Point Me To First Class · Monday, October 26, 2026
Devin Gimbel and Katie discuss the remaining window in late 2026 where travelers can still earn a Companion Pass under old eligibility rules, noting that credit card applications must be approved by December 2nd to backdate points to the 2026 calendar year.
“This year, the companion pass tracker is going away, they're saying January 1st, but they've added this little grace period where they say as long as you're approved for a credit card by December 2nd, even if you earn your welcome bonus sometime in 2027, basically what they're saying is they'll backdate the points to 2026 and add it to your tracker for 2026.”
“Really, the only important date right now is you have to be approved by December 2nd. I'm recommending to people that the latest they would apply for a card would be November 15th, because sometimes it does take a couple of weeks to get an application fully approved.”