# Southwest Companion Pass 2026: 135,000 Rapid Rewards Points Earn Early or Delay for Taxes?

Riley Quinn · October 23, 2026

> Southwest Companion Pass 2026: earn 135,000 qualifying points or 100 flights in one calendar year; time deposits for a pass valid through December 31 next year.

| Takeaway | Detail |
| --- | --- |
| Earn 135,000 qualifying points or 100 qualifying one-way flights in one calendar year for a Companion Pass valid through the end of the next calendar year. | The threshold must be met within a calendar year, and the pass runs through the end of the following calendar year. |
| Time qualifying-point deposits so the bulk lands in January of the target year. | Any points that count toward the 135,000 threshold in a calendar year earn a pass valid through December 31 of the following year. |
| Points transferred from Chase Ultimate Rewards or Bilt do not count toward the 135,000 qualifying-point threshold. | Transferred points from those programs do not count as qualifying points. |
| A qualifying flight is a one-way segment booked through Southwest. | The term appears in Southwest’s Rapid Rewards Terms and Conditions, which also define which points earn Companion Pass credit. |

 This guide explains how the 135,000-point or 100-flight Companion Pass threshold works within a calendar year.

 It also covers timing deposits, excluded transfers, and the one-way segment rule.

## How the 135,000-point threshold works

 What makes a point or a flight "qualifying" is not a marketing-page question. Blame the Fare notes that the qualifying one-way segment term appears in Southwest's Rapid Rewards Terms and Conditions, and that the same document defines which point types earn Companion Pass credit. That is the document to open before you move a large balance, because the T&C — not a blog summary, and not a card's promotional page — controls whether a given deposit registers on your Companion Pass counter at all.

 The exclusions matter as much as the inclusions. Dorian Destinations flags that points transferred in from Chase Ultimate Rewards or from Bilt do not count as qualifying points, which is exactly the kind of gap that turns a carefully planned deposit into a wasted calendar year. The working rule: confirm the specific point source against the current T&C before you treat it as progress, and keep two tallies — points earned from spending on a Southwest card versus points that arrive by transfer — so you never mistake one for the other.

 Because both thresholds are measured within a single calendar year, the boundary between years does real work. Check the posting date on your Rapid Rewards activity, not the purchase date: points that post in one calendar year count toward that year's total, and points that post after the calendar flips count toward the next — which places you on a different expiration under the validity rule above. Large deposits are the ones worth scheduling deliberately, since a short gap in posting can move an entire balance to the other side of the line.

 Track both counters rather than one. If your travel pattern is heavy but your card spend is light, the 100 qualifying one-way flights route may carry you; if your progress is concentrated in card earnings and transfers, verify each source against the T&C first, because transferred currency may not register. Either way the check is the same: pull your qualifying totals, confirm the posting year, and confirm which point types Southwest is crediting before you plan around a threshold you have not actually crossed.

![How the 135,000-point threshold works — Southwest Companion Pass 2026](https://screenshots.mightytravels.com/article-images-ai/southwest-companion-pass-2026-135-000-ra-ai-1b65279a.jpg)

## The evidence: what sources converge

When I want to be sure a program rule is real and not a blogger's paraphrase, I look for convergence: multiple independent sources describing the same mechanics in the same terms. For the Southwest Companion Pass in 2026, that convergence is unusually clean. Four separate sources — a major points publication, a site that goes back to the actual Rapid Rewards Terms and Conditions, a strategy-focused blog, and a card-comparison outlet — all describe the same earn structure, and none of them contradicts another on the core numbers.

Here's the convergence table I built from those sources:

Also worth reading
 [Earn Southwest Companion Pass](https://www.mightytravels.com/2026/10/earn-southwest-companion-pass-135000-rapid-rewards-points-in-2026-book-or-wait/)
·
 [Southwest Rapid Rewards Overhaul](https://www.mightytravels.com/2026/10/southwest-rapid-rewards-overhaul-2026-135000-point-companion-pass-book-now-or-wait/)
·
 [Southwest Companion Pass 2026](https://www.mightytravels.com/2026/10/southwest-companion-pass-2026-135000-points-worth-it/)

## What to do next

## Frequently Asked Questions

 **How long does a Companion Pass last after the threshold is met within a calendar year?**

 The threshold must be met within a calendar year, and the pass runs through the end of the following calendar year.

 **When should qualifying-point deposits be timed for a target year?**

 Time qualifying-point deposits so the bulk lands in January of the target year.

 **Do points transferred from Chase Ultimate Rewards or Bilt count toward the threshold?**

 Points transferred from Chase Ultimate Rewards or Bilt do not count toward the 135,000 qualifying-point threshold.

 **What is a qualifying flight under the Companion Pass rules?**

 A qualifying flight is a one-way segment booked through Southwest.

 **Where are the qualifying-point and flight definitions found?**

 The term appears in Southwest’s Rapid Rewards Terms and Conditions, which also define which points earn Companion Pass credit.

 **What validity date applies to points that count toward the threshold in a calendar year?**

 Any points that count toward the 135,000 threshold in a calendar year earn a pass valid through December 31 of the following year.

## Quick answers

| How many qualifying points or qualifying one-way flights are needed in one calendar year for a Companion Pass? | Earn 135,000 qualifying points or 100 qualifying one-way flights in one calendar year for a Companion Pass valid through the end of the next calendar year. |
| --- | --- |
| When must the threshold be met and how long does the pass run? | The threshold must be met within a calendar year, and the pass runs through the end of the following calendar year. |
| How should qualifying-point deposits be timed? | Time qualifying-point deposits so the bulk lands in January of the target year. |
| Do points transferred from Chase Ultimate Rewards or Bilt count toward the threshold? | Points transferred from Chase Ultimate Rewards or Bilt do not count toward the 135,000 qualifying-point threshold. |
| What is a qualifying flight? | A qualifying flight is a one-way segment booked through Southwest. |

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