One of the best deals in the travel world is the Southwest Companion Pass.
It lets you take along a companion for free (after paying applicable taxes and fees) on an unlimited number of Southwest flights for the lifetime of the pass. For Southwest frequent flyers, this easily can be worth thousands of dollars in annual value.
But how do you unlock this valuable golden ticket of sorts? You'll need to earn 135,000 tier qualifying points (or take 100 qualifying flights) in a single calendar year to earn the pass for the remainder of the current calendar year and the entirety of the next one. This is a lot of points to earn, but you can leverage a Southwest cobranded credit card's welcome bonus to earn a Companion Pass quickly.
Here's how to get the pass and how to put it to good use once it's in your hands.
How to earn the Southwest Companion Pass
You must earn 135,000 Companion Pass-eligible points or take 100 qualifying one-way flights in a calendar year to get the Southwest Companion Pass.
Qualifying points can be earned by flying with Southwest or by earning with one of the airline's various partners. This includes spending through the Southwest shopping portal, booking hotels with Southwest partners and even spending on a Southwest credit card. The last option is generally the easiest way to earn the Companion Pass, as you effectively earn with your everyday spending, and welcome bonuses count, too.
Further, those with a Southwest cobranded credit card automatically receive 10,000 Companion Pass-qualifying points yearly. This effectively reduces the requirement to 125,000 points per year.
Related: How to quickly earn the Southwest Companion Pass
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Southwest's credit card offers make it easy to earn the Companion Pass.
Here's a look at the current offers:
- Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card: Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
- Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card: Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
- Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card: Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
- Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Credit Card: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Plus, earn an additional 60,000 bonus points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first nine months from account opening.
- Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Card: Earn 80,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
Check out our post on the best Southwest Airlines credit cards to learn more about these cards.
If you want to earn a Companion Pass, try to earn your qualifying miles as early in the year as possible. This is because the pass is good for the remainder of the current year and the entirety of the following year. With that in mind, if you earned a Companion Pass in March of 2023, you'd have it for the remaining nine months of 2023 and all of 2024.
How to use the Southwest Companion Pass
Once you've earned a Companion Pass, Southwest makes it incredibly easy to use it. Here's how:
Step 1: Set up your Companion Pass
After you earn a Companion Pass, you should receive an email from Southwest within a few days congratulating you on your big accomplishment. If you want to monitor your progress in real time, you can check your status by logging in to your Rapid Rewards account on Southwest.com.
When you get this email, click on the links to set up your initial companion choice. You must have your companion's full name (as it appears on their ID), birth date, email address and Rapid Rewards account number.
You also can call Southwest to designate your companion. But it's easy to make the initial selection online, so there's no reason to pick up the phone for this step.
Step 2: Confirm flight availability for your entire traveling party
Now that you have a companion selected, it's time for the fun part: booking a flight when your companion will fly for free (other than taxes and fees). However, before booking, it's vital to check that enough seats are available on the flight for your entire traveling party. A Companion Pass fare can only be added if a seat is available for sale.
For example, if you have a family of four that will be traveling, including one person on a Companion Pass, search Southwest.com for four seats. Note that all four seats need not be in the same fare bucket. If there are only three seats left with Wanna Get Away fares, but there are also Anytime and Business Select fares available (in addition to those three cheaper fares), your booking will work.
Step 3: Book flights for everyone other than your companion
The next step in using your Companion Pass is to book flight reservations as you normally would for everyone in your traveling party except the companion. This means that if you have a family of four where Mom holds a Companion Pass and Dad is the companion, you should book tickets for Mom and the two kids first. Do not book flights for Dad at this stage.
Most travelers will find that booking flights online at Southwest.com is very easy, although it's also possible to book flights over the phone with Southwest phone agents. You can book these flights with cash or Rapid Rewards points, as either method works in conjunction with the Companion Pass.
If you purchase these tickets with cash, don't forget to add the Rapid Rewards numbers of everyone in your traveling party to the booking. There's no reason to leave points-earning possibilities on the table — even kids can earn frequent flyer points on Southwest.
Step 4: Make your companion's flight booking
After you have booked flights for everyone in your traveling party (except for your companion), the next step is to secure a flight reservation for that person. To avoid losing the ticket availability you just verified in Step 1, you should book your companion immediately. This is especially important on flights that regularly sell out (think: peak Christmas dates to and from Hawaii).
The Companion Pass holder (Mom, in our example) should return to the Southwest website and log into their Rapid Rewards account. Go to "My Account" at the top of the home page.
