NoStressHere

Folks mess this up every year. Do not be one of the casualties.

The last day for points from your Chase Credit Card is NOT December 31st. It is the date your statement posts during the month of December.

Money spent on the card after the statement closes will not count for this year but will count for CP earning for 2020/2021.

Miles/points earned from actually flying count through the end of the year since they are posted directly by Southwest.


(yes, I know this is discussed deep inside some other posts - but it gets lost so a timely reminder should help)

ursine1

Here's a great resource that states clearly when points must post from various sources in order to qualify for CP (as well as A-List): 2019 Rapid Rewards® Qualifying Transactions for 2020 Status

toomanybooks

And remember that if you are counting on a CC signup bonus in 2019 to get you over the top for a CP, the charges should post to your account 5-6 days before the December statement drops.

There can be a delay. Don’t cut it too fine.

NoStressHere

Actual number of days varies widely from merchant to merchant. But in the end, it only counts if it is clears and Chase posts it to your account BEFORE they process your statement. You can log in and see exactly what has posted and what is still pending. Need a last minute boost? Easy one is to buy yourself some amazon gift cards assuming you will be spending money on Amazon, which is about 98% of the folks here - LOL!

We are actually waiting until AFTER the December statement as we need to hit the bonus on both cards in January to get the card for 2020 and 2021. Already have 4 flights booked and will add companion in mid January.

toomanybooks

It is different for the statement where you get your signup bonus. You need an extra few days ahead or you lose a month in getting the SUB. Well-documented here, for years.

Trying to spend money in the last 2-3 days before the statement drops will not normally suffice.

Critterlynn

This is exactly right. That's why I always say charges need to post 5 or 6 days prior to the statement end date. Because even though your regular points for that charge will be on that statement, the bonus points wont show up until the following month.

NoStressHere

Good point about points (almost a pun). Thank for a more detailed comment that the SUB is sometimes different than normal spend/points.

Anyways, as mentioned the SUB (sign up bonus) appears to be on somewhat of a different schedule, but just slightly. Maybe they have to run some other program that sweeps for the SUB which is different than the system that tracks the spend for the entire billing cycle. Maybe they only run that program once a week or something?

So, as said, if you MUST get enough points/spend before the statement closes, give it a few extra days -meaning spend and get charges posted the 5-6 days prior to statement date. This is VERY CRITICAL if you need points and SUB in December.

sggolf

Any ideas on how to earn a lot of points toward earning a companion pass before the end of this year? Thanks!

NoStressHere

How many do you need?

Getting new credit cards is the fastest way, but I think it is too late now.

Hotel nights?

zhutch

I am 1500 points shy of CP as currently posted in my SWRR account. My December RR CC statement closed on 12/12/19. I earned 5,415 RR points on this statement. Is the converse of your statement true in that all 5,415 RR points from the December statement will count towards my 2020 companion pass?

I did go ahead and pay a portion of my credit card bill this past Friday that would sufficiently cover the points needed to earn CP. The payment posted the same day, but I'm worried the points won't post in my account by tomorrow night.

ursine1

Those points should have already posted to your RR account. (Points generally post a couple of days after your credit card closing date.)

Payments have absolutely nothing to do with points earning. Points are calculated based on spend, and then sent to Southwest each month after your credit card account closes.

figment7

If I am understanding your correctly your statement closed on 12/12, those points earned off that statement will post around 12/15 or so. That being said those points would count towards 2019 Companion Pass not 2020. Any spend after 12/12 when statement closes in January will post for 2020 companion pass. So if you still need 1500 there is possibly a hotel option to earn points or SWA dining program that may work (other than flying of course).

sggolf

I think what ever your WN RR CC statement close date in Dec, whether the 1st or the 12th, those points earned on that statement count toward 2019 CP.
In fact, the points credit into your account a few days after your statement close date. My CC points post to statement close date not payment date.

Its the charges that credited after your Dec statement close, eg. 12/13/19 and later, those would post in the 2020 CP when your ~1/12/20 statement closes.

Does that help? So your Dec RR statement (5415 pts) have already credited and would credit toward the 2019 CP. And any charges after that statement close would count toward 2020 CP.

If you needed 1500 pts for CP for 2019 year, you need to use a WN partner to get them (eg. hotel, etc) or fly by tomorrow. If you were double counting on 5415 too, you'd should look for SW hotels bonuses quickly.

Hope you check back soon as WN won't help you if you are short for CP.

ursine1

Once earned, a companion passe is valid for the balance of the calendar year in which it is earned and all of the following year. Credit card points are valid for CP in the year in which they post to your RR account. Points posted to your RR account in 2019 will count towards 2019/2020 CP qualification. Points posted in 2020 will count towards 2020/2021 CP qualification. The points counter resets every year on January 1. Currently, 110,000 points are needed, but that changes to 125,000 for 2020.

ceng1

I meant to wait until after December 31st to meet the minimum spend requirement to avoid any glitches. I miscalculated and accidently hit the minimum spend requirement today (12/30/2019). It is after the December statement closed, but I have read elsewhere that Chase posted SUB points earlier than expected. Hopefully the SUB points won't post before 1/1/2020!

Of course, I have only myself to blame if the points do post before 1/1/2020!