One of the most popular Southwest Airlines special offers is back for a limited time! You can earn ‘buy one, get one free’ flights via the Southwest Companion Pass for a limited time after booking a single round trip flight. This post covers details of this special offer, key dates, pros & cons, alternatives, and how you can maximize the promotional SWA Companion Pass with trips to Walt Disney World and Disneyland during an efficient and excellent (in some ways) time of year.
With the Southwest Companion Pass, you designate a traveler who will you use it to accompany you on flights, and then any fare you buy or book with miles on Southwest Airlines (SWA) comes with a free fare on the same flight for that companion. There are still a small amount of taxes and fees they’ll have to pay, but that only amounts to ~$6 on most airfare.
Normally, you can obtain the Southwest Companion Pass by flying 100 one-way qualifying flights or earning 135,000 qualifying points in a calendar year. The full, non-promotional version of the SWA Companion Pass is then valid through the end of the following calendar year. You can read our full Guide to Southwest Companion Pass for 2026 & 2027 for all of the nuts and bolts.
Suffice to say, we’re big fans of the Southwest Companion Pass and have successfully scored it several times. It was part of a not-so-dangerous combo (Companion Pass + APs + DVC) that got us visiting Walt Disney World so often in the first place! We highly recommend it to anyone on the fence.
Anyway, here’s the SWA promotion that ends today and significantly lowers the barrier to entry on acquiring the Southwest Companion Pass…
Southwest Airlines is offering Rapid Rewards Members (free to join) the chance to get a promotional Companion Pass for free after purchasing a round trip or 2 one-way flights and traveling by March 31, 2026, when you register for the promotion (see the instructions below).
Deal Instructions:
- Login and register for the promotion (you must include your Rapid Rewards number during booking)
- Purchase a qualifying round-trip or two qualifying one-way flights for travel by March 31, 2026, to earn the promotional Companion Pass
- Book flights by February 5, 2026
- Companion flies free with you between August 10, 2026 and October 7, 2026!
The obvious caveats here are that you need to book airfare TODAY (unless this ends up being extended), fly by March 31st, and then you get a limited-time Companion Pass for only ~2 months as opposed to a full year-plus.
Upside is very low barrier to entry (a single RT flight) versus jumping through hoops for the full Companion Pass. Downside is the narrow parameters make this more difficult unless you have an upcoming trip (Mid-Winter Break? Spring Break?) and then want to travel in the fall.
Here’s the link to register: https://www.southwest.com/rapid-rewards/companion-pass-promotion
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What’s Southwest promotional Companion Pass?
A: A promotional Companion Pass earned through this offer allows you to designate one person to fly with, free of airline charges (does not include taxes and fees from $5.60 one-way), on qualifying flights flown between August 10, 2026 and October 7, 2026.
Q: Does a flight I booked prior to registration count toward qualification for the Companion Pass promotion?
A: No. Qualifying flights must be booked after you register, between February 2 and February 5, 2026.
Q: What will happen after I meet the requirements to earn promotional Companion Pass through this offer?
A: Once you qualify for promotional Companion Pass (meaning you registered, booked, and traveled on a qualifying round trip or two one-way flight(s) during the applicable dates specified in the promotional terms and conditions,) we’ll send an email within 10 days. This email lets you know you qualified and includes information on next steps and how to designate and utilize the promotional Companion Pass.
Q: When can I designate my Companion after earning promotional Companion Pass through this offer?
A: You’ll be able to designate a Companion after the promotional Companion Pass is awarded to your account (August 10, 2026).
Q: How can I designate my initial Companion and make changes to my Companion?
A: After the promotional Companion Pass is awarded to your account (August 10, 2026), you can designate your initial Companion within My Account on Southwest.com or by calling Southwest at 1-800-435-9792. To change your Companion, it’s easy—and you can do it yourself at Southwest.com or in the app via the Rapid Rewards tab in My Account. Just click Change Companion and follow the instructions.
Q: How many times can I change my designated Companion?
A: You may change your designated Companion up to three (3) times during the promotional Companion Pass period. If you achieve Companion Pass in 2026 by earning 135,000 Companion Pass qualifying points or flying 100 qualifying flights, any changes to the designated Companion during the time you have a promotional Companion Pass will reduce the number of changes you can make to your designated Companion in the 2026 calendar year.
For example, if you earned a promotional Companion Pass through this promotion, changed your designated Companion twice during the validity period for promotional Companion Pass, and then later in 2026 earned a Companion Pass, you would only be able to change your designated Companion one more time in 2026.
Q: If I book a reservation prior to August 10, 2026 for travel between August 10-October 7, 2026, when can I book my Companion’s reservation?
A: After the promotional Companion Pass has been awarded to your account (August 10, 2026) and you’ve designated your Companion, you can book your Companion’s reservation (subject to flight capacity and availability at the time of booking the promotional Companion Pass).
Q: What changes to a reservation would disqualify a flight from qualifying for promotional Companion Pass through this offer?
