The Southwest Companion Pass can earn you nearly free travel with a buddy — here's how and why you should use this airline perk

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• The Southwest Companion Pass allows you to fly with a companion for only the cost of taxes and fees.
• To earn the Companion Pass, you need to accumulate 135,000 qualifying points in a calendar year.
• If you time it right, your companion can fly with you for (nearly) free for almost two years.
• Read Insider's guide to the best travel credit cards.

Traveling can be a great adventure, but it's always better with a friend or loved one. Having a free plane ticket for your favorite travel buddy for up to two years could help you make even more travel memories.

Does that sound too good to be true? It's actually a thing.

The Southwest Companion Pass allows you to choose one person to fly with you on both paid and award tickets for just the cost of taxes and fees, for up to two years (provided your timing is right). To earn the Southwest Companion Pass, you'll either have to accrue 135,000 qualifying points or fly 100 eligible one-way flights in a calendar year.

But here's a nice little trick: The points you'll earn from Southwest credit card bonuses and spending count toward earning the Companion Pass — so opening a card and earning the bonus is an easy way to achieve a big part of the requirement.

Here's everything you need to know about getting and using the Southwest Companion Pass, including the best strategies to earn it for as long as possible.

We're focused here on the rewards and perks that come with each card. These cards won't be worth it if you're paying interest or late fees. When using a credit card, it's important to pay your balance in full each month, make payments on time, and only spend what you can afford to pay.

Southwest Companion Pass Guide

The Southwest Companion Pass allows you to book a friend or family member's airplane ticket, on the same flight as you, without needing to pay any cash or points for the flight. You will be responsible for taxes and fees, but typically these do not amount to much (about $6 each way for a domestic flight).

After you earn the Companion Pass, you will be able to designate your companion. The good news is that you can change to a different companion up to three times per calendar year. This means that you can bring along different friends for different trips.

How to Get a Southwest Companion Pass

To qualify for the Companion Pass, you need to earn 135,000 Companion Pass qualifying points or fly 100 one-way flights per calendar year on Southwest Airlines, which must be earned and posted to your Rapid Rewards account.

However, if you hold a Southwest credit card, you'll receive a "boost" of 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points each year. You won't actually receive 10,000 redeemable points — this benefit effectively reduces the number of points you must collect to 125,000. You'll receive just one boost per year, even if you have multiple Southwest cards.

You can earn qualifying points by:

• Booking flights
• Earning points issued on Southwest Rapid Rewards credit cards
• Earning points from Rapid Rewards partners

You won't earn qualifying points for the following:

• Purchased points
• Points transferred between Rapid Rewards members
• Points transferred from Chase Ultimate Rewards®
• Points converted from hotel and car loyalty programs
• Points converted from e-Rewards, e-Miles, Valued Opinions, and Diners Club
• Points earned from Rapid Rewards program enrollment
• Tier bonus points
• Flight bonus points
• Partner bonus points

Earn the Southwest Companion Pass With Credit Cards

If you're flying to earn the Companion Pass, you're doing it the hard way. You can more easily earn it with Southwest credit cards, as their welcome bonus offers and points earned from spending count toward the qualifying points you need. All three personal credit cards currently offer Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card: 

• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card

Southwest personal credit cards often have bonuses of at least 40,000 points. You can easily get the Companion Pass by earning a bonus from one of these personal cards and one from a Southwest business credit card.

Here's what the two Southwest business cards are currently offering:

• Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card — Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card
• Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card — Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card

How to earn the remaining points you need for the Companion Pass

If you only open one Southwest card, you'll be short points for earning a Companion Pass. To earn the remaining points, there are a few strategies:

• Use the Southwest card for your everyday spending and all other bills and expenses — and boost your earning even more by making online purchases through the Southwest shopping portal.
• Fly Southwest, where you'll earn between 6 and 12 points per dollar, depending on the fare type.
• Book hotels through Southwest Hotels (in partnership with Booking.com)
• Rent a car through Southwest Book a Car
• Sign-up for Rapid Rewards Dining and eat out at participating restaurants

Personal Southwest credit cards

Each card comes with different perks and annual fees. Here's a comparison of the three Southwest personal cards:

Southwest business credit cards

Here's a side-by-side comparison of the two business credit cards:

How to Use the Southwest Companion Pass

As a Companion Pass holder, you can book your flight to your desired destination using cash or points. Once your flight is confirmed, you can add a second passenger (your companion) for the same flight online or by phone. There's no limit to the number of flights you can use the Companion Pass on.

