This is a pretty good offer for Southwest and for customers. They’ll give you a free companion to travel with you for about two months if you book just two one way flights right away (and use them for travel in the next couple of months). Registration required.

By running a short-term promotion like this, they generate incremental ticket sales. And then they limit the period when you can use the offer – usually to a time they expect to have plenty of empty seats.

• Register and then purchase one round trip or two one-way flights by September 5.
  
• Travel by November 20
  
• Earn a companion ticket valid January 6 – March 6, 2025

If you already have travel booked through November 30, consider cancelling and rebooking (if the price of the ticket hasn’t gone up too much) to qualify for this offer. They ran a nearly identical offer in the spring last year and again in late summer. They ran it in March this year and then an offer restricted to Hawaii flights in May.

It’s cool that this runs concurrently with Southwest’s promotion giving you four ways to fast-tracking earning status as well.

What’s especially interesting about the two month promotional companion pass is that – just like a regular annual one – you can change your selection companion up to three times during the companion pass’s validity. Normally that’s limiting, say if you earn a companion pass for 22 months as I’ve done a couple of times. However changing 3 times during a two month period is far more flexible. Take anyone with you that you wish!

My last companion pass, earned in January 2022, ran through December 2023. I’d buy a ticket for myself, my wife was my companion (so most trips cost just TSA fees for her travel) and then I redeemed Rapid Rewards points for my daughter’s seat. If you live in a big Southwest city as I do (they’re the largest carrier in Austin) and you have the time to take advantage of the offer, it’s a good one. I’m flying Southwest next week and may rebook just to earn this.