(EXPIRED) Potentially good (but convoluted) Southwest Companion Pass promo

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Southwest is out with another Companion Pass promotion. This latest offer has the potential to be useful, but it’s set up in a somewhat convoluted way and the value you can eke out of it will likely be limited seeing as it’ll only be valid for two months of travel later this year.

Most importantly, you’ll have to be quick to redeem this offer as you have to register and book your flights by tomorrow (Wednesday).

Southwest Companion Pass promo

The Deal

Key Terms

  • Register for this promotion, then book one round trip or two one-way qualifying Southwest flights between 8:00 a.m. Central Time (CT) on March 25, 2024 and 11:59 p.m. CT on March 27, 2024 (the “Promotion Period”) for travel from March 25, 2024 to May 22, 2024 (the “Travel Period”), and fly during the Travel Period to earn a promotional Companion Pass valid for use between August 5, 2024 and October 2, 2024.
  • To register for this promotion, you will need to provide your Southwest Rapid Rewards account number at the time of registration. If you do not have a Rapid Rewards account number, you may register for an account by going online to Southwest.com/rapidrewards to become a Member. Rapid Rewards accounts are free.
  • Member must register for this promotion, book one round trip or two one-way qualifying Southwest flights during the Promotion Period for travel during the Travel Period, and fly during the Travel Period.
  • Registration must be completed prior to booking and commencement of travel.
  • Valid on new qualifying revenue flights booked during the Promotion Period for travel during the Travel Period and flown within the Travel Period.
  • Member’s qualifying flight must be booked through Southwest Airlines during the Promotion Period for travel that must be completed during the Travel Period.
  • Member’s Rapid Rewards account number must be entered at the time of booking Member’s qualifying flight to earn a promotional Companion Pass valid for use between August 5, 2024 and October 2, 2024.
  • A qualifying one-way flight for this promotion is a one-way revenue flight on Southwest Airlines from an origin city to a destination city, including any intermediate stops and/or connections on Southwest Airlines.
  • A qualifying round trip flight for this promotion is a round trip revenue flight on Southwest Airlines from an origin city to a destination city and back to the originating airport or carrier-recognized co-terminal.
  • Valid on new reservations booked within the Promotion Period for travel during the Travel Period only.
  • Travel booked or flown prior to registration for this promotion is not eligible for this promotional Companion Pass offer.
  • Companion Pass, charter flights, reward and group travel, and Southwest Vacations packages do not qualify as one-way or round trip revenue flights for this promotion.
  • Changes made to any itinerary after purchase of a one-way or round trip revenue flight may eliminate qualification for this promotion.
  • The promotional Companion Pass is valid from August 5, 2024 and October 2, 2024 and allows you to designate one person to fly with you, free of airline charges (does not include taxes and fees from $5.60 one-way) on flights purchased by you, booked through Southwest, and completed between August 5, 2024 and October 2, 2024.
  • No Rapid Rewards points or tier or Companion Pass qualifying points will be awarded for flights taken by the Companion when flying on a promotional Companion Pass or Companion Pass reservation.
  • You may change your designated Companion up to three times while you have promotional Companion Pass.
  • If you earn Companion Pass in 2024 by earning 135,000 Companion Pass qualifying points or flying 100 qualifying flights, any changes to your designated Companion during the time you have a promotional Companion Pass will reduce the number of changes you can make to your designated Companion in the 2024 calendar year. For example, if you earn a promotional Companion Pass through this promotion, change your designated Companion twice during the validity period for promotional Companion Pass, and later in 2024 earn Companion Pass, you would only be able to change your designated Companion one more time in 2024.
  • Companion Pass is nontransferable.

Quick Thoughts

The description of the offer listed in ‘The Deal’ section above is the abridged version. The full terms are listed below that in the ‘Key Terms’ section, but here’s a somewhat concise description of this offer:

  • Register for the promotion by March 27, 2024
  • After registering, book two one-way flights or one round-trip flight by March 27, 2024
  • That travel has to take place by May 22, 2024
  • You’ll then earn a Companion Pass that’s valid for travel from August 5-October 2, 2024

It’s particularly important to take the steps in that order because if you book travel before registering, those flights won’t be valid for the purposes of this offer. Also be sure to note that only revenue flights are eligible for the travel needed to qualify for the Companion Pass – flights booked with Rapid Rewards points won’t count. Once you have the Companion Pass though, you can book award flights and get the free flight for your friend/family member.

As for how good this offer is, that’ll depend on if you already needed to travel before May 22 and if you’re planning on traveling with at least one other person during the ~8 week period that the Companion Pass will be valid for later this year. If the stars align, you could get some decent value out of it. However, if you only anticipate using the Companion Pass once during the period it’s eligible for, it might not be worth booking two one-way flights or  a round-trip journey just for the sake of getting the Companion Pass.

One aspect of the promotion that could make the Companion Pass more valuable is that you can change your Companion at least three times. That’s the standard setup for a regular Companion Pass, but it’s nice that the policy is being extended to people who only get the pass for a couple of months. If you’re planning travel with a few different people in late summer/early fall, changing your companion could help you get more value out of it.

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Lisa

Don’t understand when it says we can designate our companion on Aug 5. Does that mean I have to wait to book their ticket after Aug. 5th?

GoBucketYourself Chris

Oddly enough, this one will work for me organically. I think this happened a couple of years ago when they had a similar promotion but I had to do a little bit of flexing to fully benefit from it.

Frank

What if I register today and speculatively buy a return flight for mid-May, then change the flight to a different date and or destination and then fly … would that work? Of course I could just cancel it with no impact anyway.

Frank

Ah, thanks.