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Southwest has extended the end date for purchasing a ticket. Previously the end date was yesterday (9/24), but now you have through end of day today (9/25) to register and purchase a ticket for travel by 11/15.
Southwest Airlines is out with an amazing promotion: Earn a short-term companion pass with just one purchased flight. You must register and purchase this flight by 9/25 9/24 and fly it by 11/15. Once completed, you’ll get a companion pass where you can add a companion for free to paid or award flights between 1/6/21 and 2/28/21.
Here is how to receive your Promotional Companion Pass:
- Register and purchase a flight by 9/25
9/24(This FridayThursday) - Travel by 11/15
- Companion flies free with you from 1/6-2/28/2021 (Companion will be charged taxes and fees from $5.60 one-way)
Link to register: www.southwest.com/companionpasspromo.
Key info
- Flight required for earning the Companion Pass:
- Register and purchase a flight by 9/25
9/24 - Previously booked flights do not count
- One-way flights are fine
- Flights booked with points do not count
- You must actually fly the purchased flight to qualify and you must complete travel by 11/15.
- Register and purchase a flight by 9/25
- About using the Companion Pass
- Add a companion for free to any number of Southwest flights during the companion travel period: between 1/6/21 and 2/28/21.
- It’s fine to add a companion to a previously booked flight
- You can add a companion to a flight booked with points or with cash
My take
This is an awesome deal! You could pay for a dirt-cheap flight now and then later fly a companion for free anywhere Southwest flies. The companion dates do not include the Christmas holidays, but they do work well for a winter escape (to Hawaii, perhaps?).
For more about the Companion Pass in general (not this promotional companion pass), see: Southwest Airlines Companion Pass 2020 Complete Guide.
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Anyone fly yet? I did about 5 days ago but no companion pass in my account yet.
I’ve booked a random flight to Nashville yesterday, now have another day to cancel and rebook again… Where to go from NYC?
I’ve got the companion cert few years ago and was able to utilize it only once during two years. Now they’ve almost dumped NYC and cant decide where to go before 11/15 for a weekend . Where do you think its the safest from NY non-stop?
I just booked a one-way MDW-LGA on Oct 21 for $45. Seems to be a cheap route at the moment.
Thanks, somehow it wasn’t showing on the initial page (https://www.southwest.com/html/sites/mobile/promotions/nationwide_sale_NonstopConnect_200915.html)
Booked LGA-MDW $ and MDW-LGA on RR points same day mileage run on Oct 24th 🙂 and canceled my yesterday’s booking
They’ve said it’s not going to affect the promo if I cancel the yesterday’s and fly this new booking.
Is using Travel Fund consider purchase flight?
I already had a trip booked to Las Vegas so I just cancelled and re-booked. It cost a little more but worth it for the companion pass.
Wanna Get Away flights count for the qualifying flight? And for the companion flights?
Yes X 2
Maybe this is obvious to many, but I suppose in two player mode you could each sign up & book a one way to fly and then each have a companion pass for these two months? Then you have the flexibility to use points and book two other people as companions if it worked out.
Good idea!
Does anyone know if a minor can hold a SW companion pass?
I searched and saw nothing about an age limit which is strange. Might want to call them up.
Yes. https://community.southwest.com/t5/Rapid-Rewards/Companion-pass-minimum-age-limit/td-p/52591#:~:text=Anyone%20can%20earn%20a%20Companion%20Pass%20-%20there%20is%20no%20age%20limit.
Thanks, Aloha808! Wish I had seen that earlier! I spent an hour on the phone with Southwest yesterday. It took inquiries up a few levels before getting the answer that it should be fine. They all thought it was a GREAT question, but no one really knew the answer! I don’t suppose it comes up often. 🙂
Tempting but tricky! I already have a Southwest flight booked before 11/15, but would have to pay $75 more to rebook in order to qualify. Flying to Hawaii or Mexico from Northern CA (Oakland) sounds tempting during the early winter CP period, but it’s a gamble if I would use it at all (given COVID19, traveling with family during the “school year”). On the other hand, I have so much in Southwest travel credits that it almost seems like funny money to me. Anyone else facing a similar dilemma?
Saw this buried in the T&C – “ Fares not available to/from continental U.S. to/from Hawaii.” Not to be the bearer of bad news but don’t want anybody to get caught by surprise.
I don’t see that. Here are the full terms & conditions of the promo:
Terms & Conditions
Register for this promotion, then book a Southwest® flight from September 22 to 24, 2020 for travel dates from September 22 to November 15, 2020 (the “Promotion Period”), and fly during the Promotion Period to earn a Promotional Companion Pass valid for use between January 6 to February 28, 2021. 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 a Southwest flight between September 22 and September 24, 2020 for travel during the Promotion Period, and fly during the Promotion Period.
