{"id":52519,"date":"2026-08-03T16:10:03","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T16:10:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/?p=52519"},"modified":"2026-08-07T08:56:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T08:56:31","slug":"companion-pass-promotion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/news\/southwest-rapid-rewards\/companion-pass-promotion\/","title":{"rendered":"Earn a Southwest Companion Pass With Just One Round-Trip (Or Two One-Way Flights)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><em>Update: The registration and booking window closed on August 6, 2026. Eligible travel must be completed by November 18, 2026.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Southwest Airlines just launched another promotion offering a shortcut to a <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/airlines\/southwest-rapid-rewards\/how-to-earn-southwest-companion-pass\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Southwest Companion Pass<\/a>. However, you'll need to act quickly: The registration and booking window lasts just four days.<\/p>\n<p>Rapid Rewards members can earn a temporary Companion Pass after completing one eligible round trip or two one-way flights. You must <strong>register and book by August 6, 2026<\/strong>, then complete your qualifying travel by November 18, 2026. If successful, you\u2019ll earn a promotional Companion Pass valid for travel from <strong>January 5 through March 3, 2027<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what you need to know about this Southwest promotional Companion Pass offer.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Earn_a_Southwest_Promotional_Companion_Pass_After_One_Round_Trip\">Earn a Southwest Promotional Companion Pass After One Round Trip<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>To earn this promotional Companion Pass, Rapid Rewards members must:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.southwest.com\/loyalty\/myaccount\/promotion-detail?id=2-5M6OM4UA\" rel=\"noopener\">Register for the promotion<\/a> before booking.<\/li>\n<li>Book one qualifying round trip or two qualifying one-way Southwest flights by<strong>\u00a011:59 p.m. Central Time on August 6, 2026<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Complete the qualifying travel between <strong>August 3 and November 18, 2026<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you meet these requirements, you\u2019ll receive a temporary Companion Pass valid from <strong>January 5 through March 3, 2027<\/strong>. During that period, you can designate one person to accompany you on qualifying Southwest flights for only the cost of taxes and fees, which start at $5.60 each way.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_272620\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-aspectratio=\"900\/474\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-272620 size-large lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Southwest-Companion-Pass-promo-August-2026-900x474.png\" alt=\"Southwest Companion Pass promotion details\" width=\"900\" height=\"474\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Southwest-Companion-Pass-promo-August-2026-900x474.png 900w, https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Southwest-Companion-Pass-promo-August-2026-750x395.png 750w, https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Southwest-Companion-Pass-promo-August-2026-768x404.png 768w, https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Southwest-Companion-Pass-promo-August-2026.png 1491w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><center><em>Screenshot of Southwest Airlines<\/em><\/enter><\/figure>\n<p>Southwest says it will email qualifying members within 10 days after they complete the requirements. However, you won\u2019t be able to designate your companion until the promotional Companion Pass is added to your account on January 5, 2027.<\/p>\n<p><!-- Replace with an updated August 2026 Southwest promotional Companion Pass screenshot. --><\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"Using_the_promotional_Companion_Pass\">Using the promotional Companion Pass<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The promotional Companion Pass is valid for Southwest travel completed from <strong>January 5 through March 3, 2027<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>You don\u2019t have to wait until January 5 to reserve your own travel during that period. However, you can\u2019t designate your companion or add their reservation until Southwest deposits the promotional Companion Pass into your account on January 5. Companion reservations remain subject to flight capacity and availability at the time of booking.<\/p>\n<p>You can change your designated companion up to three times during the promotional period. Keep in mind that these changes also count against your three permitted companion changes for 2027 if you later earn a traditional Companion Pass valid during that calendar year.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"Key_promotion_terms\">Key promotion terms<\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Registration and booking window:<\/strong> August 3\u20136, 2026.\u00a0You also must include your Rapid Rewards account number when booking.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Qualifying travel window:<\/strong> August 3\u2013November 18, 2026.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Promotional Companion Pass validity:<\/strong> January 5\u2013March 3, 2027.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Registration required:<\/strong> Registration must be completed before booking and beginning your qualifying travel.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Fare types:<\/strong> All Southwest fares qualify &#8212; including Basic, Choice, Choice Preferred, and Choice Extra.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Payment methods:<\/strong> Cash, Rapid Rewards points, and Cash + Points bookings qualify.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Excluded flights:<\/strong> Companion Pass reservations, charter flights, group travel, and Getaways by Southwest bookings don\u2019t qualify.<\/li>\n<li>You can change your designated companion up to three times while the promotional Companion Pass is valid.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Be careful about making subsequent changes. Southwest allows changes during the August 3\u20136 booking period as long as the new itinerary still meets the promotion requirements. However, changes made after August 6 could disqualify your travel.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Our_Take\">Our Take<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Southwest has offered a similar promotional Companion Pass several times over the past few years. This time, Southwest is offering the chance to earn a Companion Pass that's only valid for two months early next year \u2014 with no blackout dates.