Designate your Southwest companion

Before you start scouring the site for flights, you must first designate who your companion will be. To do so, log onto your Rapid Rewards account at Southwest. On your Snapshot tab, click Choose Your Companion. Then, enter the information about your companion and follow the instructions until the process is complete. A Companion Pass member kit and membership card will arrive within 10 business days.

Don't worry — you don't need to wait for your Companion Pass member kit to come in the mail before you start booking tickets. In fact, you don't really need it at all.

Add your companion to a reservation

Once your flight is booked, visit the My Trips section of your account. Find your flight in the section titled "Upcoming" and click on the "Add Companion" link. Here, click "Continue" to proceed to the next step where you can purchase your companion fare and review the information. Once you hit the "Purchase" button to complete your booking reservation, you're all set.

You can also book via phone and notify the customer service representative that you will be using a Companion Pass.

Who can I designate as my companion?

While the Companion Pass is good for only one companion, you can change who your companion is up to three times per year. Choose someone you travel with frequently, such as a spouse, friend, or family member.

How to change your designated companion

You cannot switch your companion online yourself; instead, you need to speak with Southwest directly at 800-435-9792. The process is straightforward — a customer representative will take the information about your new designated companion and make the switch for you.

Note that until your trips with your current companion are complete, you will not be able to book a new flight with your newly designated companion. For example, if you're traveling to New York with your sister in August, but want to fly to Los Angeles with your spouse in September, you will not be able to add your spouse as your companion until your trip in August is completed.

One workaround to this is that you can still book a flight for yourself and then add your companion after flying the last leg of your previous trip (in this case the August trip) as long as there is still a seat available on the flight. If you use points and need to cancel for any reason, all of your points will be restored to your account.

Southwest Companion Pass Timing

If you decide you want to earn the Companion Pass, you need to plan out the timing just right. If you're going through the work of getting a pass, then you should maximize the amount of time you have to use it. 

The pass will be good as soon as you earn it and for the rest of the year. Additionally, it will be valid for the entire year that follows. For example, if you earn the Companion Pass in 2023, it will expire at the end of December 2024. That means:

• If you earn it in November 2023, you will only be able to use it for a little over a year.
• If you earn it in February 2024, you will be able to use it for nearly two years (because it will be good for all of 2024 and 2025)

With this in mind, the best time to start planning to get the Companion Pass is toward the end of a calendar year or very early in the new year.

What Is a Southwest Companion Pass Worth?

Southwest is largely a domestic airline, but it serves many fun destinations like Mexico, Aruba, the Bahamas, Hawaii, and Costa Rica. The value you'll get from the Southwest Companion Pass depends entirely on how often you and your travel companion fly Southwest. You could easily save many thousands of dollars with this perk.

In general, Southwest points are worth 1.4 cents each toward flights, on average, based on Insider's current points and miles valuations. But the Companion Pass can effectively double the value of your points.

Once you've successfully earned the 125,000 points necessary to qualify for the Companion Pass (again, the qualification is 135,000 points, but Southwest cardholders get a 10,000-mile boost), you'll have enough points for at least $1,750 in Southwest flights (125,000 points x 1.4 cents each). The Companion Pass allows you to bring along another person for just the cost of taxes and fees, meaning you could potentially get $3,500 in flights ($1,750 x 2) just from the points you earned to qualify for the pass.

Southwest Companion Pass Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Is the Southwest Companion Pass worth it?

The Southwest Companion Pass is absolutely worth it because it isn't that difficult to earn — and the payoff is immense. Depending on how often you fly Southwest, you and a travel buddy could save thousands of dollars. From powdered sugar beaches to cloud-scraping mountains, Southwest serves breathtaking locations throughout the country — and even a few destinations beyond, such as Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America. The fact that you can bring a companion for free makes the airline even more appealing.

How does the Southwest Companion Pass work?

The Southwest Companion Pass lets you bring a travel buddy every time you fly Southwest for just the cost of taxes and fees. As long as there are two available seats on your flight, you can bring along a friend or family member on paid or award tickets. Even if you fly Southwest multiple times per day, your companion can accompany you.

Can you use Southwest points and the 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?

You can change your companion up to three times each calendar year. In other words, you can assign a companion in 2023 and change three times before 2024. Beginning January 1, 2024, you'll be able to change your companion three more times.