Southwest Companion Pass 2024 Promo Offer: BOGO Flights For a Year
This offer has now ended.
A limited time promo makes the Southwest Companion pass easy to earn with one credit card sign up bonus. Spend $4,000 within three months to earn a promotional Companion Pass that will get you BOGO travel through February 28, 2025.
What Is a Southwest Companion Pass?
A Southwest Companion Pass lets you name a person as your companion. Then they can fly with you anytime you fly and only pay about $5 in fees each way. (International flights will have higher taxes). These BOGO flights last for as long as you hold a Southwest Companion Pass — there is no limit on number of flights!
You can also change your companion 3 times per year.
Traditionally, you need to earn 135,000 Rapid Rewards points in a calendar year to earn a Companion Pass. But for this promotion, you can earn a promotional pass with just one credit card offer.
Since earning our first companion pass in 2015, we have exclusively traveled on Southwest for domestic flights. For much of that time, my husband and I EACH held a companion pass. That means both of our kids were flying domestically for $5 each!
Southwest Airlines’ Companion Pass Promotion 2024
Instead of earning 135,000 in a calendar year, you can earn a promotional pass with any of the Southwest personal credit card welcome offers.
With these offers, you will have to spend $4,000 in three months. You will then earn 30,000 bonus points as well as a promotional companion pass that is valid through February 28, 2024.
You can use that Companion Pass as many times as you want during that period. All travel has to take place before February 28, 2025.
Promo Q&As
Q: If I do this promo, will I have to wait until 2026 to get the Companion Pass again?
A: You can only get a bonus on a Southwest personal card every 24 months, so if you open a card for this promo you will not be able to open any Southwest personal card until 2026 (24 months after you earn this offer). However, you can use one of our other Companion Pass tricks (2 business cards or 1 business card with referral bonuses) to extend your promotional Companion pass or earn it again.
Q: What if I’m in the process of earning a Companion Pass?
A: It may be trickier if you need the previous 50,000 point offer to earn your Companion Pass through 2024. The end date on this promo is not currently listed but last year was March 13, 2023, so you can wait until mid March, or email me at katie@katiestraveltricks.com — I have a few referral links to the previous 50,000 point offer.
Q: Can you do this with a personal card this year and a business card next year?
A: This specific offer is only available for personal cards and will use up your one Southwest personal card every 24 months.
Q: How can I apply for this offer?
A: If your spouse or partner has a Southwest card, they may be able to generate a referral link from Chase. If you don’t know anyone with a referral link, we’d appreciate if you apply through one of our affiliate links found in this article.
Q: Is it better to do this offer than earn the regular Companion Pass?
A: Earning a Companion Pass using one of our tricks will get you more points and a Companion Pass for a longer period of time. But that doesn’t mean this promo isn’t a good offer for you! This is a great way to get it sooner. After earning this promo pass, you could also open another Southwest card to get the rest of the way to 135,000 points.
Q: Can I use this promo + a business card to earn a Companion Pass through 2025?
A: Yes! If you get this offer and then open a Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card, you will be about 6,000 points short after accounting for bonuses and spending. You will have until December 31, 2024 to earn those points, which you could get by spending, flying revenue flights, or referrals. I’d also suggest looking at Rapid Rewards Shopping, as you can often get miles for offers like trying out Blue Apron.
Am I eligible?
Under 5/24
You also need to qualify under Chase’s unofficial “5/24 rule” which means you need to have opened fewer than 5 credit cards (from any issuer) in the past 24 months.
Not a Current Cardmember of a Southwest Personal Card
You also won’t be able to apply for these cards if you are a current cardmember who has a Southwest personal credit card. If you have been holding a Southwest personal card for more than 24 months, you can cancel it and reapply for this offer after waiting 7-21 days. Make sure your balance has been fully paid when you go to cancel your card, or your waiting period might be longer.
Have Not Earned a Bonus on a Southwest Card in 24 months
You are only allowed to earn a bonus on 1 personal Southwest card per 24 months. If you earned a bonus more than 24 months ago, you can apply.
Which Southwest card is best?
Here are all your card options. If you’re interested in applying for one of these cards, please use my affiliate links as it helps support my site and doesn’t cost you anything!
I think the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card offers the best value by far, even though it has the highest annual fee. The $149 annual fee effectively drops to $74 after the $75 annual statement credit. The Southwest.com statement credit is extremely easy to redeem, you can even buy $75 of Southwest Giftcards on their website each year and the credit comes off on my statement automatically. You could also use it for taxes and fees or in-flight food and beverages.
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card also offers 4 upgraded boardings (instead of the 2 early bird check ins) and more points on your card anniversary.
credit card
welcome offer:
50,000 points
Learn more > Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee:
$149
credit card
welcome offer:
50,000 points
Learn more > Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee:
$69
More on Companion Passes
The traditional trick to earn a Southwest Companion Pass involves opening one business and one personal Southwest credit card. You’ll earn more points and have the Companion Pass for longer if you earn it the traditional way. You can read more in my detailed guide. This promotional pass is a great option for people who don’t have a side hustle or small business.
Designating your Companion
Once you earn a Companion Pass, you will receive an email from Southwest will invite you to designate your companion. When you log into your account, you should also be prompted to designate a person.
Keep in mind, you can change your companion 3 times in a calendar year, so you do have some flexibility. But after the 3rd change, your companion will be locked onto that person.
After designating your companion, you will also receive a physical card in the mail that says “Companion Pass” with your companion’s name. We have always just stuck this in a drawer and never looked at it again. We’ve never needed it.
How to Book with a Companion Pass
If you already have a flight booked, you can now add your companion to it. You can always do this over the phone if you want to. Or generally it can be done online. Log into your account and find your booking. You should see a link to “Add Companion” to your reservation. The reservation screen is very similar to booking a regular ticket.
You always have to book your flight and then add your companion separately. You can use your Rapid Rewards points to book more than one ticket. So if you are a family of 4 with one companion pass, you can book 3 tickets together from one Rapid Rewards account and then add the companion. You and your companion will also always have separate reservation numbers so it is an extra step on check-in. You will need to check in separately.
We love that Southwest doesn’t charge change fees and will just deposit your miles back into your account as long as you cancel at least 10 minutes before your flight leaves!
Occasionally we have run into problems with adding a companion to our reservation.Sometimes because we have 2 companion passes, we need to call in to add the 2nd companion because the screens error out and tell us we already have added a companion to the reservation. Sometimes if we want to change a reservation and have already added our companion to the reservation, we need to call in to do so. Southwest customer service is always helpful and friendly so really, don’t be afraid to call and ask for help!
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Hi,
If I use this promo + a business card to earn a Companion Pass through 2025, will I have 2 companion passes under my name until the end of Feb 2024 and then just 1 until the end of 2024? Or just 1 the whole time? Thanks!
Sarah
In the offer where you have 3 months to charge the 4,000…what if I charge that amount in one month? Does it get me the card quicker? or do I have to wait the three months?
I would like to earn a companion pass that is good for 2 years–or better than the ones for an year. Where do I find that?
Thank you love your tips Kaitie!