A shadow drifting through the dunes—steel strings, warped frequencies, and low-end ripples bending time. Abandoned radio towers pulse Morse code from satellites long past, tumbleweeds roll in triplets, and the Hum never fades—pulling at the edges of reality.

Deep Surf is the desert song at the edge of town, encouraging you to ride deeper into the West: dusty hi-hats, cracked vinyl ghosts, and a reverb tail that lasts centuries.

In honor of the late Darth Brooks, riding on into the next life.

Bandcamp

Amnesia Machine

Deep Surf

Roaring Canyon

Cast A Spell

Earn the Southwest Companion Pass in 2026

In this Hurdy Gurdy Travel Podcast episode, Justin sits down with Max Craig from Points to the Max to break down exactly how to earn and maximize the Southwest Companion Pass for 2026. 

We cover the best timing for points, which cards to open (and when), stacking strategies, and what recent program tweaks mean for your plan.

Whether you’re brand-new to points or already flying regularly, you’ll get a practical, step-by-step gameplan to secure the companion pass and squeeze maximum value from it, plus intel on routes, hubs, and event meetups to level up your travel.

What you’ll learn

The cleanest timeline to lock the 2026 Southwest Companion Pass

Which credit cards to consider and how to sequence them

Points vs. flights: the math to qualify efficiently

Recent Southwest program changes (and what still works)

Hubs, routes, and positioning strategies

Opportunity cost: when not to chase it

Chapters

00:00 Intro
00:45 Meet Max Craig (Points to the Max)
02:50 Companion Pass, explained (eligibility & value)
04:49 Credit-card strategy & timing for 2026
06:10 What changed at Southwest (and what didn’t)
07:49 Qualifying: points vs. flight segments
11:22 App strategy: rules, pacing, and denials
23:35 Events, meetups, and community resources
28:47 Music City Miles & Points shoutouts
29:37 Frequent Traveler University notes
30:33 Fine print of the Companion Pass
32:55 Hubs, routes, positioning flights
34:53 Opportunity cost & alternative plays
43:10 Program benefits recap & pitfalls to avoid
43:36 Where to find Max (site & socials)
45:31 Trip planning tips & closing thoughts
51:31 Outro

—
🎙️ 📢 Listen to the Hurdy Gurdy Travel Podcast:

👉 SoundCloud → https://soundcloud.com/hurdygurdytravelpodcast

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👉 Pocket Casts → https://pocketcasts.com/podcasts/1a722d50-2d0a-0138-96d6-0acc26574db2?_prerender=true

👉 …and many other podcast platforms worldwide! 🌍🎧

📡 Prefer using your favorite app? Simply copy & paste my podcast RSS feed:
http://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:706382626/sounds.rss

—
💜 Support My Work & Unlock Special Perks:

👉 Support me through helpful referral links on my site: https://hurdygurdytravel.com/donate-referral-links/

👉 Use my CardPointers affiliate link to save on annual and lifetime memberships → https://www.cardpointers.com/hurdygurdytravel
CardPointers helps you activate card-linked offers and take advantage of other powerful credit card features.

👉 Become a Frequent Traveler University member and sign up for events.
https://ftuniversity.com/?aff=24

👉 Earn 500 miles when signing up for Rove Miles using my referral link:
www.rovemiles.com/?signup&referralCode=8AS1JSG9

—

👉 Visit the Support Tab on my website to contribute via SubscribeStar → https://www.subscribestar.com/hurdygurdytravel

🎁 Subscriber & Supporter Perks Include:

✨ One-on-one calls

✨ Advance notice of upcoming podcast guests (submit your questions!)

✨ A custom podcast episode recorded just for you 🎙️💬

✨ Bonus content 🎁

—

🌐 Stay Connected With Me:

🔔 Subscribe on YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@HurdyGurdyTravelPodcast

👍 Like on Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/HurdyGurdyTravelPodcast

🐦 Follow on Twitter / X → https://x.com/HurdyGurdyTravl

📸 Follow on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/justinvacula/

—
✨ Thank You for Listening & Supporting the Hurdy Gurdy Travel Podcast!
Stay tuned for more tips, strategies, and stories to help you optimize your travel, rewards, and lifestyle. 🚀🌍💳

Southwest Companion Pass in 2026 with Max Craig

"ELDORADO"

single from our upcoming ep

PROD BY. YVNG FIJI & JXZUS
UWI
https://soundcloud.com/undxrwvtxrinfxrno
YVNG FIJI
https://soundcloud.com/tvpwvtxr
JXZUS
https://soundcloud.com/jxzusg

1995-2025


E N J O Y

ELDORADO W// JXZUS

A trip hop style boombap type beat, an instrumental with rock samples and a guitar line.

Dusty Canyon

Scar'z

This one's for the ones griding in silence, chasing something bigger, and taking their shot at life. If you're leveling up, this track's is for you. Keep going-- 

Take Your Shot

Giddy up and get yer tail on the trail west as we encounter harmonicas, steel guitars, flutes and more out on the western frontier.

Western Trailmix

“High Desert Christmas” blends Americana warmth and folk-country charm in a nostalgic portrait of desert holidays, glowing luminarias, and timeless love. This song captures the soul of a Southwestern Christmas — luminarias, mesquite smoke, and carols blending under a starlit desert sky. It honors the simple beauty of community and tradition in the American Southwest.  The song captures the essence of a nostalgic, cozy, and heartfelt place— a celebration of home, culture, and peace. A warm Americana Christmas ballad glowing with desert sunsets, luminarias, and love — a soulful ode to home and the Southwest.

