Southwest Airlines already has the other airlines beat with their two free bags policy, but they also have the best 2-for-1 deal in the sky. Allowing a companion ticket for the same itinerary at no additional cost for up to 2 years with the Southwest Companion Pass!
It’s the best 2-for-1 airfare deal with no loopholes or blackout dates.
Bella’s First International Flight Was With Southwest Airlines To Jamaica. I Miss The Days She Was A Lap Child…And Didn’t Have To Pay For Her
What Is The Southwest Airlines Companion Pass?
The Southwest Companion Pass is a frequent flyer benefit that allows you to add a designated companion to any flight booked on Southwest. This includes flights paid with cash or miles. Simply put, if you purchase a Southwest ticket, you can get another ticket on the same flight for FREE. This is great for couples, family members or friends who love to travel in pairs.
How To Get The Southwest Airlines Companion Pass?
I know, the Southwest Companion Pass sounds too good to be true, but it really does exist. Here are two ways you can get it:
- Take 100 qualifying one-way flights with Southwest in a calendar year, or…
- Earn 110,00 Southwest Rapid Reward points in one calendar year.
If you qualify for the Companion Pass, you’ll get it for the remainder of the calendar year you earned it AND the following year. Meet the requirement in January 2018 and the Southwest Companion Pass will be yours until the end of December 2019! That’s almost 2 years of 2-for-1 flights with Southwest!
Unless you fly frequently with Southwest, earning the Companion Pass the old fashioned way with qualifying flights sounds like fun, but exhausting.
Southwest Flights Can Be Really Cheap! Here Is An Example Of How It Would Only Cost 8,640 Southwest Rapid Rewards And $5.60 To Get From New York (LGA) To Los Angeles (LAX).
The Easy Way To Get The Southwest Airlines Companion Pass
The best part about this method is you can earn the Southwest companion pass without ever setting foot on a Southwest flight. Chase Bank has a few co-branded Southwest credit cards with the Southwest Airlines
Chase offers three different Southwest Credit Cards:
- Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus
- Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier
- Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business
All versions of the card have a generous 50,000 Rapid Rewards points sign-up bonus that counts toward your Companion Pass.
For Southwest Cards And Other Great Credit Card Offers, Check Out My Credit Card Page
If you get approved for two of the three credit cards and meet the minimum spend requirements of $2,000 in the first 3 months, you’ll have 104,000 Rapid Rewards points. That’s 94% of the way to 2-for-1 tickets on Southwest without even stepping on a plane! To get the final 6,000 points you can either spend $6,000 on your credit card or earn 6,000 miles by flying on Southwest. The annual fees range from $69-$99 depending on the card.
To get some ideas of how to reach the minimum spending:
Southwest Airlines Destinations:
Southwest flies to dozens of domestic airports and 10 countries in the Caribbean and Central America.
Here are all of the destinations that Southwest Airlines fly to. Hawaii coming soon!
Things to Keep in Mind
Here are some things you should know:
- You don’t need to have 110,000 Rapid Rewards points in your Southwest account. You just need to earn 110,000 points in a calendar year.
- Certain points do not count towards the Companion Pass: points transferred from Chase Ultimate Rewards, points purchased, and points transferred from another Southwest account.
- Chase Southwest cards fall under the 5/24 rule, which means if you have opened 5 new credit card accounts in the past 24 months you will most likely get denied.
- You can change your designated companion three times per calendar year.
For Southwest Cards And Other Great Credit Card Offers, Check Out My Credit Card Page
What is your experience with the Southwest Airlines Companion Pass?
Hi David, my family LOVES the Southwest Companion Pass and we are now on our third one. We use it to help us fly nearly free all over the U.S. We’ve been doing this since 2015 and now travel 6+ times a year versus once a year by car before we discovered how to use miles and points to travel free 🙂
Hi Lyn, wow that’s impressive you are on your third companion pass. That’s thousands of dollars in savings. Im so happy you and your family are taking full advantage of miles and points for amazing travel.
This is such a great deal for frequent Southwest travelers!