On the left-hand side of the screen, you'll see a section called "My upcoming trips." There, you should see the flight reservation you just made, along with any other upcoming trips with Southwest. If you have many flights reserved, you'll need to click the "See all trips" link for all of your reservations to appear.
Underneath your flight details, you'll see a button that says "Add Companion." Click on it.
You'll find that the "Trip & Price Details" are already pre-filled with the flight information and the cost of the taxes and fees. In this case, for a domestic one-way trip, that price is just $5.60 for your companion to fly.
Click "Continue" to go to the next page that includes "Passenger & Payment Info." There, you will find your companion's name and identifying information filled in. With everything pre-filled, there is very little chance of a booking mistake at this stage.
Finally, you'll be prompted to pay the applicable taxes and fees to secure the flight reservation for the companion. If you have a credit card already saved to your account profile, you can use that to expedite the process.
I have found that booking subsequent flights with your Companion Pass takes just a minute or two after you see how it works the first time. It's that simple.
Additional Southwest Companion Pass tips and tricks
Although the process of using the Southwest Companion Pass is almost always easy, there are a few quirks to note.
You'll receive separate confirmation numbers
When you book flights for a group or family together, everyone will have the same confirmation number. However, with the Companion Pass, your companion will always be assigned a different Southwest confirmation number than the rest of the party. While this isn't a big deal, it can matter for the strategy surrounding Southwest's unique check-in policy.
When it's time to check in, having two reservation numbers can slow you down in the Southwest fastest-finger game exactly 24 hours before your flight to get a prime boarding position. I recommend having two devices ready to check you and your companion in simultaneously. If you check in one person first and then the other person next, you may well lose out on some of the best boarding positions.
Related: Is Southwest EarlyBird Check-In worth it?
You must call to change companions
While you can change your companion three times in a calendar year, Southwest Companion Pass holders should know that this requires a phone call. There is no way to change a companion online.
The fine print on Southwest's site says that it may take up to 21 business days for processing. In our experience, the companion is always changed nearly instantantly. It will take a while for a new Companion Pass card to arrive in the mail for your new companion, but the change is usually implemented for online booking purposes within seconds.
Watch out for reservations close together with different companions
While you can change companions up to three times in a single year, you won't be able to change your companion until you've completed all travel with your current companion. If you have two trips close together with different companions, things can get a bit tricky.
For example, if you have a trip with your child on June 1 and another with your spouse on June 15, you won't be able to add your spouse as a companion to that second trip until after June 1. It is theoretically possible that the June 15 flight could sell out before June 1, leaving your spouse high and dry for the June 15 trip.
Although this situation doesn't arise often, it's an important consideration if you are planning to travel during peak times and/or on popular routes. If a flight does sell out, you may find yourself in the position of having to book a new flight for yourself at a higher price in order to find an itinerary with space for your companion.
Related: 13 lessons from 13 years' worth of Southwest Companion Passes
Bottom line
Using the Southwest Companion Pass is a breeze. And bonuses on Southwest credit cards make it quite simple to earn. The Southwest Companion Pass is the perfect way to travel more often this year without breaking the bank.
Additional reporting by Jennifer Yellin, Andrew Kunesh and Ryan Smith.
Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
FAQs
Can I use Southwest points and companion pass? ›
Yes, you can use the Companion Pass on Southwest award flights booked with points. Just book your flight as you normally would and add your companion later. You'll then both pay just taxes and fees for your flight. Can you change your companion with the Southwest Companion Pass?
How to get 50,000 Southwest points? ›Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card overview
Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. 3,000 anniversary points each year. Earn 2X points on Southwest® purchases.
To qualify, simply fly 100 qualifying one-way flights or earn 135,000 qualifying points* in a calendar year, and you'll earn Companion Pass for the following full calendar year, plus the remainder of the year in which you earned it.
How to earn 30k Southwest points? ›Welcome Bonus Details
Newly-approved cardholders of any of the 3 Southwest personal credit cards earn the Southwest Companion Pass through February 28, 2024, plus 30,000 points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
Yes! You won't lose your Southwest points when you earn the Companion Pass. You can still use the 125,000 Southwest points to book flights, and your companion flies for almost free if you have the Companion Pass.
How much do you have to spend to get 125000 Southwest points? ›This $5,000 minimum spend is admittedly higher than other welcome bonuses, but it pales in comparison to what you'd need to spend outside of this promotion. To earn the standard 125,000 points you'd normally need for the Companion Pass®, you'd have to pay for up to $125,000 in purchases with your Southwest card.