• Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
Live and Let's Fly
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
Home » Southwest Airlines » Southwest Companion Pass Is On The Way
Family TravelSouthwest Airlines

Southwest Companion Pass Is On The Way

Carly Stewart Posted onJanuary 14, 2018January 14, 2018 3 Comments

My husband has held the Southwest Airlines Companion Pass before and we missed it once it expired. When the opportunity came up to get it again early in the year, I jumped at the chance.

Previous Experience

A few years ago our family had the Companion Pass under my husband’s Southwest account. We took full advantage of this benefit and made numerous trips to visit family in Florida and went on holidays in the Caribbean. Our Companion Pass expired at the end of 2016 and we decided that this time I would apply for the cards next, but as we were both also applying for the Chase Sapphire Reserve in 2017, the 5/24 rule came in to play and the Southwest cards would have to wait.

Now Is The Perfect Time

This is a great time to go for the Companion Pass because of how early it is in the year. The pass is valid for the rest of 2018 and all of 2019, meaning you can really maximize your pass over the next two years. In addition, there is very little work that will need to be done to earn yourself a Companion Pass.

Right now the sign up bonuses for the cards are enough to get you there once you hit the spending requirements.

For clarity, LiveAndLetsFly.com does not sell credit cards. Our writers use them like many of our readers for travel advantages, but we do not make a commission. As such, links direct to Chase/Southwest which pay no one. If you have a favorite travel blogger that offers cards, consider using their link.

For instance, both the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Card and the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Card have a bonus of 50,000 points when you hit $2,000 in spend in the first three months, while the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Card bonus is 60,000 points after $3,000 in spend in the first three months. With one personal card and one business card bonus, you’ve hit the required 110,000 points needed for the Companion Pass.

The Best Deal in Domestic Travel (and Caribbean)

These cards hold great value not just for the Companion Pass, but also the points. When shopping flights to Florida or the Caribbean, Southwest is rarely on my radar. Now with the points and the pass, it will likely make the most sense for us over the next couple of years. You can also book an expensive ticket far in advance, wait for a sale to hit and then refund the points back into your account. In the past we have also snagged vouchers due to over-booked flights while traveling on points and Companion Pass- a great deal for us, but may not happen again on Southwest Airlines.

More beach, less snow.
More beach, less snow.

Southwest Has a Good Product

Southwest flies direct to a lot of places we want to go and direct flights are a real plus. The onboard entertainment options make Lucy happy and they are simple to use. The seats are comfortable, beverage service is fast and you don’t have to worry about baggage fees though we rarely check luggage. We have also encountered some really great Flight Attendants on Southwest. You’ve probably seen them going viral on YouTube with a sassy safety demo or corny jokes- our flights have also been full of happy, smiling crew members. Generally speaking, Southwest is an easy and pleasant experience.

Where Will We Go?

More flights on Southwest means maximizing our Companion Pass and points over the next two years. With that said, I am looking ahead at which destinations will make our list. I would like to visit Belize, Grand Cayman, and Cabo. I am also eager to get back to some places we really loved, like Costa Rica. We used our previous pass and points to go to Jamaica, but didn’t have a very good experience at the Holiday Inn Resort Montego Bay. However, with Companion Pass again, we might give Jamaica another try and check out the Hilton or the Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall.

Southwest Route Map
Southwest Route Map

I would also like to see Puerto Rico and perhaps Havana if we can find the right route.

Havana is still on our radar
Havana is still on our radar

“Freedom” Pass

Companion Pass for our family is more than just the free passenger. The points we earn along the way empower us to travel freely as we want, with very little cost. It also frees us from using our American and United points (which are better used on long haul international itineraries) on flights that can be booked with Southwest at a serious discount. This pass makes traveling in advance or on a whim easy.

Do you have the Companion Pass? Where would you go with a pile of points and a companion flying for free?

Get Daily Updates

Join our mailing list for a daily summary of posts! We never sell your info.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Previous Article Terrible Panama City Airport Taxi Touts
Next Article Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: January 14, 2018

About Author

Carly Stewart

Carly is a freelance travel writer that takes her daughter Lucy along on her journeys, stamping passports and making memories. She has contributed to Huffington Post, MapHappy, Travel Codex and PenandPassport.com. You can also find her over-sharing photos of Lucy on Instagram by following @LucyGoesTo and @AnotherBabyMaybe.

Related Posts

  • PLAY Airlines Iceland

    Southwest’s (Possible) European Expansion Another Misstep

    June 22, 2025
  • American Airlines Q1 2025

    American Airlines Makes Good On Loyalty Points Data Snafu

    June 8, 2025
  • Delta orlando

    Delta’s Play In Orlando—New Focus City Strategy Emerging?

    June 1, 2025

3 Comments

  1. Mitch Cumstein Reply
    January 14, 2018 at 11:04 pm

    From a private suite in Swiss First to a Southwest companion pass. Poor Augustine!!

    • Matt Reply
      January 15, 2018 at 8:18 am

      more than one author on this site, richard noggin

    • Matthew Reply
      January 15, 2018 at 9:06 am

      @Mitch: While I’m sure Augustine could survive just fine on Southwest, this is Carly’s post, not mine.

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Search

Hot Deals for July

Note: Please see my Advertiser Disclosure

Capital One Venture X Business Card
Earn 150,000 Miles Sign Up Bonus
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Earn 100,000 Points
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Earn 75,000 Miles!
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Earn 75,000 Miles
Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
Earn $750 Cash Back
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Earn 120,000 Membership Reward® Points

Recent Posts

  • rows of seats with monitors on them
    Review: Virgin Atlantic A350-1000 Economy Class July 5, 2025
  • Smoked Salmon SAS
    Yum: Birch-Smoked Norwegian Salmon On SAS July 5, 2025
  • Air France-KLM majority owner SAS
    Air France-KLM Set To Become Majority Owner Of SAS July 4, 2025
  • Model Dumped Business Class Boyfriend
    Business Class Or Bust: Model Refuses To Fly Coach, Gets Dumped July 4, 2025

Categories

Popular Posts

  • Qatar Airways Economy Class Breakfast
    Economy Class Breakfast On Qatar Airways June 7, 2025
  • Favorite Airline Commercials
    My 10 Favorite Airline Commercials June 15, 2025
  • a blue passport on a black surface
    All The Patriotic Quotes In Your U.S. Passport July 4, 2025
  • Israel Flight Cancellations
    Major Carriers Extend Flight Cancellations To Israel: Here’s The List June 6, 2025

Archives

July 2025
M T W T F S S
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031  
« Jun    

As seen on:

facebook twitter instagram rss
Privacy Policy © Live and Let's Fly All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Live and Let's Fly with appropriate and specific directions to the original content.