The Points Tool You've Always Wanted

Southwest Airlines is dramatically changing how members earn one of the most popular perks in the points and miles hobby, the Companion Pass. Starting January 1, 2027, credit card signup bonuses will no longer count toward earning the Companion Pass. The current requirement of 135,000 Companion Pass-qualifying points or 100 one-way flights will be replaced with two options: earn 95,000 Tier Qualifying Points (TQPs) or fly 75 qualifying flights to receive three Companion Pass trips, or earn 140,000 TQPs or fly 100 qualifying flights to unlock unlimited Companion Pass trips through the new Platinum status. In addition to credit card welcome bonuses, referral bonuses, anniversary points, category spending bonuses, and hotel or rental car partner points will no longer count toward qualification. Southwest credit cards will instead earn 1 TQP per $1 spent, with a special 10,000-TQP boost after reaching 130,000 TQPs in 2027. That means you'll need to spend $130,000 on Southwest credit cards to earn unlimited Companion Pass benefits through credit card spending alone. Existing Companion Pass holders will keep their benefits through their original expiration dates. Importantly, Southwest is grandfathering welcome bonuses for credit cards approved by December 2, 2026, allowing those points to count toward Companion Pass qualification even if the spending requirement is met in early 2027. That gives travelers one final opportunity to use the traditional credit card bonus strategy, although qualifying through this exception in early 2027 will only provide Companion Pass benefits through December 31, 2027. You can review the new rules and transition details on Southwest's website.

Southwest Airlines is completely overhauling its Rapid Rewards loyalty program starting January 1, 2027, with new elite status tiers, additional redemption options, and plans for airport lounges and a premium credit card. The current A-List and A-List Preferred tiers will be replaced by Silver (35,000 Tier Qualifying Points or 25 flights), Gold (65,000 TQPs or 50 flights), and Platinum (140,000 TQPs or 100 flights). Members can earn TQPs through qualifying Southwest flights and eligible vacation bookings. Following the lead of other major airlines like United, Southwest will also place greater emphasis on credit card spending, awarding 1 TQP per $1 spent on its credit cards. Southwest will introduce milestone rewards, including a choice of 2,000 Rapid Rewards points or two Preferred Seat Certificates at 20,000 TQPs or 15 flights. One of the few positive developments is the introduction of award redemptions on international airline partners, including China Airlines, Etihad Airways, and Icelandair, starting in spring 2027, along with the ability to redeem points for rental cars and seat selection. The airline also announced plans for Southwest Icon Lounges at select airports, with the first expected to open in Nashville in late 2027. A new premium Southwest credit card will offer lounge access, although additional details haven't been announced. These changes represent a major expansion of Rapid Rewards and Southwest's continued transition toward operating like every other major airline. While we're excited about the addition of international partner awards, we'll need to see redemption pricing before knowing how valuable those new options will be. You can review all the changes on Southwest's website.

Chase has increased the DoorDash benefit from a $10 quarterly credit to $10 monthly on non-restaurant orders for its co-branded cards. That increases the potential annual savings from $40 to $120, but there's a very important catch. Unfortunately only cardholders who first activated their complimentary DashPass membership after September 1, 2026 qualify for the monthly discount. Those who have held the cards longer and activated this benefit between February 1, 2025, and August 31, 2026, will continue only receiving the quarterly discount. The benefit applies to one qualifying non-restaurant DoorDash order and requires an active DashPass membership. Check your Chase card's DoorDash benefits to see which discount applies to you.

Rove Miles has added JetBlue TrueBlue as its 22nd transfer partner and is celebrating the launch with a 20% transfer bonus through November 14, 2026. The standard transfer ratio is 1:1, so with the bonus, you’ll receive 1,200 JetBlue TrueBlue points for every 1,000 Rove Miles transferred.