Southwest Is Letting You Fly a Friend Free This Winter
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Planning a winter trip? Southwest just made it a lot cheaper to bring someone along.
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The airline brought back its limited time Companion Pass promotion, and this one is about as easy as they come. Book a single qualifying trip in the next few days, and you unlock the ability to fly a plus one for free during a two month window early next year. Not a discount. Not a points redemption. Your companion actually flies free, and they only cover taxes and fees that start around $5.60 each way.
Here's the catch that makes this one urgent: the booking window closes Thursday, August 6.
How the Companion Pass works
You designate one person as your companion. It can be your partner, your kid, your best friend, whoever you want. Then every single time you fly Southwest during the promotional pass window, that person flies with you for free on the same flight, as long as there's a seat available.
It works whether you pay with cash, Rapid Rewards points, or Cash + Points. There's no limit on how many times you can use it during the window. All you cover for your companion is the taxes and fees, which start at about $5.60 each way.
There's a good reason this promo is worth paying attention to. Normally you'd earn a Companion Pass by flying 100 qualifying one-way flights or racking up 135,000 qualifying points in a calendar year. This version hands you a promotional pass for booking one trip.
The fine print worth knowing
A few details that matter before you jump in:
- Register before you book. If you book first, it does not count.
- All four fare types qualify this time, including Basic Economy, which was left out of last August's version of this promo.
- Existing reservations don't qualify. It has to be a new booking made during the promo window.
- A connection still counts as one one-way flight, not two.
- Changes made after August 6 may wipe out your eligibility, so don't plan on repricing or shifting these tickets around.
- Companion Pass, charter, group, and Getaways by Southwest travel doesn't qualify.
You can change your designated companion up to three times during the pass period. Just know those changes count against your 2027 allowance if you later earn a regular Companion Pass that year.
Is it worth it?
The value comes down to whether you can actually use the pass during its window.
It's valid January 5 through March 3, 2027, which gives you just under two months. That's a quieter stretch of the travel calendar, so flexibility helps you get the most out of it.
If you already had a Southwest trip in mind for that window, a long weekend, a getaway, or a visit to family, this turns two tickets into one. And if you were about to book a fall Southwest flight anyway, this is close to free money. Register, book the qualifying trip, and you've earned something valuable for almost nothing.
The one thing I wouldn't do is book an expensive trip you don't need just to qualify, unless you're confident the companion travel will be worth more than the fare.
The Deal
Book one qualifying round trip, or two qualifying one-way Southwest flights, and earn a promotional Companion Pass:
- Register, then book by 11:59 p.m. Central on August 6, 2026
- Complete your qualifying travel by November 18, 2026
- Companion Pass is valid January 5 through March 3, 2027
How to get it: Register for the promotion at Southwest.com first, then book your qualifying round trip or two one-way flights before the Thursday, August 6 deadline. Fly by November 18, and your companion flies free with you all winter.
Lock in your Companion Pass and Book your Travel
