Southwest Airlines launches best-ever offer on its top business card — but here’s why you should wait to apply

This year has been a roller coaster for Southwest Airlines. It has ditched its signature seating process and free checked bags policy, overhauled its credit card lineup and inked new international partnerships.

The latest news? An attention-grabbing offer on the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card (see rates and fees), which, if timed correctly, can get you two whole years of the valuable Companion Pass on top of a big pile of Southwest Rapid Rewards points.

But don’t submit your application just yet. Here’s what you need to know about this offer and why you should wait to apply to make the most of it.

Related: Best time to apply for Southwest Chase cards based on offer history

Best-ever offer on the Southwest Performance Business card

The Southwest Performance Business card just launched a best-ever welcome offer: Earn 120,000 Rapid Rewards points after spending $10,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. That’s worth a whopping $1,620 when redeemed for flights, based on TPG’s September 2025 valuations.

Plus, this top-tier business card comes with a long list of perks, including free checked bags, preferred seat selection and anniversary bonus points.

But before you jump on this offer, consider this: You could also snag nearly two years of Southwest’s legendary Companion Pass by adding this card to your wallet. You just have to time your credit card application and spending correctly.

Related: Who qualifies for a business credit card?

How to earn a Companion Pass for 2 years

In case you’re not familiar with the Southwest Companion Pass, it’s an incredible perk. It lets you bring a designated companion (who you can change up to three times per calendar year) with you on virtually every Southwest flight you take, whether you pay for your ticket with cash or points. As long as there’s an open seat on the plane, you can add your companion for just the cost of the taxes and fees.

Earning a Companion Pass requires taking 100 qualifying one-way flights or earning 135,000 qualifying points in a calendar year. Your pass will be valid for the remainder of the year in which you earned it and the following calendar year.

Since points earned on Southwest credit cards — including welcome bonuses — count toward Companion Pass qualification, you can get 95% of the way to earning a Companion Pass simply by earning the welcome bonus on the Performance Business card. The welcome bonus will give you 120,000 points, and the $10,000 minimum spend will earn you another 10,000 or more points, since this card earns at least 1 point per dollar spent on all purchases (though you can earn bonus points on specific spending categories).

And don’t forget about one of this card’s many perks: a boost of 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points each year. These points will land in your account within 30 days of account opening and in January of each year thereafter. Between that and the welcome bonus, you can easily earn the 135,000 qualifying points needed to score a Companion Pass.

But the amount of value you can get from your pass depends on how long you have it.

Let’s say you applied for the card right now and got approved. Your 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points boost would arrive within 30 days. Then, if you met the $10,000 spending requirement and earned the 120,000 welcome bonus points in November, you would earn your Companion Pass before the end of the year. Your pass would be valid for the rest of 2025 — only a month or two — and all of 2026.

Instead, we recommend waiting until mid-October to apply, then timing your purchases so you reach the $10,000 minimum spend in January. That way, those 120,000 bonus points will hit your account in January. Your 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points boost for 2026 will also hit your account in January, putting you within 5,000 points of earning a Companion Pass.

Plus, whatever you spend after your statement closing date in December will earn you points toward next year’s Companion Pass. So, ideally, at least $5,000 of your purchases toward the welcome bonus would be after that date, giving you at least 5,000 points toward earning a Companion Pass in 2026. Then, boom! You’ll earn a Companion Pass in January, and it’ll be good for the rest of 2026 and all of 2027.

With a little planning, you can almost double the lifespan of your Companion Pass and thus maximize its value.

Related: How to quickly earn the Southwest Companion Pass

Bottom line

Who said earning a Southwest Companion Pass was hard? With the Performance Business card, you can earn this valuable pass with one welcome bonus — and that’s not including the 120,000-plus Rapid Rewards bonus points you’ll earn along the way.

However, if you’re considering adding this card to your wallet, we urge you to wait a few weeks. Apply in mid-October, then time your spending so you’ll reach the threshold needed to earn a Companion Pass early next year to get the most from your pass. If you frequently fly with a partner or friend, you’ll essentially pay half the price for your tickets, which could add up to thousands of dollars of savings over two years.