Tag Archives for companion pass.
Southwest Airlines just brought back one of its best-known promotions: register and book just one roundtrip (or two one-way flights) by Thursday, February 5, and you’ll earn a two-month Companion Pass valid August 10–October 7, 2026. Whether paying cash or using points, this Companion Pass lets you bring along a friend or family member for free, making late summer and early fall travel significantly cheaper.
Register to earn a two month companion certificate, where a friend flies free whenever you do (whether paying cash or points for your own ticket) on Southwest Airlines.
Southwest Airlines is surveying a new elite program and gutting the Companion Pass. That’s one of only two things left that the airline has going for it.
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 six weeks).
I love the Southwest Airlines Companion Pass. You can bring someone with you when you travel for just the cost of taxes as long as there’s a seat for sale. It doesn’t matter whether you’re buying your own ticket with cash or spending points.
And you can change your selected companion up to three times during the companion pass’s validity.
Filed under “this is why we can’t have nice things,” some Companion Pass holders try to get their companion’s travel for free without paying for their own ticket at all.
The best value at Southwest Airlines is the Companion Pass, where you can bring someone with you on all of your trips for just the cost of taxes. This is normally earned through a year’s worth of travel, credit card bonuses and spend and hotel bookings. But Southwest has also offered it on a promotional basis. Recently they’ve offered a Companion Pass to use for a limited time after taking just a single roundtrip as a way to goose business during a slow period, and making it available to use during another anticipated slow period. It’s something we’ve seen at least three times. Now, Southwest has a twist on the offer where that single roundtrip must be to a specific destination: Hawaii. Register then purchase two one ways or one roundtrip by May 24, 2024…
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).
If you already have travel booked through May 22, consider cancelling and rebooking (if the price of the ticket hasn’t gone up too much) to qualify for this offer.
So this is a little bit weird. Southwest Airlines is offering four ways to accelerate earning of a Companion Pass, yet advertises that the promotion offers just three ways. Still, you will want to register either way.
My current companion pass, earned in January 2022, runs through December 2023. I buy a ticket for myself, my wife is my companion (so most trips cost us just TSA fees for her travel) and then I redeem 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.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
