Act fast: Earn the Southwest Companion Pass by flying to Hawaii

Southwest Airlines is celebrating five years of service in Hawaii with a special promotion: Rapid Rewards members can now earn a valuable Companion Pass by taking just one round-trip flight to Hawaii this summer.

To qualify, you must:

• Be a Rapid Rewards member (you can create an account for free).
• Register for the promotion and purchase qualifying revenue travel (one round-trip or two one-way qualifying flights between the U.S. mainland and Hawaii) by Friday. You can pay for your flight(s) using cash or Southwest's new Cash + Points option, but flights booked solely with points will not qualify.
• Fly between June 1 and July 31. To qualify, flights must be flown by the same member.

You can choose from five airports in Hawaii that Southwest serves:

• Hilo International Airport (ITO), island of Hawaii
• Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole (KOA), island of Hawaii
• Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL), Oahu
• Kahului Airport (OGG), Maui
• Lihue Airport (LIH), Kauai

After meeting the criteria — and unwinding on a Hawaiian beach — you'll receive a promotional Companion Pass valid from Oct. 5 to Nov. 15.

Related: How to quickly earn the Southwest Companion Pass

Southwest's Companion Pass is popular among travelers because it lets you bring one person on every trip for next to nothing — you just have to pay taxes and fees (starting at $5.60 one-way). This applies to both paid and award tickets to anywhere Southwest services, including the U.S., Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. You can bring your companion along on as many trips as you want for the life of the pass.

To take advantage of your Companion Pass, first designate a companion in your Rapid Rewards account. Then, after booking your own flight using cash, points or both, go to the My Trips section of your account and follow the steps to book your companion's ticket.

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Note that you can only change your designated Southwest companion up to three times per calendar year.

Normally, you must fly 100 qualifying one-way flights or earn 135,000 qualifying Rapid Rewards points in a calendar year to earn a Companion Pass. The pass is valid for the remainder of the year in which you earned it, plus the following full calendar year.

But there are ways to snag a Companion Pass faster. Southwest occasionally runs promotions like this one, allowing even the most casual Southwest flyers to earn a Companion Pass that's valid for a shorter length of time. We've also seen cobranded Southwest credit cards offer limited-time Companion Passes.

With the current Hawaii promotion, now is a great time to plan a getaway to the Aloha State — and earn a Companion Pass to save on travel this fall.

Related reading:

• Southwest baggage fees and how to avoid paying them
• Airlines that offer you a credit if the price of airfare drops
• Comparing the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority, Premier and Plus credit cards
• How to snag the best seats on Southwest Airlines