Does Southwest Companion Pass Reset Every Year?

Do you get a Companion Pass every year? The Southwest Companion Pass is an incredible travel bonus that allows you to bring a friend or family member on any Southwest flight you take for almost nothing.

With this benefit, you can bring along a companion on any Southwest flight without paying extra.

Now, let’s get into the details to understand if you can get a companion pass every year, who qualifies for it, and the key things you need to know about the companion pass.

Do You Get a Companion Pass Every Year?

The Southwest Companion Pass lets you bring a friend or family member with you for free on your paid and points/award tickets for up to 2 years.

Once you get the pass, it remains valid until the end of the following calendar year. For example, if you get the Companion Pass in the beginning part of 2024, it stays valid until December 31, 2025.

This benefit allows you to choose one person to fly with you for free on unlimited flights, excluding taxes and fees starting from $5.60 one-way.

If you manage to meet the requirements for earning 135,000 points or completing 100 flights in January of a year, you’ll get the for almost two full years.

This means you can enjoy the benefits of the pass for an extended period until the following year. Southwest Companion Pass resets on January 1st of each year.

Who Can Get a Companion Pass?

To qualify for the Southwest Companion Pass, you need to either fly 100 qualifying one-way flight segments booked through Southwest or earn 135,000 tier qualifying points in a calendar year.

You can earn Companion Pass qualifying points by using your Rapid Rewards Credit Card. You will receive an additional 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points as a Southwest Rapid Rewards Cardholder each calendar year.

While other credit cards may offer discounts for bringing a travel companion, the Southwest Companion Pass stands out because you can use it as many times as you want until it expires.

This means your companion can join you on flights for just the cost of taxes and fees.

It’s even applicable to award tickets, so you can use your Southwest Rapid Rewards points for yourself and bring your companion along without needing extra points.

How Long Can a Companion Pass Last?

The Southwest Companion Pass lasts for the rest of the year it’s earned and the entire following year.

If you get it in the first quarter of the year, you can have the next two years of travel with it. For example, the pass validity is from February 3, 2024, to December 31, 2025, if you get it on February 3, 2024.

The Companion Pass will enable your traveling companion to fly for free to any destination that Southwest flies to, whether it is domestic or international, even to Hawaii.

Nevertheless, you should also remember that the tax and the fees for international flights are usually higher than for domestic ones.

The best time to collect the Companion Pass is in the early stage because it is valid for the rest of the year and all the next year.

You can use your points to book your own Southwest flight and then use the Companion Pass to book your travel partner’s flight, which in essence, gives you two flights for the price of one by using your points and paying taxes and fees.

Tips on Traveling with Your Companion

Here are some tips for traveling with your companion:

1. Make sure to book reservations for both yourself and your companion. You need to book your flight before you can book your companion’s flight.

2. Once you’ve booked your flight, go to the “My Trips” section of your account. Find your upcoming flight and click the “Add Companion” link.

Follow the prompts to review your companion’s information and complete their flight reservation. Keep in mind that a companion’s reservation doesn’t count as a purchased flight, so you can’t book another companion pass reservation from it.

3. If you prefer to book through a customer representative, you can call 1-800-248-4377 and let them know that you’ll be using a Companion Pass. They’ll assist you in booking your companion’s flight.

How Much to Get a Companion Pass Southwest?

You can get 50,000 points when you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first three months after opening your account.

Once you collect a total of 125,000 qualifying points, you’ll earn the Southwest Companion Pass, which lets you bring a companion along on flights for free until December 31, 2025.

Qualifying points reset to zero at the beginning of each calendar year. To get the Companion Pass, you need to earn 125,000 qualifying points within one calendar year.

You can only use Alaska Airlines’ Companion Fare once. It’s different from the Southwest Companion Pass, which lasts for more than a year and allows discounted fares.

The Alaska Companion Fare can be used for one-way, roundtrip, or multi-city flights.

With Rapid Rewards, every seat is available for points redemption, and there are no blackout dates. Points don’t expire.

Anyone, regardless of age, can earn a Companion Pass. You can have one pass and bring one companion. You can’t earn multiple Companion Passes at the same time.

How Do I Check a Southwest Pass?

To check your progress towards earning Tier status and the Companion Pass, log into your account.

Go to the My Account section and select the Rapid Rewards tab if you’re using a desktop, or scroll down to the My Rapid Rewards section if you’re using a mobile device or the Southwest app.

With the Southwest Companion Pass, you can bring a companion along for just the cost of taxes and fees (usually $5.60 for a one-way domestic ticket) on every flight you take while you have the pass.

You can use it as many times as you want, and it applies to tickets bought with either points or cash.

Remember, you can’t transfer companion tickets. Both the primary ticket and the companion ticket must be purchased using your Delta SkyMiles Reserve or Reserve Business Card and/or eCredits.

There are additional restrictions to consider.

Earning the Southwest Companion Pass can be incredibly valuable, especially if you can earn it early in the year and enjoy nearly two years of free companion travel.

For those who qualify, receiving a generous bonus from a Southwest credit card or two can make earning the Companion Pass much easier than flying solo.