Tip: You Can Change Your Companion up to 3 Times per Year
With the Southwest Companion Pass, you can bring a friend, family member or anyone else you deem worthy along with you on any flight (revenue or award) for free. Essentially, you get two tickets for the price of one — though you do need to pay taxes on the second one. And one of the lesser-known details about the perk, which is mentioned in the small print, actually works to your advantage — you can change your companion up to three times per calendar year.
Having the flexibility to change your companion is huge. If you're eligible for the Companion Pass, you can go to My Account on the Southwest website to designate your companion. From there, go to the My Rapid Rewards section and click Snapshot. If you're eligible to add a companion, there will be an Enter Companion Info section. If you're looking to change your companion, however, you'll need to call Southwest at 1-800-435-9792.
Being able to change your designated companion three times per calendar year becomes even sweeter when you consider that the Companion Pass can be valid for two years. Once you've qualified for the pass, you'll have it for the remainder of the year in which you earned it in addition to the entire following year. In all, you could change your companion up to six times for the duration of your Companion Pass status. Keep in mind that Southwest says it could take 21 business days for processing when you change your companion, and you must cancel any flight with your previous companion before calling to change it.
You can still qualify for the Companion Pass in a number of ways. Through March 31, 2017, Southwest is allowing Rapid Rewards members to transfer hotel points to reach Companion Pass qualification. As always, it's best to qualify toward the beginning of the year so you have more time to take advantage.
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