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Why fly solo when you can bring someone with you for less than a hundred bucks! Alaska Airlines is offering its customers the Alaska Companion Fare which allows flyers to buy a ticket for their travel companion at a price of $99 base fare + fees.
Airline fees start at $22 so expect to pay at least $121 for your travel companion’s ticket, which is still an amazing deal by the way, especially for expensive itineraries.
Take note that Alaska Airlines is one of the few carriers that operate direct flights from Los Angels to Hawaii. Now is the best time to use that companion fare and start planning your summer trip to Hawaii with your travel buddy. And if you’re flying through San Francisco (SFO), you can enjoy the new amenities at the Alaska Airlines lounges.
Read More: How To Use Southwest Companion Pass
How To Get The Alaska Companion Fare
The Alaska Companion Fare is a travel perk that is available to these four Alaska Airlines credit cards.
- Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Credit Card – 60,000 bonus miles + Companion Fare after spending $3,000 within three months of card membership.
- Alaska Airlines Visa Business Credit Card – 60,000 bonus miles + Companion Fare after spending $3,000 within three months of card membership.
These two cards are available to Canadian residents only.
- Alaska Airlines World Elite Mastercard – 30,000 bonus miles + Companion Fare after spending $1000 CAD within three months of card membership.
- Alaska Airlines Platinum Plus Mastercard – 20,000 bonus miles + Companion Fare after spending $1000 CAD within three months of card membership.
The companion fare will show up on your Mileage Plan account in the form of a discount code after you meet the spending requirements. The code can only be used ONCE.
It is found under the “Discount and companion fare codes” section of the cardholder’s online account and it typically takes 6 to 8 weeks to get it after qualifying.
After signing in to your Alaska Airlines account, just click the “Shop” button beside your discount code and start booking a flight. If you’re not signed in to your account, you can just enter your “companion fare code” on the Alaska Airlines booking page.
The Alaska companion pass will automatically renew on your card anniversary as long as your card is active.
What Does The Companion Fare Do?
When a cardholder buys an Alaska Airlines ticket at its original price, he or she can use the companion fare code to buy a ticket for one travel companion at a base price of $99 plus taxes and fees. Airline fees start at $22 depending on your itinerary.
There are also other guidelines and restrictions that you need to know about the companion fare:
- All companion fare bookings must be made on alaskaair.com.
- Primary flyers and their companions must be booked at the same time and under one itinerary.
- The companion fare only applies to round-trip coach tickets although it’s eligible for paid upgrades.
- Travelers should pay for baggage fees and other surcharges.
- Companion fare codes cannot be combined with other promo codes
- You can choose a flight date that is past your expiration date but you need to make the booking and redeem the companion fare code by 11:59 PM PT on your expiration date.
While it does have a few restrictions, the good thing about the companion fare is it can be used even if the primary cardholder isn’t traveling. The booking must still be made using the primary cardholder’s Alaska Airline card.
Can A Companion Fare Passenger Also Earn Miles?
Both the primary passenger and the companion fare passenger can earn miles on their trip if they type in their Mileage Plan account numbers on the booking page or check-in page.
However, you cannot use miles or a combination of miles + cash to pay for tickets of the primary passenger and the companion. All tickets that use a companion pass must be paid entirely in cash using an Alaskan credit card.
Which Upgrades Are Available For The Companion Fare?
Companion fares are only available on round-trip coach tickets but they can be upgraded using these options:
- Miles
- Elite+ companion upgrades
- Guest upgrades
- Upgrades at check-in
The travelers must be upgraded to the same fare class and there should be an available upgrade space for both of them. This means that the primary traveler and companion must be together at all times.
Additionally, both travelers can only use one type of upgrade so a combination of these options above isn’t possible, except for the companion upgrade for Gold and 75K elite members.
Airlines That Also Offer Companion Certificates
A companion fare, companion certificate, or companion pass has become a common offering on most co-branded airline credit cards. However, each airline has its own rules and requirements on how to acquire the certificates.
Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines has its own companion certificate which is called the Southwest Companion Pass. It’s a buy one, get one free(ish) ticket for all Southwest Airlines flights.
To earn this pass, you need to at least fly 100 qualifying one-way flights or earn 125,000 Rapid Rewards points with any of the cards below:
- Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card
- Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card
- Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card
- Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards(R) Performance Business Credit Card
- Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards(R) Premier Business Credit Card
Once you meet the requirements, your Companion Pass will be valid for the remainder of the year that you earned it, plus another full year. Let’s say you earned your pass this September 2022, it will be valid until December 2023.
You can use your Southwest Companion Pass as many times as you want as long as it is valid. If you fly 50 times a year, your companion will also fly with you 50 times a year.
British Airways
The British Airways companion certificate is called the Travel Together Ticket and it’s available to cardholders of the British Airways Visa Signature Card. If you can spend $30,000 on eligible purchases in a calendar year, you will earn the companion certificate which is valid for two years.
The Travel Together Ticket allows you to bring one travel companion with you (even in first-class) when booking an award flight that originates from and returns to the U.S. The ticket applies to all fare classes. Flights that have been paid with cash or cash+points are not eligible.
Applying for the British Airways Visa Signature® Card also comes with a lot of perks such as a welcome bonus of 100,000 Avios, airline credits, and travel protection benefits.
Delta Airlines
Delta Airlines also have the Delta Companion Certificate which is offered to cardholders of their co-branded credit card. There’s no requirement because all you need to do is to renew your card every year and it will be valid for one full calendar year.
- Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
The certificate applies to coach round-trip tickets for the Delta SkyMiles Platinum personal and business cards. Meanwhile, the certificate applies to Main Cabin, Comfort+, or First Class for the Delta SkyMiles Reserve personal and business cards.
Bottomline
The Alaska Companion Pass might not be totally free but it’s still a valuable perk that can save you hundreds of dollars on Alaskan flights.
Its only downside is that you can only use it once per year, same with the companion pass from Delta Airlines and British Airways. The Southwest Airlines Companion Pass packs the most punch since you can use it multiple times per year.
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