High Desert Christmas

NORTH POSSE
https://soundcloud.com/northposse/paris-robbery-pt-6
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3wE8Y6YQXzNY2m1PTunW73?si=mpp5yXCeQSm3DU4oZ4k1Iw


LILTYPE1 X NORTH POSSE - REAPERSOLDAT [Prod.NORTH POSSE]

Imma Dro
PayPal-> @ iamdro
Ca$H-APP-> $ immadro
Venmo-> @ immadro

Wandering the world slowly, through sound, with frequent naps.
Check my "Mix" playlist for my explorations. Most are free downloads.
Also included are beat-tapes for rappers, and house music mixes for our dance sessions!
More journeys coming next month, some of which will be livestreamed on IG.

sound designer, music composer, soundscaper

Music is the language and soul of humanity.  You can see and hear music, if not…you feel it.  Listen, see, and feel the music.

My story is the same as probably so many.  I always wanted to write music and share it, to express it, to let others feel it.  Like so many before me - life took over.  Responsibility.  Sure, I could have gone after the things I loved, but I felt the responsibility, so off around the world I went.  That was truly amazing, too.  But always tapping on my shoulder was the desire to write.  So I kept at it, just never doing anything with it.

Jumping forward to the here and now - I’m doing it.  Writing, composing, arranging, and editing.  I hope you enjoy it, give me your thoughts, and share it with others. 

Thank you,
JCCutter

Listen, see, and feel the music.

THE ONLY YVNG FIJI

FOUNDER OF https://soundcloud.com/undxrwvtxrinfxrno

#UWI

𝕊ℍ𝔸𝔻𝕆𝕎ℍ𝕆𝕃𝕀ℂ𝕊
𝓛𝓪 𝓕
𝕊𝕎 𝔻𝕖𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕚𝕥

S͏̶҉̜͖̭̳͓̭̱͓͎͎̮̖͇̹̪̰͕̀͡A̶͍̫̺̮̠̺̭͇͍̝͖̰͔͕̳̩̘͖͜ͅV̛̫̘̮̪͇̣̀͟͝Ȩ̺̟̞͎̯͞M҉̸͢҉҉͈̝̝̜͚̬̤͖̖͚̯̱̣͎̼̗͖E͡҉̷̝̝̼͇͍Ṕ̡̗͚̺̼͕̟̪̰͇̭̩̬͢͠͞L҉̳̮̘̻͈͎̘̗͚͕̱͕͝E͏̷̴̺̘͕̘͚̺̞͇̣̝͔͓A̟̞̪̺͈̰̲̩͔̺̯̗̫̞̯̦͕̤͈͘S̵̶̼̮̻̼̲̠̙͔̪̺̹͘͟E̱̼̦̭̘͕̲͖̹̗̠̣͞ ͟҉͕̼̼̗̱͕̮͘͝ͅS̶̝̘̯͔͍͙͢A̢͏̵̤̖͚̺̠͇͇̘̣̞͈̘̭̮͕̫̫͇͡ͅV̸̢̢̰̺͇͕͟Ę̨̱͖̺̙̱̝̙͎̪̳͎͎͟ ̸̧͟͞͏̲̣̱̰Ṃ̴͔̱͍̭̖̯͈̼̣̻̜͈̞͓̠̜̺̜È̡̦͔̯̦̬̫̘̳̻̥̹͠ ̴̦͎̟̦͓̥̦̣̙̝̟͔̗̖̤̞̩̹͝Ş͠͏̢̪̯̮̪͉͍̙̭̞̘̠̹͕͇̯̼̯̗ͅA̧̖̞̗̻͉̮̟͢V̨̛̳̲̖̤̣̬̳̭̯̹̥͙̤̥̦͡͞E̷̼̪̤̱̲̺͔͡͝ ̪̩̻̹̻̦̬̼̪͝͝ͅM̷̵͈̫̭̯͚̦̯̪̘͓͚͜E̸̮̘̺̝̝͔̕͜ ̸̺͇̞̰̹͡Ş͎̙͙̼̖̮̙̹͡͞V̡̛̘͚̹̖̤̬͎͜͠͡A̡̠͔̥͕̻̟̰̖̜̙̼̭̤͘È̷͉̟̹͔̦̝̘̼̼̬̫̹̱͡ͅF̸̴̩̭̣̦͖̯̹̰̼̮͙́͢͠ ̨̨̣̯͕̻͘͡M̟̝̤̟͎̲͠E̢̨͇͍̹̜̦̣̪͜͜À̸̢̱̣͓͟͟ͅF͈̤̘̥̺̦͙̩̩̱̗̗̫͇̠̮̤͚͞͞͞͠J͎̪͈̩̲͙̻̀̕K͘͏̴͕͇̲̥̞̯̫͚̗̹̞̼̞̰͚͘ͅḺ̴̛͖͈̹͖̘̜̫̤͜Á̴̜̫͖̰̳̬̮̬̯̕M̷̵̹͚͖̤͇̭̖͜͟͝S̢̩̭̱̦̺̣͎̯X҉̡̬̙̠̣̤̭͉̱̥͎

Turo-Chopz, an Independent artist from Arizona. Representing Eloy and Casa Grande. Focuses on family first and staying on the grind, do what you love and NEVER let anyone hold you back.

Travel the world at next to no cost with credit card rewards!

New tracks tagged #Southwest