Last chance: Book just 1 Southwest ticket to earn a Southwest Companion Pass

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available.

For a limited time, Southwest Airlines is offering travelers a complimentary Southwest Companion Pass valid for travel from August through October.

Travelers must book a round-trip flight or two one-way tickets by March 27 and redeem for travel by the end of May to take advantage of this offer.

Deal basics

Airlines: Southwest
Routes: Across the Southwest network
How to book: Register for the promo directly through the airline and then book travel
Travel dates: Travel by May 22 and use the Companion Pass between Aug. 5 and Oct. 2
Book by: Travel must be booked by March 27

To take advantage of this deal, log into your Southwest Rapid Rewards account using this link before booking travel as you would normally.

As mentioned above, this deal requires you to book and travel before receiving the Companion Pass for your companion. The pass could be for a friend, family member or random person off the street — wouldn't that be a good reality show?

If you are unfamiliar with how the Companion Pass works, passholders can essentially use it to bring a travel companion to accompany them on flights for nearly free. Holders of the Southwest Companion Pass can use the pass as many times as they want until it expires; this means your companion could come with you for just the cost of taxes and fees. The pass can be used for award tickets as well, allowing you to redeem Southwest Rapid Rewards points for yourself and bring your companion without using additional points.

When using this pass, travelers can change which companion they use the pass on three times over a calendar year; in the case of this promo, this amounts to four different people over the specified time frame of two months.

Under regular circumstances, you can earn Southwest's Companion Pass by accruing 135,000 qualifying points or taking 100 qualifying one-way flights in a calendar year. This can be expedited by opening one of the five Southwest credit cards with varying sign-up bonuses, as these points count toward the Southwest Companion Pass.

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Lastly, remember that Companion Pass fares do not include $5.60 in taxes and fees one-way and are not valid on award bookings with Rapid Rewards points.

Maximize your purchase

To book Southwest flights and earn points toward a Southwest Companion Pass, use:

• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card (see rates and fees): 2 points per dollar spent on Southwest purchases
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card (see rates and fees): 4 points per dollar spent on Southwest purchases
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card: 3 points per dollar spent on Southwest purchases

The information for the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Bottom line

This is a good deal for frequent Southwest flyers who have not been able to traditionally earn a Southwest Companion Pass and want to try it out. Be sure to book travel by Wednesday, March 27.

Related reading:

• How to quickly earn the Southwest Companion Pass
• Quick Points: Fly with a friend for almost free with the Southwest Companion Pass
• 15 lessons from 15 years of having the Southwest Companion Pass
• I vastly overestimated the value of a Southwest Companion Pass