A guide to airline companion passes

If you often travel with friends or family, scoring a discount for your flight companion can make booking much more affordable. Fortunately, some airline credit cards offer companion passes and discounts as benefits.

They go by a variety of names: companion pass, companion certificate, companion fare, companion ticket and more. And although most airlines offer a discount only for you and your travel buddy, there are ways to earn fully comped tickets.

Curious as to which airlines and cards offer the most help when it comes to cutting down on companion travel costs? Here’s a rundown of some of the best companion pass offers today.

Southwest Airlines Companion Pass

Southwest’s Companion Pass is quite possibly the most popular on the market — and can save you a ton of cash. For just taxes and fees (roughly $6 per one-way ticket), you can bring a companion with you on any trip for the duration of your pass, which extends through the end of the year you earn it, plus a full calendar year after.

By timing your Companion Pass status wisely, you can have up to two full years of nearly-free companion travel. But you will want to plan ahead to make sure you take full advantage of the benefit.

The best part? There’s no limit on the number of times you can use the pass. After you’ve earned it, you can use it each time you book a flight with Southwest. You should see an option to add a companion to your flight for no additional ticket charge after you purchase your ticket.

How to earn the Companion Pass

There are two ways to qualify for the Southwest Companion Pass:

• Completing 100 qualifying one-way Southwest flights within a year
• Earning 135,000 qualifying points through Southwest Rapid Rewards

Points earned through Rapid Rewards will count toward the pass, but any points that are purchased, transferred or converted from another loyalty program will not apply. Using a Southwest co-branded credit card is a great way to maximize your spending toward a companion pass, if that’s your goal. Here are a few to consider:

American Airlines Companion Certificate

For frequent American Airlines flyers, American Airlines AAdvantage credit cards give you a few companion certificate options.

American’s companion certificate allows you to bring along a guest on one round-trip main cabin domestic ticket for $99 (plus taxes and fees).

The certificate expires after a year and is only valid for flights within the continental United States. And make sure you read the offer carefully; some details can vary depending on the card you use.

How to earn the companion certificate

There are a few different credit cards you can use to earn a companion certificate with American Airlines.

With the following cards, you can earn the certificate for one companion after you spend $30,000 or more in a year and keep your account open for 45 days beyond your card anniversary:

You can also earn a certificate with the cards below when you spend at least $20,000 annually and your account remains open for 45 days following your anniversary date.

When you meet the qualifications, American Airlines will send you a companion certificate with specific booking details.

British Airways Travel Together

British Airways offers its own version of companion passes, called Travel Together Tickets.

This British Airways offer is available when you book reward flights with the Avios you earn. With the ticket, you’ll receive a second seat (of equal value) to bring a friend along on a future trip — paying only taxes, fees and carrier charges. Alternatively, you can use the ticket to pay just 50% of your British Airways Avios value when you book a reward flight without a companion.

The offer is for British Airways, Iberia or Aer Lingus reward flights that originate from anywhere; you’re not limited to flights originating from the U.S. You should also be aware that taxes, fees and carrier charges on international flights can often exceed $1,000, so the Travel Together offer certainly varies in value.

How to earn the Travel Together Ticket

Using a British Airways Visa Signature® Card*, you can qualify for the companion ticket by spending $30,000 in a single calendar year (Jan. 1 through Dec. 31).

After qualifying for the ticket, it is good for two full years.

Delta Air Lines companion certificate

Delta’s co-branded Delta SkyMiles credit cards offer a few different options for earning its companion certificate.

The certificate allows you to bring along a travel buddy on a single eligible round trip domestic flight. You are still responsible for paying taxes and fees, but these charges are capped at $80 ($250 for international flights).

How to earn the companion certificate

If you’re an eligible Delta cardholder, you’ll receive a companion certificate each year of membership upon the renewal of your card. There are currently four eligible cards:

You won’t receive a certificate until you renew your card membership, so it’ll take waiting until your second year to reap the benefit. Once you’ve been awarded the certificate, you have until your next renewal date to take advantage.

Hawaiian Airlines companion discount

As a Hawaiian Airlines cardholder, you can earn one-time or annual companion discounts on flights with the airline.

Each of the eligible cards offers a one-time 50% discount on a single roundtrip coach fare ticket for a companion flying with you. But two of the cards also offer an annual $100 discount off a companion’s roundtrip coach fare ticket. These discounts apply to travel between Hawaii and North America booked directly with the airline.

The one-time 50 percent discount is eligible for 13 months after opening your account and annual $100 discounts are good for 12 months after each anniversary. Unfortunately, the 50% off doesn’t apply to taxes, fees or surcharges.

How to earn the companion discount

Here are the exact discount offers from each eligible Hawaiian Airlines credit card:

• The Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard®* (one-time 50% off and $100 yearly companion discount)
• Hawaiian Airlines® Bank of Hawaii World Elite Mastercard®* (one-time 50% off and $100 yearly companion discount)
• Hawaiian Airlines® Business Mastercard®* (one-time 50% off companion discount)

Alaska Airlines Famous Companion Fare

Eligible Alaska Airlines cardholders can earn the airline’s companion fare after meeting certain requirements.

The companion fare offer is good toward one round-trip coach companion fare. You’ll still pay a $99 base fare, plus taxes and fees (starting at $23), and the companion fare must be on the same itinerary and same booking as your purchased ticket.

How to earn the companion fare

When you apply for the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card, you could be eligible for the following offer: Get a $0 Companion Fare (plus taxes and fees from $23) and 50,000 bonus miles after qualifying purchases made with the Alaska Airlines Visa® card. To qualify, make $3,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account. The card has a $95 annual fee.

You can also qualify with the Alaska Airlines Visa® Business card*, which has a welcome offer of 50,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 in your first 90 days, plus Companion Fare from $122 ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23).

After you earn the welcome bonuses on these cards, you can keep earning the companion fare discount code by spending at least $6,000 on your card each year.

Lufthansa companion ticket

With Lufthansa’s co-branded rewards card, you can get one companion ticket each year.

These tickets are eligible for economy class bookings departing from the U.S. to eligible international destinations. You’ll still have to pay taxes and fees, but you’ll be gifted a fully covered ticket each year you hold your card membership.

To reserve a seat with your companion ticket, you’ll have to call the Miles & More Companion Ticket Service at 866-461-5399.

How to earn the companion ticket

You’ll need to be a Miles & More® World Elite Mastercard®* cardholder to score Lufthansa’s companion ticket.

When you sign up for the card, you’ll be gifted your initial companion ticket after you complete your first purchase. Afterward, you’ll receive an additional companion ticket on each account anniversary if you hold your membership.

Lufthansa’s companion offers are good from the date they’re issued until your next account anniversary.

The bottom line

Whether you’re a frequent flyer or a once-in-a-while traveler, your pocket will feel a little heavier when you’re able to bring company along at a fraction of the cost.

While each airline offers ways to save when traveling with friends or family, you can really maximize your savings by planning ahead and taking full advantage of your preferred airline’s deals.

*The information on the cards indicated with an asterisk has been collected independently by Bankrate. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.