13 Tips For Maximizing Southwest Airlines Companion Pass
You’ve managed to get yourself the coveted Southwest Airlines Companion Pass. You’re looking forward to saving money by essentially flying two people for the price of one and all you have to do is pay some taxes and fees. But are there more things you can do to make your life easier? Yes! Below I’ll go over some tips and tricks that can save you some time, money, and points.
Tip #1: Book One-Ways
For as long as I could remember, booking one-ways for each leg of your trip instead of a roundtrip ticket was the number one advice when booking with Southwest Airlines. The reasoning as that it is easier for you to make changes to each leg to get a refund in points or cash if the prices go down. This advice can be easily seen everywhere on multiple travel blogs and forums as far back as 2012 to even as recent as 2021.
However, after reaching out to a representative from Southwest Airlines and other experts on the subject, it seems that it is no longer necessary to always book one-ways over a roundtrip ticket anymore. With new information, it seems that there may no longer be a benefit to booking multiple one-ways over a roundtrip in terms of getting a refund on each leg if the prices go down. This can be done in the app or online by clicking “change” in your flight reservations.
Where this comes in handy
If you want to fly with a companion on one leg of the trip and then fly back with a different companion on the other leg of the trip, booking two one way tickets will make this possible. You just assign the first companion to your first leg of the trip and then once you land, you assign the second companion to your next leg of the trip. This does require you to call Southwest to make the companion assignment changes. Remember, you can only change your companion three times a year.
Tip #2: Monitor the Prices
After booking your flights, keep an eye out on the prices. Like many other airlines, the cost of your trip may go up or down. If it does go down, you can utilize Southwest Airlines amazing cancellation policy and rebook at the lower fare. This counts for both points and cash bookings.
Note: Southwest Airlines flight credits no longer expire AND they can be transferred to someone else who has a Southwest Airlines account. Official info here.
Tip #3: Low Fare Calendar
Always check the prices using the Low Fare Calendar when booking a trip on Southwest Airlines. This can easily be found using a computer but doesn’t seem to be available in the Southwest Airlines app. This is how you can snag the lowest of fares throughout the year.
Tip #4: Check Neighboring Airports (Positioning Flights)
It’s always good practice to check and see if flying to a neighboring airport before your final leg can save you money or points. For example, currently I can find a one-way ticket to Honolulu from Phoenix for about 15K Rapid Rewards points. However, if I fly from Phoenix to Los Angeles, that’s 3,800 points. Then flying from Los Angeles to Honolulu, that’ll only cost me 5,800 points. Adding Los Angeles to my trip saves me about 5,400 Rapid Rewards points. That’s enough points saved for another one-way ticket from Los Angeles to Honolulu!
Tip #5: Skip Buying Early Bird Check-In With Kids
It may seem counterintuitive to not pay for Early Bird Check-In when flying with children because you’d want to sit together as a family. However, with Southwest Airlines, if you’re flying with children under 6, two adults can board per child immediately after Group A and before Group B. This can still be done regardless of what your actual ticket says. Sometimes, there is even a separate area for families to wait and board so you don’t have to cram into the regular line at the gate.
Tip #6: Set Your Alarm
If you’re new to Southwest Airlines, it is important to know that there is no assigned seating. It’s all first come first serve and this starts with your boarding group. You’re allowed to check in via the app/online exactly 24 hours before your departure time (based on the departing airport). It is vital that you set an alarm to hit that check in button as soon as it is 24 hours from your departure time as that is how Southwest Airlines assign boarding groups. The sooner you check in, the better odds you have at an earlier boarding group.
Note that your companion must check in separately and you do not automatically check them in when you check in.
Tip #7: Check Your Email
Southwest Airlines has one of the most frequent promotions of any airline. Check your email to see when Southwest has their flash sales or cheap fares to grab some cheap trips.
You could also get notified of these sales and promotions from our Facebook page.
Tip #8: Utilize No Change Fees
You can change your flights without incurring additional fees. Any difference in points used to book your fare will be refunded to your Rapid Rewards account. However, any cash paid like the taxes and fees will be refunded as a flight credit.
You will however have to fork up the points or cash if the flight you change to costs more.
Tip #9: Free Internet Everyday
One amazing perk that can be found in a Southwest Airlines credit card is having access to not so bad inflight Wi-Fi. The Southwest Airlines Performance Business credit card is an amazing card for both individuals and businesses. It gives you 365 credits per year for inflight Wi-Fi. You can use as many credits as you like per flight up to 365 credits per year. For those long or even short trips, having access to music, emails, and videos can be a great benefit.
If you don’t want to get that card, Wi-Fi is $8 as of the writing of this article.
Tip #10: Be Mindful of Companion Changes
You’re allowed to change your assigned companion three times per year. Your initial companion that you assign does not count towards the three times. These changes are instant and have no wait time associated with it so you can plan your trip immediately.
Tip #11: You and Your Companion May Have to Board Separately
Normally, if you have A-List or A-List Preferred, everyone in your party gets the same benefits as you, including boarding group, as long as it’s under the same reservation number. However, if you hold A-List Preferred or A-List with Southwest Airlines, these benefits do NOT carry over to your companion. That’s because companions are booked under their own reservation number.
Directly from Southwest Airlines: “For A-List and A-List Preferred Members who have also qualified for a Companion Pass, reserved boarding privileges will not be provided to the Companion unless the Companion is also an A-List or A-List Preferred Member.”
Tip #12: Earn Southwest Airlines Companion Pass Early
The sooner you earn the Southwest Airlines Companion Pass, the longer you have to use it. You can maximize your time with the Companion Pass by earning it in January so you have the rest of the year plus the entire next year to use it.
Learn about how to earn the Companion Pass quickly here.
Tip #13: Zero Blackout Dates or Seat Restrictions
Usually, promotions like these tend to have blackout dates or restrictions. However, with Southwest Airlines Companion Pass, there are NO blackout dates or restrictions in terms of utilizing the Companion Pass.
A great thing about the Southwest Companion Pass is that you can book for you and your companion even if there is only one fare left in that ticket class. For example, you want to book a flight but there’s only one “Wanna Get Away” fare left. Great, book that for yourself and then add your companion. You don’t need to specifically look for flights with two or more availability for that fare class.