What’s a Companion Pass you ask? Well, book a round-trip flight (or two one-way flights) on Southwest right now and you can find out. Southwest Airlines is currently running a promotion for members of its Rapid Rewards loyalty program for fall travel that can earn you two months of Companion Pass access.
Why do people love the Companion Pass so much? Those who have a Southwest Companion Pass can add any one person to their booking free of charge (save for taxes and fees) for as long as the pass is valid. That’s a lot of potential free-ish flights for you and your traveling companion(s)—you can change your designated travel buddy up to three times while the pass is valid.
Here’s how the current promotion works. If you aren’t already a Rapid Rewards member, go ahead and create an account (which is free to do). Once you have a Rapid Rewards account, you’ll need to register for the promotion, and then book either a round-trip flight or two one-way flights by 11:59 p.m. Central Time on September 8, 2022, for travel that takes places between September 6 and November 17, 2022.
Added bonus: Fall is shoulder season. Flight prices tend to be more reasonable, and popular destinations Southwest flies to, including Hawai‘i, San Diego, and Phoenix, will have cooled off—both in temperature and crowds.
That booking will earn you a Companion Pass that will be valid for flights booked and flown between January 4 and March 4, 2023. (Hello, ski season travel.)
If that taste of a Companion Pass has you yearning for more, you can aim for a Companion Pass that is valid for the remainder of 2023 by earning either 125,000 Rapid Rewards points or by flying 100 qualifying flights.