Registration must be completed prior to booking and commencement of travel. Valid on new qualifying revenue flights booked between September 22 and 24, 2020 for travel during the Promotion Period and flown within the Promotion Period. Member’s qualifying flight must be booked through Southwest Airlines® between September 22 and September 24, 2020 for travel that must be completed during the Promotion 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 January 6 and February 28, 2021. A qualifying flight is a one-way revenue flight on Southwest Airlines from an origin city to a destination city, including any intermediate stops and/or connections or 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. Travel booked or flown prior to registration for this promotion is not eligible for the Promotional Companion Pass offer. Charter flights, group travel, Southwest Vacations® packages and reservations made using Rapid Rewards points do not qualify for this promotion. Valid on Southwest Airlines published scheduled service. Changes made to the itinerary after purchase may eliminate qualification for promotion.
The Promotional Companion Pass is valid from January 6 to February 28, 2021 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 from January 6 to February 28, 2021, booked through Southwest, and completed between January 6 to February 28, 2021. No 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 2021 by earning 125,000 Companion Pass qualifying points or flying 100 qualifying flights, any changes to your designated Companion during the time you have Promotional Companion Pass will reduce the number of changes you can make to your designated Companion in the 2021 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 2021 earn Companion Pass, you would only be able to change your designated Companion one more time in 2021. Companion Pass is not transferable.
All Rapid Rewards rules and regulations apply and can be found at Southwest.com/rrterms. Southwest® reserves the right to amend, suspend, or change the Rapid Rewards program and/or Rapid Rewards program rules at any time without notice. Rapid Rewards Members do not acquire property rights in accrued points. The number of points needed for a particular Southwest flight is set by Southwest and will vary depending on destination, time, day of travel, demand, fare type, point redemption rate, and other factors, and are subject to change at any time until the booking is confirmed. ©2020 Southwest Airlines Co.
Perfect! I just re-booked a flight coming up soon, paying about $50 more, but should get 2-3 uses from the short-term CP. Thanks, Greg!
If I were to purchase a southwest gift card at an office supply store and purchase a flight would it count.
Yes
Greg, looking for wisdom and experience here. So I do have a 1 stop flight scheduled during the promotional period on United to Mexico. I’d like to break up the outgoing flight and do the first part on Southwest so I can meet the requirements for the promotion. The price of the United flight 2nd leg is comparable to the full flight, so not a concern. HOWEVER, I’ll have 2.5 hours in the connecting city between the arrival on SW and the United flight to Mexico. And this is where I’m not sure if it’s ever a good idea to book flights like this on different airlines. If for some reason SW is delayed, I believe i’ll be screwed, will I not? I’d book SW all the way but way too expensive. My plan though, if all goes well, would work out great. Would you recommend going for it? I don’t have any other flights during the promo period I could take advantage of. Thanks!
The best way to do this IMO (if it’s within the promo period) would be to put the SWA flight as the second leg of the return. And then you can just keep the United flight as is. As long as you don’t check bags, you can simply get off at the connecting airport and get on the Southwest flight.
If it has to be on the outbound flight, there is some risk, yes. If you’re late for the United flight you could try calling United and use the “flat tire” excuse. https://viewfromthewing.com/american-airlines-updates-its-flat-tire-rule-to-help-if-youre-late-to-the-airport/
Interesting suggestion. I do have luggage but my partner is flying with me. So you’re saying I can just get off the United plane in the connecting airport, tell the United I’m not flying the 2nd leg (because they’ll be looking for me) and just go hop on Southwest, while my partner will receive my luggage at destination for me? I haven’t done anything like this, just to confirm, you’re suggesting the United could care less whether I abandon their flight at the connecting airport? Thanks Greg!
They do care (because people sometimes use this to get cheaper flights, it’s called skip-lagging). So you wouldn’t tell them you’re not boarding the plane.
If you have luggage, they’ll probably remove it from the plane (for obvious reasons). It would be better to check all the luggage under your partner’s name if possible.
However, if you’re on the same reservation as your partner and they can’t find you when it’s time for departure they might possibly hassle your partner so they would need a reasonable explanation as to why you’re not boarding.
Thanks for that insight Larry. I don’t want potential hassle at the end of a relaxing trip especially if my partner has to deal with it, so I’ll just go with Plan A and use Greg’s suggested “flat tire” excuse, if I have to. You would think that airlines would work out a deal among themselves to rebook flights free of charge if the customer gets delayed on their competitor’s plane, but perhaps they don’t see it cost effective. Surprising though, because the more uncertainty and data you introduce, in this case delay statistics and possible routes by multiples airlines, the larger the space of products you can explore, the more room for creativity to provide more competitive products. If I knew my data scientists are better than theirs, I would welcome policies like that, and obviously better for the customers.
Nice deal. Now I just need to find a companion.
Too bad you didn’t do the 150K Match.com offer the way Travel with Grant did: https://travelwithgrant.boardingarea.com/2019/01/17/quick-update-regarding-the-old-150x-british-airways-avios-match-com-promo/
Hello Greg, Thank you for the information. Do you know if I can cancel an existing flight and rebook to qualify for this promotion? My existing flight is departing within the window to fly (11/2).
Yes, that would be fine. Just make sure that the price hasn’t increased much before you do.
Thank you!
If I were to purchase a southwest gift card at an office supply store and purchase a flight would it count.
Yes