A: Any change to a reservation that falls outside of the promotional requirements (enrollment date, booking date, travel date, etc.) will disqualify the flight from this promotion. In other words, flights must be purchased, and/or changed during the promotional period February 2- February 5, 2026 and the new flight(s) must be flown between February 2-March 31, 2026 to meet the terms and conditions of this promotion.
Full Southwest Companion Pass
As a reminder, the non-promotional Southwest Companion Pass is good for the full calendar year after the year you earn it. This means that a Companion Pass earned in February 2026 expires on December 31, 2027 because you earned it this year. One earned in December 2026 would also still expire on December 31, 2027.
That’s almost a full year of extra use simply by timing the spending requirements “correctly.” You want to earn it as close to the start of the calendar year as possible. We’ve had the full Southwest Companion Pass several times, and with savvy spending, hit our goal in January and kept it until December 31 of the following year.
Obviously, it is not possible to earn the Southwest Companion Pass in the first week of January at this point, unless you aim for next year or time travel. But the point stands, and earning a full Companion Pass in March 2026 (more realistic for our purposes) is still pretty good. That’s still 22 months!
To earn the Companion Pass, the ‘hack’ that we’ve always used is opening two Southwest Chase credit cards, one personal card and one business card (anyone can apply for a business card).
Chase Bank offers the Southwest Performance Business credit card with a sign-up bonus of 80,000 points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. (You can earn these bonuses via our referral link–just toggle over to the black business cards at the top.)
Along with that, get any of the three personal SWA credit cards. We recommend the bottom tier, as it has the lowest annual fee and this card is redundant to the Southwest Performance Business card from a benefits perspective. With any of those, you earn 50,000 points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
In tandem, you’ll earn over 135,000 Rapid Rewards points once you meet the minimum spend. (Bonus points of 130,000 plus spending of at least $6,000.) It should be pretty easy to hit that $6k spending requirement…just take a trip to Walt Disney World!
Tips for Maximizing the Promotional Southwest Companion Pass
Of course, there are several reasons why the promotional Southwest Companion Pass might be the more attractive offer.
Perhaps you’re skeptical of the changes Southwest Airlines has made in the last year (aren’t we all?) and are unsure that you want to commit to flying them for the next 22 months. Honestly, I have not flown with Southwest since they switched to assigned seating and boarding by group, and am a little nervous to do so.
I’ve seen numerous reports of people who didn’t pay extra for seats being separated, stuck in middle seat purgatory, etc. As someone who is vehemently against pay-to-play seating, this could be a dealbreaker for me on solo trips. (Hopefully, it’s immaterial for the 3 of us on family flights.)
Maybe you’re unsure whether the Companion Pass is a good fit for you in the first place, and just want to dip your toes in those waters with a couple of months of access as opposed to nearly 2 years.
It’s possible, like so many, you can’t get enough for Florida weather during the late summer and storm season when feels like temperatures are routinely in the triple digits!
Joking aside, that window for the promotional Companion Pass from August through October 2026 is a jam-packed one, that includes the following:
- D23 Expo in Anaheim, California
- Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom
- Halloween at Disneyland
- Oogie Boogie Bash at DCA
- EPCOT Food & Wine Festival
- Park anniversaries
- Great discounts likely at WDW (and maybe DLR, but those could be targeted)
- Lowest crowds at WDW, DLR, and Epic Universe
- Fall colors at various U.S. National Parks
Some of those bullet points overlap, obviously. Refer to our Best & Worst Weeks to Visit Disneyland in 2026 & 2027 and Best & Worst Weeks to Visit Disney World in 2026 & 2027 for the optimal time to take a single trip to each coast. You could then take multiple inexpensive trips to U.S. National Parks during shoulder season, which is a gorgeous time to visit with lower crowds, better weather and natural beauty.
That’s what I would do, if I were you. But I’m me, so I will be heading to Walt Disney World multiple times during that window. The point is that this promo offers a lot of potential, limited as it might be. The lower barrier to entry definitely makes it attractive if the credit card angle is a hard sell.
Ultimately, this Southwest Companion Pass promo won’t be for everyone. Our perspective is that going big on the fully-fledged Companion Pass for 20+ months is the way to go, but we’ve heard from many readers with an aversion to opening a single credit card, let alone 2 of them, so this presents a much easier option with a super-low barrier to entry.
We’ll end by underscoring what an efficient time of year August through October can be to travel. Even without digging into my archives, I know that the first time we had a Companion Pass, we used it disproportionately during that timeframe. Between fall colors season at the U.S. National Parks and discounts plus low crowds at Walt Disney World, it’s a great window. And we’re absolutely expecting more ticket and hotel deals during August and September, including some stellar last-minute savings. Just beware the weather!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Thoughts on this promotional, limited-time Southwest Companion Pass vs. the year-plus regular version? Have you ever had the Southwest Companion Pass? Did you earn it the ‘honest’ way or take advantage of credit card hacking to obtain it? Do you agree or disagree with our advice? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!