37. Over what time period are credits counted for renewal of my Companion Pass?
a. (nsx) This is probably the single most confusing aspect of Rapid Rewards. But if you phone 800 445-5764 and select the Companion Pass info option, the system will tell you how many credits you have toward renewal and what the renewal deadline is. One of these days, this information may be available online, but given that it could have been done years ago, I'm not expecting this.
Your first CP is effective for 13+ months. For example, if it is issued on January 10, 2006, it will expire at the end of February 2007. This is done to allow time for snail mailing the plastic card, so that you will still have 12 months of use of the pass.
Your first renewal period starts
not immediately on pass issue, but when you earn you next RR credit. For example, let's say you fly again on January 15. You then have until January 14, 2007 to earn your 100 credits for renewal. Assuming that you do so, your new CP will be issued in February 2007. It will be valid from the March 1, 2007 to the March 31, 2008. You can see that your CP issue date advances one month per year. There is no overlap between the CP validity periods, so you will never have two valid CPs at the same time.
Here's where it starts getting tricky. Your second renewal qualification period does not begin right after you earn your second 100 credits. Rather it is tied to the validity period of your CP. In the example, your CP will be up for renewal in first week of February 2008. To renew, you will need to have 100 credits in the 12 months beginning with your first flight on or after February 1, 2007. If you qualify, your new CP will be valid from April 1, 2008 to April 30, 2009. Your third renewal qualification period will be March 2008 through February 2009 (or later, if you don't fly in March 2008).
(from expert 7700) Example timeline using a hypothetical CP expiration date of 9/30/07:
- Last years companion pass issued 8/1/06. Next credit earned 8/5/06. This sets your 1yr qualification period as 8/5/06-8/5/07 for your next CP.
- 2nd year CP expires 9/30/07.
- 9/1/07 "Companion Pass earned" will show up on Southwest.com if you
earned 100+ credits from 8/5/06-8/5/07
- 9/3/07 You can designate a new companion name (or reuse same name). This is when your slate is wiped to zero towards your next CP.
- 9/10/07 New companion card will come via mail. You can book flights online using the old companion name for flights thru 9/30, and also can
book flight dates 10/1 and later on the new companion name. SWA
will auto fill in your companion names based on the date chosen.
- 9/3/07 1st credit that posts will start the new 1yr earning period and count towards your 100 credits needed for your next CP.
Refer to the phone number listed above for automated earnings info to verify your credit count and "must earn by" date for your next CP, especially since any info on this forum may change and is not guaranteed to stay accurate.
Because the requalification period for does not begin immediately after you earn your second 100 credits, there is an interval of weeks or months during which credits you accumulate are useless for the purpose of CP requalification. You may want to play close attention to this gap when timing major purchases on a Southwest Visa credit card. For example, if you have 90 credits toward your CP and you spend $48,000 on the Southwest Visa card in one month, only 10 of your 40 credits will count toward the CP. The other 30 will be wasted, although they will of course earn you regular awards. Although most times the gap only bites you on second and subsequent renewals, this credit card scenario causes the same trouble even when you are earning your very first CP. The renewal period starts the next day,
after your 40 credits post.
Dan B points out that you are unable to reserve flights for a new CP before it is issued (or is it before the CP's effective date?). You may be able to make a placeholder reservation using a spare RR award or a refundable fare, and have it converted to CP later. Maybe.