Chase’s New 3/24 Rule: What Southwest Companion Pass Chasers Need to Know

So, what’s the major change?

Getting a business card has always been a key part of the strategy for earning a Southwest Companion Pass FAST. But that strategy just got a little trickier.

Chase, the issuer of Southwest credit cards, appears to have tightened approval requirements for business-card applicants applying as sole proprietors. Previously, approvals generally followed what we affectionately call the 5/24 rule: if you’ve opened five or more personal credit cards from any issuer within the past 24 months, you’re unlikely to be approved for a new Chase card.

Now, for Southwest business cards, that threshold appears to be 3/24 for sole proprietors. In other words, if you’ve opened three or more personal cards in the past 24 months, getting approved may be much more difficult.

Why is this such a big deal?

One of the fastest ways to earn a Southwest Companion Pass has been opening two Southwest cards: one personal and one business. The welcome bonuses can get you a huge chunk of the way toward earning the pass. And now, your recent personal-card activity matters even more when planning the timing.

But here’s where I don’t panic. It just means we need to be more strategic.

1) Know your 3/24 status before you apply.

Count how many personal credit cards you’ve opened in the past 24 months. If you’re already well over the new threshold, you probably don’t want to burn a credit inquiry on an application that has a low chance of approval. Knowing this information will also help you determine when you can go ahead and apply.

2) Watch for an elevated personal-card offer.

We’ve seen elevated welcome offers on Southwest personal cards reach as high as 100,000 points. When offers like that come around, the math can change considerably—and you may still have a solid path toward earning a Companion Pass.

3) Diversify—and don’t sleep on business cards.

This is exactly why I’m such a big believer in diversifying your points-and-miles strategy and incorporating business cards whenever they make sense.

Many business cards don’t show up on your personal credit report as new accounts, which means they generally don’t add to your Chase 5/24 count—and that can make them incredibly valuable when you’re trying to preserve room for future applications.

And with Chase tightening things up quite a bit this year, this is also a great reminder that Chase doesn’t have to be the center of your entire strategy. There are plenty of opportunities to do business with other issuers, including Capital One, American Express, Barclays and Bank of America. Building a diversified strategy gives you more options when one bank changes its rules—and as we’re seeing right now, those rules can change.

Bottom Line

As always, credit card offers and approval rules come and go. The Southwest Companion Pass is still one of my favorite points-and-miles strategies, and I’ll continue helping you figure out the smartest way to earn it for as long as the opportunity makes sense.

The strategy isn’t dead. We just have to be a little more strategic about how—and when—we go after it.