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Companion Pass - Terms and Conditions

brionna310
Explorer C

Has anyone else experienced SW denying them for a Companion Pass because of their billing cycle? I worked VERY hard through 2018 to make sure I got a CP for 2019, literally up to the wire.  If you look at my spending Jan 1 - Dec 31, I got over 110k points and should have qualified.  After going back and forth numerous times, I was told that because my billing cycle is the 4th of every month, ALL of my December spending to push me over with points, does not count (closed on Jan 4th.)  I had ~102k points as of December 4th and knew I could get the extra 8 before the end of the year. I have scoured the website and discussions, even specifically called SW in OCTOBER to ask about this and was told "No, it's calendar year."   I cannot find anything to the contrary and am VERY frustrated with this whole situation.  

3 REPLIES 3

Re: Companion Pass - Terms and Conditions

chgoflyer
Aviator A

Unfortunately, points have to be transferred to your Rapid Rewards account for them to be considered "earned," and you have to earn 110,000 in a calendar year. This means the points you earned in late December of 2017 (transferred to your RR account in January 2018) did count for 2018, but those in late December of 2018 did not (as they were transferred in January 2019).

 

This is spelled out in the first paragraph of the Companion Pass terms and conditions (bolding mine):

 

Companion Pass

A Member who earns 110,000 Companion Pass qualifying points or who flies 100 qualifying one-way flights booked through Southwest Airlines per calendar year will qualify for Companion Pass. Companion Pass qualifying points are earned from revenue flights booked through Southwest Airlines, points earned on Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit Cards, and base points earned from Rapid Rewards Partners. Purchased points, transferred points transferred between members, points converted from hotel and car loyalty programs, and e-Rewards, e-Miles, Valued Opinions and Diners Club, points earned from program enrollment, tier bonus points, flight bonus points, and partner bonus points (with the exception of the Rapid Rewards Credit Cards from Chase) do not qualify as Companion Pass qualifying points. Points earned during a billing cycle on a Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit Card from Chase are not available for redemption or qualification for Companion Pass status until they are posted on your billing statement and posted to your Rapid Rewards Account. Only points posted on your billing statements and posted to your Rapid Rewards Account during the same calendar year are available for qualification for Companion Pass status. No points or Companion Pass qualifying points will be awarded for flights taken by the Companion using the Companion Pass.

 

 

Re: Companion Pass - Terms and Conditions

chgoflyer
Aviator A

I know it's not much comfort now, but here's a good reference on how and when points qualify for Companion Pass status (as well as A-List):

 

2018 Rapid Rewards® Qualifying Transactions for 2019 Status

Re: Companion Pass - Terms and Conditions

DancingDavidE
Aviator A

@brionna310 wrote:

Has anyone else experienced SW denying them for a Companion Pass because of their billing cycle? I worked VERY hard through 2018 to make sure I got a CP for 2019, literally up to the wire.  If you look at my spending Jan 1 - Dec 31, I got over 110k points and should have qualified.  After going back and forth numerous times, I was told that because my billing cycle is the 4th of every month, ALL of my December spending to push me over with points, does not count (closed on Jan 4th.)  I had ~102k points as of December 4th and knew I could get the extra 8 before the end of the year. I have scoured the website and discussions, even specifically called SW in OCTOBER to ask about this and was told "No, it's calendar year."   I cannot find anything to the contrary and am VERY frustrated with this whole situation.  


It's not a denial exactly, they will have also counted points earned from that billing cycle that closed early in January of the year, so it is fair that a full twelve months are included although I'm sorry to hear that the points being accrued as of the closing date wasn't clear.

 

 

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