<\/p>\n<p>If you already have a flight booked during the promotional period, remember that Southwest has <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/airlines\/award-ticket-change-and-cancellation-policies\/\" rel=\"noopener\">no cancellation fees<\/a> (though your fare may not be refundable). Even though the offer states it's only valid on new bookings, you might be able to cancel your existing reservation, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.southwest.com\/loyalty\/myaccount\/promotion-detail?id=2-5M6OM4UA\" rel=\"noopener\">register for this promotion<\/a>, and then rebook your flights.<\/p>\n<div class=\"qs-card\" data-id=\"520080\">\n            <div class=\"qs-data\">\n                <div class=\"qs-view\">\n                    <div class=\"qs-cardname\">Southwest Rapid Rewards<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> Plus Credit Card<\/div>\n                    <div class=\"qs-image\"><img data-aspectratio=\"150\/93\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/CardArt-SouthwestRapidRewardsPlusCreditCard.png\" width=\"150\" alt=\"Southwest Rapid Rewards\u00ae Plus Credit Card\" \/ class=\"lazyload\"><\/div>\n                    <div class=\"qs-apply\"><a class=\"btn-use qs-apply-now\" title='Southwest Rapid Rewards\u00ae Plus Credit Card' data-ccid=\"520080\" href=\"\/blog\/link\/SouthwestRapidRewardsPlusCreditCard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow sponsored\">Apply Now<\/a><\/div>\n                    <div class=\"qs-rates\"><span class=\"qs-terms\"><a data-ccid=\"520080\" href=\"https:\/\/click.linksynergy.com\/fs-bin\/click?id=g3lR0xvjyAU&offerid=1753725.10005150&type=3&u1=32cfb114da921c64dce7c91a879be682&subid=639396\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rates & Fees<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n                    <div class=\"qs-offer\"><strong>Welcome Bonus<\/strong>\r\nEarn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.<\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                <div class=\"qs-info\">\n                    <strong class=\"qs-cardname\">Southwest Rapid Rewards<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> Plus Credit Card<\/strong>\n                    <div class=\"qs-offer\"><strong>Welcome Bonus<\/strong>\r\nEarn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.<\/div>\n                    <div class=\"qs-fee\"><strong>Annual Fee:<\/strong><b>$99<\/b><\/div>\n                    <div class=\"qs-tabs\"><a class=\"qs-more\" href=\"#more\">Show more<\/a><a href=\"\" data-tab=\"wwl\">Why We Like It<\/a><a href=\"\" data-tab=\"hl\">Highlights<\/a><a href=\"\" data-tab=\"er\">Earning Rates<\/a><div class=\"qs-tab-wwl\">The Southwest Rapid Rewards<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> Plus Credit Card is the most cost-effective option for enjoying Southwest benefits. Cardholders receive 25% back on inflight purchases, and a boost of 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points annually, all at a lower annual fee compared to other Southwest-branded cards. The card offers 3,000 anniversary points, and 2 points per $1 spent on Southwest<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> purchases.<\/div><div class=\"qs-tab-hl\"><?xml version=\"1.0\" standalone=\"yes\"?>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ??>\n<html><body><ul><li>Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.<\/li><li>3,000 anniversary points each year.<\/li><li>Earn 2 points per $1 spent on Southwest Airlines&#xAE; purchases<\/li><li>Earn 2 points for every $1 you spend at gas stations and grocery stores on the first $5,000 in combined purchases per anniversary year<\/li><li>Cardmembers and up to 8 additional passengers in the same reservation can check their first bag at no additional cost.<\/li><li>Select a Standard seat within 48 hours prior to departure, when available.<\/li><li>Earn 1 point for every $1 spent on all other purchases.<\/li><li>No foreign transaction fees.<\/li><li>Member FDIC<\/li><\/ul><\/body><\/html>\n<\/div><div class=\"qs-tab-er\"><ul>\r\n<li>2X points per $1 spent on Southwest<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> purchases<\/li>\r\n<li>2 points for every $1 you spend at gas stations and grocery stores on the first $5,000 in combined purchases per anniversary year<\/li>\r\n<li>1X point per $1 spent on all other purchases<\/li>\r\n<\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n            <a class=\"qs-share\" href=\"\/find-a-card\/SWPlus\/\" title=\"copy\"><svg width=\"12\" height=\"16\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 16\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><use href=\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/awardwallet\/public\/builds\/icon\/icon-sprite.svg?v2026-9-4a4970f3d#share-square\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/use><\/svg><\/a>\n        <\/div>\n<div id=\"ftoc\"><div id=\"toc_container\" class=\"toc_light_blue no_bullets\"><p class=\"toc_title\">Page Contents<\/p><ul class=\"toc_list\"><li><a href=\"#Earn_a_Southwest_Promotional_Companion_Pass_After_One_Round_Trip\">Earn a Southwest Promotional Companion Pass After One Round Trip<\/a><ul><li><a href=\"#Using_the_promotional_Companion_Pass\">Using the promotional Companion Pass<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Key_promotion_terms\">Key promotion terms<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a href=\"#Our_Take\">Our Take<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Southwest Airlines just launched a new promotion to help you earn a Companion Pass, but you must act fast. The newest offer lets members earn a temporary Companion Pass after just one eligible round-trip (or two one-way flights) booked by August 6, 2026, and flown by November 18, 2026. Here&#8217;s how to register.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":49117,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":null,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"default","_threads_share_type":"default","_google_business_share_type":"default","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[12069],"tags":[13888,12757],"coauthors":[36387],"class_list":["post-52519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-deals","tag-southwest-rapid-rewards"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52519"}],"version-history":[{"count":66,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52519\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":273223,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52519\/revisions\/273223"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52519"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=52519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}