring 140,000 tier qualifying points tied to platinum status rather than companion pass qualifying points, while credit card welcome offers and multipliers will no longer count toward it.
“Now to earn it, you need platinum status, but no other airline has anything like companion pass.”
“It actually is quite a big jump to go from 135,000 companion pass qualifying points... to now having to earn tier qualifying points because those are a lot harder to earn even now.”