Act fast: Earn the Southwest Companion Pass by booking just 1 round-trip flight

03.09.2024 - 20:17 / thepointsguy.com

Southwest's Companion Pass, which allows you to bring a friend for nearly free (you have to pay the taxes and fees) on unlimited flights, is one of the most valuable assets in the world of points and miles. It typically takes a lot of Southwest flights and/or credit card spending to nab one of these coveted passes — but sometimes the airline runs flash promotions that let you earn a Companion Pass much faster.

From now until Thursday, you can earn a two-month promotional Companion Pass by booking a single round-trip flight. Here's how:

Normally, earning a Companion Pass takes quite a bit more flying and/or credit card spending. You must earn 135,000 qualifying points or fly 100 qualifying flights within a calendar year, which will give you a Companion Pass for the remainder of the qualification year and the next calendar year.

However, sometimes Southwest runs promotions to let members earn a Companion Pass for a shorter time period by completing much easier tasks — like flying to Hawaii or earning a credit card welcome bonus.

The current promotion is similar to others we've seen in the past, with one key difference. Typically, eligible flights must be paid at least partially with cash to earn a promotional Companion Pass. But in this promotion, flights booked solely with Rapid Rewards points are also eligible. According to the promotion terms and conditions: "Reward travel and Cash + Points bookings qualify for this promotional offer."

So you can earn a valuable Companion Pass whether you pay with cash, points or a combination of the two (although Cash + Points isn't usually the best route for booking Southwest flights).

Southwest's Companion Pass is almost legendary in the world of points and miles. It allows you to bring an additional guest for free (plus taxes and fees), effectively cutting your flight costs in half. Whether you book your ticket with cash, points or both, all your companion has to pay are the taxes and fees (starting at $5.60 one-way).

The one catch of the Companion Pass is that you can't bring just anyone along each time you fly; you must designate a companion in your Rapid Rewards account. However, Southwest is still pretty flexible on this. You're allowed to change your designated companion up to three times per year, and this rule applies to promotional passes as well: "Members may change their designated Companion up to three times while they have the promotional Companion Pass."

If you haven't finalized your fall travel yet, consider booking it with Southwest. You could snag a valuable Companion Pass to use next January and February — perhaps for an epic ski trip or romantic Valentine's Day getaway.

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