NextTrip

Have had CP for a couple of years now. Last year lots of value. This year I've only used it once, with two more trips booked. I'm working too much to take many leisure trips with the spouse!

Air Houston

That is truly awesome for both of you. Enjoy the summer!

expert7700

Roughly $50,000 a year for the first 5 years I held the CP.

Roughly $9k a year for the most recent 5 years.

brifake

Here's a summary of the value of the companion pass without ever using anything but credit card signup bonus mileage using "Wanna Get Away" miles from my most recently booked trip. This presumes that one signed up for two of the Southwest Chase Credit Cards (plus or premier) with 50K mileage signup bonuses. I signed up for both on the same day. If you have achieved the pass without the two cards, wow!

MILEAGE FOR SIGNUP - must spend $4K total over 3 months ($2K/card)

50000 Southwest Miles/Points From Chase Plus Card
50000 Southwest Miles/Points from Chase Premier Card
10000 Southwest Miles/Points from spending the req. $2K per card in 3 months
110000 Total Southwest Miles/Points
$0.0167 Approx. Value-Per-Mile/Point (Wanna Get Away Fare)
$1,837.00 Cash Value of Miles/Points
$1,837.00 Cash Value of free Companion flights (FYI can change companion 3x per year)
$3,674.00 Gross Cash Value

brifake

Apologies for breaking this up into multiple posts, I'm having formatting problems.

Here is a summary of the fees associated with 2 years of flying at an estimated 9 total round trip tickets for two. It should be noted that only the $99+$69 annual fees are due up front--the security fees are charged on a per trip basis, and the second round of annual fees are not due until year two.

FEES

$69.00 Annual Fee Chase Southwest Plus Card
$99.00 Annual Fee Chase Southwest Premier Card
$168.00 Annual Fee Total (this is the upfront cost)
2 Years Required
$336.00 Annual Fee Total after 2 Years

$11.20 Security Fee per flight (Round Trip - $5.60 each way)
9 Estimated # of Round Trip Flights ($400/flight)
2 No. of People
$201.60 Total in Flight Fees

$537.60 Total Fees after 2 years (Annual Fees + Security Fees for 9 flights)

brifake

Continuing apologies for breaking this up.

Here is the estimated net cash value of the companion pass:

CASH VALUE FROM SIGNUP

$3,674.00 Gross Cash Value from Signup
($537.60) Less Annual Fees and Security Fees
$3,136.40 Net Cash Value from Signup

brifake

Apologies for breaking this post up into multiple posts.

Here is the value that can be earned from referrals (i.e. 50K miles signup bonuses for 20 people).

CASH VALUE FROM REFERRAL POINTS

50000 Southwest Miles/Points from 10 referrals - Chase Plus
50000 Southwest Miles/Points from 10 referrals - Chase Premier
100000 Total Soutnwest Miles/Points from 20 referrals
$0.0167 Approx. Value-Per-Mile/Point (Wanna Get Away Fare)
$1,670.00 Cash Value of Miles/Points
$1,670.00 Cash Value of Miles/Points for Companion who flies free
$3,340.00 Gross Cash Value from Referrals
($179.20) Less estimated Security Fees for 2 people/8 Round Trip flights (@$400/flight)
$3,160.80 Net Cash Value from Referrals

brifake

NET CASH VALUE FROM SIGNUP + REFERRALS

$3,136.40 Net Cash Value from Miles/Points
$3,340.00 Net Cash Value from Miles/Points from Referrals
$6,476.40 Net Cash Value from Signup + Referrals

I believe that this is a pretty good approximation of the maximum value of the companion pass using mileage from the Southwest Chase Visa Cards. At around $400 per flight, it should pay for almost 17 round trip tickets. This, in my book, is by far the best value that I have come across in airfare or credit card bonuses. From then on, your flights are basically half price so long as you have a guest, and you can have a total of 7 companions within two years (you appoint your first companion and from then on may change this 3x per year).

smmrfld

Actually you can have a total of 8. Even though your last companion carries over from the previous year, you're allowed to name a new one beginning on January 1, followed by the usual 3 changes.

rsteinmetz70112

How do you figure that?

$50K a year from not later than 2005-2010? That would be hundreds of flights per year.

Even today with higher fares 9K would probably be a couple dozen, unless they were all long hauls.

daw4888

Why are you paying 2 years worth of annual fees brifake? You dont need to keep the card to retain the companion pass.

And if you are keeping the two years of fees, you need to add in the miles you get for renewing your card after the first year to your calculation.

brifake

I don't want to lose all of my miles by cancelling the card. Might keep the pass, but I'd lose 100K miles. That's a good idea about the 9K new miles from renewing the cards. I'll have to add those into the calculations. Thanks!

darthbimmer

You don't "lose all of [your] miles" when you cancel the card. Every statement you are awarded RR points and they are transferred to Southwest. The only points you lose when cancelling are those you might have earned from purchases in the current billing cycle. I.e., points that haven't been posted to your Southwest RR account yet.

expert7700

Hundreds of flights. Someday I will publish more details.... Suffice it to say it would be impossible to redo.

hoang53

Be careful if the primary can't fly the CP can't --->higher ticket since re-book later. It just happen to me my wife can't make the trip from SNA to SEA so I can't fly with her as CP so I got the ticket for $185 instead of $115 her ticket