When I told my partner that I would wake up at 4:30 a.m. and flew from Florida Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) to Orlando International Airport (MCO) and at 6:40 a.m., within a day, he asked the same question, besides my colleagues – besides my colleagues – and: “But, why?”
In layman’s terms, Southwest Airlines offers a limited-time promotional companion pass. The coveted companion pass is essentially a free ticket deal to purchase, allowing you to add designated other people to your flight booking on any Southwest flight at a fee of taxes and fees (starting from $5.60).
So with just a backpack and an oversized cup of coffee, I embarked on a round trip flight from one Florida city to another, landing at home before lunch time to win this pass.
This is what I do and why this pass will save me hundreds of dollars on air tickets in 2026.
Related: How to earn Southwest Companion Pass quickly
Southwest offers a limited-time two-month companion pass
Typically, to earn a companion pass, Southwest Quick Rewards members need to earn 135,000 qualified points or fly 100 one-way portions in one calendar year. You will then get a lucrative pass for the remaining calendar year and the next calendar year. For example, if you earn it in August 2025, your pass will be good until December 31, 2026.
That is, the Southwest sometimes offers a promotional partner pass after completing the set requirements. Unlike traditional companion passes, these promotional passes are only valid for a limited time.
In August, Southwest Airlines promoted a two-month companion pass after registering, purchasing (August 28 at 11:59 pm), and completed one or two round trips or two one-way flights by November 15. Those who meet the requirements will receive a partner pass from January 6 to March 6, 2026.
As someone planning a long weekend ski trip and Caribbean vacation this winter, I’m very interested in earning this partner pass.
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However, I had to restructure some of the numbers and make sure the cost of the return flight was worth it, as the base fare was not eligible for the deal. So I had to buy the option fare, which was a step above the Southwest basic fare and cost more.
Related: Southwest Card Welcome Bonus: Last chance to earn 100,000 points
I won the Southwest Companion Pass before lunch
As a Florida resident, I know my home airport PBI flights to and from MCO daily. Also, since the airports are only 170 miles from each other, I know that will be Very Short flight.
First, I had to check if the flight time was queued to meet my personal needs. As a mom, I need to go home in time to pick up my son from day care (my partner can get off). Thankfully, they did.
Southwest Airlines is driving between the two airports, so I found flying at 6:40 AM from PBI and landing at MCO at 7:40 AM, then leaving MCO at 10:50 AM and returning to PBI at 11:50 AM
Using the Southwest Calendar Search Tool, I booked a random flight on Wednesday in September, which was the cheapest option (at the time) at $249.35. Also, as a fast reward member, I will win 1,254 points on this round trip flight.
So after paying $8 for parking and driving to and from the airport with about $10 gasoline, this promotional companion pass cost me about $267 to make money – I returned to the home office before 1pm
How I plan to use the limited-time promotion Southwest Partner Pass
Please note that at the time of writing, the price is accurate.
As I mentioned, I plan to book a ski-centric trip to a Colorado resort this winter. Even though PBI is my home airport, I also flew out of Fort Lauderdale-Gollywood International Airport (FLL) and MCO if the fare is cheaper and/or the route is straightforward. Currently, round trip flights from FLL to Denver International Airport (DEN) in January.
With this pass I can book my flight and my partner’s flight for $59.37. Calculate my payment for earning a partner pass and the taxes and fees I’m paying for this flight, I’ll save about $116.
- Financial failure: $442.96 (total flights for my partner) – $59.37 (I have to pay taxes and fees for the flights) – $267 (earning out-of-pocket fees for companionship pass) = $116.59 (total savings for this trip)
This is not the only trip I’m going to go with my two-month companion pass.
I also plan to travel to Cancun, Mexico in February to spend my partner’s birthday. On February travel dates, the flight height per person is $667.03. With Companion Pass, we pay a total of $862.06 for two round trip flights, or just $431.03 per person.
Since the cost of earning a companion pass has been included in the crash of the previous trip, I could save what I could book a second trip:
- Financial failure: $1,334.06 (total of two round trip flights to CUN) – $667.03 (fees for one round trip flight) – $195.03 (tax and fees for round trip tickets are CUN = $472 (total savings are for this trip).
So, considering the two trips, I could save about $588 through my companion pass.
Related: Why is now the best time to apply for a Southwest Airlines credit card
Things to remember
Although registration for this limited-time companion pass is no longer available for quick reward members, Southwest Airlines offers similar transactions several times a year. So, when an airline plans to launch another promotion, there are a few other things to keep in mind:
Compressed numbers: Getting a promotional Southwest Companion Pass is great, but only if you plan to use it. If you don’t have an upcoming trip or are not planning to book a flight within the time frame allocated by the promotional partner pass, it doesn’t make sense to spend time and money to fly to earn this type of Bogo deal.
Read Terms before booking: If Southwest offers another promotional pass, make sure to read the terms and conditions before booking the flight. For example, the base fare does not count as this transaction.
Book Award: If you have Southwest Quick Rewards Points or Chase Ultimate Rewards Points that are transferred to the airline at a 1:1 ratio, you can save more out of pocket money by redeeming the flight points. Since reward flights are eligible to add your designated companion, you can essentially pay taxes and fees if you book two one-way flights.
Overall, it’s worth winning the limited-time Southwest Companion Pass, which will help me save on my trip later.
