One of the most valuable benefits an airline credit card can offer is the chance to earn a companion ticket. These certificates allow the cardholder to bring a second person along on a trip nearly for free. Like with any credit card benefit, companion tickets come with terms and conditions and no two function exactly the same, but those who put in the effort to learn how to use them can get great value from these certificates.
Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card
Up to 3X Reward Rate
Earn unlimited 3 miles for every $1 spent on eligible Alaska Airlines purchases, 2 miles for every $1 spent onRead More
Welcome Bonus
60,000 bonus miles
Annual Fee
$95
Regular APR
20.24% - 28.24% Variable APR on purchases and balance transfers
Credit Score
Good, Excellent (700 - 749)
For West Coast frequent fliers, the Alaska Airlines card is worth a serious look. You’ll snag the prized annual Companion Fare when you spend $6,000 in the prior anniversary year, plus a free checked bag, Visa Signature benefits and other perks, which easily offset the annual fee.
- Redeem miles for flights with over 30 airline global partners
- Free checked bag on Alaska Airlines
- Annual Companion fare (earned with $6,000 or more in spending the prior anniversary year)
- No foreign transaction fees
- Limited flight options on the East Coast and in the Midwest
- Companion ticket is limited to Alaska Airlines flights
- LIMITED TIME ONLINE OFFER—60,000 Bonus Miles!
- Get 60,000 bonus miles plus Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare™ ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) with this offer. To qualify, make $3,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account.
- Get Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare™ ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) each account anniversary after you spend $6,000 or more on purchases within the prior anniversary year. Valid on all Alaska Airlines flights booked on alaskaair.com.
- Earn unlimited 3 miles for every $1 spent on eligible Alaska Airlines purchases. Earn unlimited 2 miles for every $1 spent on eligible gas, EV charging station, cable, streaming services and local transit (including ride share) purchases. And earn unlimited 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases. And, your miles don’t expire on active accounts.
- Earn a 10% rewards bonus on all miles earned from card purchases if you have an eligible Bank of America® account.
- Free checked bag and enjoy priority boarding for you and up to 6 guests on the same reservation, when you pay for your flight with your card — Also available for authorized users when they book a reservation too!
- With oneworld® Alliance member airlines and Alaska’s Global Partners, Alaska has expanded their global reach to over 1,000 destinations worldwide bringing more airline partners and more ways to earn and redeem miles.
- Plus, no foreign transaction fees and a low $95 annual fee.
- This online only offer may not be available elsewhere if you leave this page. You can take advantage of this offer when you apply now.
Airline Companion Tickets: The Basics
An airline companion ticket is basically a two-for-one voucher. If you have one, you can book a ticket for yourself and then apply the companion certificate to a second ticket on your same trip. With several stipulations to be aware of, that is.
Most companion tickets require you to pay the taxes and fees on the second ticket, but save you on the base airfare—so your companion’s seat isn’t quite free. Some companion tickets are only applicable to certain routes and classes of service, or even specific fare codes, like domestic economy flights. Others only apply to award travel (the kind you book using your airline miles or points).
While they might sound complicated, companion certificates are meant to be used. So you don’t typically have to jump through too many hoops in order to maximize the benefit.
Several airline credit cards offer some type of companion ticket as part of their perks packages. In some cases, you can score a companion ticket as part of a welcome bonus. Others are activated after each account anniversary (and after you’ve paid the annual fee). Still others are earned after you spend a certain amount on purchases with your credit card each year.
In short, airline companion tickets can vary from airline to airline, and credit card to credit card within the same family of products. So if you carry an airline credit card that offers a companion ticket benefit, or are thinking of opening a new account, go over all the provisions carefully to ensure you will actually be able to put the benefit to use.
Airline Credit Cards That Offer Companion Tickets
Here’s a handy guide to some of the best airline credit cards that offer companion tickets (or a comparable perk, such as a statement credit toward airfare). As mentioned above, companion tickets come in a few different flavors, from welcome offers to anniversary gifts and spending-based incentives to award-ticket discounts. Be sure you understand the terms and conditions offered by any card you might be interested in before committing to any applications or spending requirements.
Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card: Cardholders receive an annual companion fare starting at $122 ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) after you spend $6,000 or more on purchases within the prior anniversary year.
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card (terms apply): Each year you renew your card membership, you’ll receive a Delta Companion Certificate in your SkyMiles account which can be used to book a companion flight in Main Cabin on domestic, Caribbean or Central American round-trip flights for only the cost of taxes and fees. Taxes and fees will total no more than $80 for round-trip domestic flights and $250 for round-trip international flights. Baggage fees still apply.
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card (terms apply): Card members receive an annual Companion Certificate good for a buy-one-get-one domestic, Caribbean, or Central American flight in the following cabins: Main Cabin, Delta Comfort+ or First Class. The certificate is available to you every year you renew your account and pay the annual fee. You still have to pay taxes and fees for the companion, which will total no more than $80 for round-trip domestic flights and $250 for round-trip international flights. Baggage fees still apply.
AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®*: The card grants the opportunity to earn a $99 companion certificate after spending $20,000 on purchases and renewing your card. To earn the certificate, your account must remain open for 45 days after your anniversary date.
Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard®*: Earn a 50% one-time companion discount for flights between Hawaii and North America and a $100 annual companion discount.
British Airways Visa Signature® Card: Earn a Travel Together Ticket every calendar year you spend $30,000 on the card in a calendar year. Valid for two years after issuance, this ticket provides an additional seat on the same flight and cabin when booking a reward ticket on British Airways, Iberia or Aer Lingus flights originating anywhere in the world. You can also redeem the ticket for a 50% discount on an award ticket if you’ll be traveling alone.
Featured Partner Offers
The Southwest Airlines Companion Pass
Southwest Airlines offers what is perhaps the most valuable of any airline benefit (depending on how much you fly the airline, of course). Its Companion Pass is essentially a buy-one-get-one ticket good for paid and award flights. Even better, the Companion Pass is valid both in the calendar year in which you earn it and the following one. That means you can get almost two years of buy-one get-one tickets if you time things right.
Normally, you have to earn 135,000 qualifying points, or take 100 qualifying one-way flights on Southwest within a calendar year to earn the Companion Pass. The points you earn by spending on the airline’s co-branded credit cards count toward the Companion Pass, too—including the welcome bonus. You can even count a bonus from a personal card and a business card to help you jump-start your Companion Pass journey.
Bottom Line
You might be wowed by enormous welcome bonuses and top-shelf perks like lounge access and a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee statement credit. However, companion tickets are some of the most solid perks any airline credit card can offer. Depending on the airline, the card, the terms and conditions and how you redeem your companion ticket, it could be worth thousands of dollars. That can easily offset any annual fees and make it well worth renewing your card year after year.
Find the Best Airline Credit Cards of 2024
To view rates and fees of Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, please visit this page.
To view rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, please visit this page.
