Use This Trick to Win Southwest “Buy One, Get One Free” Airfare for Nearly Two Years

Imagine how many trips you and your friend can take in almost two years. Now imagine how much you’d save if you could get buy-one-get-one airfare to each of your destinations. That’s essentially what you can get by taking advantage of the Southwest Companion Pass deal.

As a credit card travel expertI’m always looking for smart ways to travel for less, and Southwest’s buy-one-get-one airfare deal might be the most valuable elite status benefit I’ve seen from any airline.

Here’s how you can earn your 2025 Southwest Companion Pass.

What is the Southwest Airlines Companion Pass?

Southwest is the only major airline to offer a companion card with unlimited uses. Southwest’s Companion Pass essentially offers free airfare for anyone you choose to bring with you.

You simply pay for your own ticket and all taxes and fees for your designated companion. (Typically this is just the TSA fee of $5.60 per flight plus any taxes or fees imposed by foreign countries on international flights).

You can add your companion to flights that you have paid for or to flights that have been paid for by someone else. You can even add a companion to your award flights booked with your Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards points or booked with someone else’s points.

As long as your name and Rapid Rewards number are attached to the reservation, you can add your companion and you won’t have to pay more than the taxes and fees on their ticket.

The Southwest Airlines Companion Pass is valid for the remainder of the year you earned it, plus the following year. So if you won the pass in December 2024, it will only be valid until the end of 2025, which is not a good idea. Instead, I recommend earning your pass in early 2025 so it’s valid until the end of 2026.

How can you earn a Southwest Airlines Companion Pass?

There are several ways you can qualify for the Southwest Airlines Companion Pass. You could fly 100 one-way qualifying (paid) flights, but that would be equivalent to a round-trip flight almost every week of the year. And it will take you most or all of the year to earn it. Or you can earn 135,000 Companion Pass qualifying points through any combination of paid flights, partner hotel stays, partner car rentals, or through their Rapid Rewards credit cards.

Earning points through flights, partner hotels and partner car rentals is possible for frequent business travelers, but you’ll most likely earn the pass later in the calendar year.

If you’re not a frequent flyer traveler and don’t book your car rentals and hotel stays through Southwest, then your best bet for earning a Companion Pass is by earning welcome bonuses with Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit Cards.

By applying for two Rapid Rewards credit cards and earning them welcome bonusesit is possible to earn 135,000 points very quickly. In fact, Southwest gives you 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points just for owning one of these cards.

The Southwest Companion Pass is a high-value perk, but not worth going into debt for. If you’re earning the pass through the card’s welcome bonus, only spend what you can repay.

Here’s how much the Southwest Airlines Companion Pass can save you

With 135,000 Rapid Rewards points, you’ll earn about $1,890 in award travel, since those points are worth about 1.4 cents each, according to The point man.

But when you add your companion to those award flights, the award value essentially doubles to $3,780. And since you can add your companion to an unlimited number of flights, not just the ones you’ve paid for with those points, the value of this pass is potentially limitless.

The best Southwest credit cards to earn the Companion Pass

To earn your Companion Pass, you must apply and be approved for two credit cards that have a total welcome bonus of 125,000 points or more.

A good place to start is with one of their personal cards like the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card*, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card* or Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card*.

All three of these cards currently offer new applicants 50,000 points after spending $1,000 in the first three months of card membership. They offer different benefits, with annual fees of $69, $99 and $149 respectively.

Chase rules say you can only get a welcome bonus on one ID card every 24 months, so your second card should be a small business card.

Fortunately, you can qualify for a small business card based on any income you earn outside of your employer, even if you’re just an unincorporated sole proprietor. For example, if you walk dogs, deliver food, babysit, or sell things online, or are about to start one of these types of businesses, then you may qualify for a small business credit card.

If you’re not registered, you can apply as an unindividualized sole proprietor using your Social Security number instead of an employer identification number.

The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card* currently offers 60,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 in purchases within three months of account opening and has a $99 annual fee. The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card offers new cardholders 80,000 bonus points after they spend $5,000 on new purchases within three months of account opening. As their top-tier card, it comes with a host of benefits that help justify its $199 annual fee.

With one ID card and the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Card, you’ll earn 130,000 bonus points and a total of at least 136,000 points after meeting the $1,000 and $5,000 minimum spending requirements. Alternatively, you can apply for two small business credit cards.

Earning these two bonuses will give you more than enough points to qualify for the Companion Pass. Make sure you earn your bonuses in a 2025 reporting period to receive a companion pass that’s valid until the end of 2026.

Is the Companion Pass worth it?

Putting $6,000 on your credit cards in three months is not advisable for everyone. Again, you should only charge your card what you can pay off by your next statement balance to avoid interest.

But if you travel enough to support this kind of expense, earning the companion pass can save you and your travel partner a lot of money in the long run.

* All information on the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card and Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card was independently compiled by CNET and has not been reviewed by the publisher.