Top Airline Credit Cards With Companion Tickets
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There’s nothing wrong with traveling solo. But sometimes, adventures are more fun with a co-pilot.
Of course, that usually means double the airfare — unless you have an airline credit card that can help cover the cost for your family member, buddy or significant other.
It’s not an easy benefit to find, but here are some cards that can help you score a companion ticket.
Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card
Our pick for: Overall value
The benefit: Companion Fare
How you get it: By spending more than $6,000 on eligible purchases in the previous cardmember anniversary year. (You can also earn the benefit before your first anniversary if you meet the sign-up bonus criteria. See below.). The card’s annual fee is $95.
Details: The Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card is a Nerdy favorite, and for good reason. For starters, it offers a generous sign-up bonus: Get 70,000 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.
But in addition to that upfront bonus, you'll also qualify for a Companion Fare on your cardmember anniversary date when you make $6,000 in eligible purchases during the prior cardmember year. You must book the flight through alaskaair.com, and you’ll have to redeem within 12 months from the date the Companion Fare is issued. (If you've held the card since before January 2023, the $6,000 spending requirement might not apply. See here for more.)
British Airways Visa Signature® Card
Our pick for: Big spenders
The benefit: Travel Together Ticket
How you get it: By spending more than $30,000 in purchases in a calendar year. The card’s annual fee is $95.
Details: You’ll have to be a big spender to snag the British Airways Visa Signature® Card’s Travel Together Ticket. But with it, you’ll get a seat for a companion on your British Airways flight — regardless of what cabin you’re in — when you book an award flight that originates from and returns to the U.S.
The Travel Together Ticket is valid for two years. But be aware that you’ll owe taxes and fees on it, and that British Airways has notoriously high carrier surcharges.
The British Airways Visa Signature® Card offers a sign-up bonus, phrased this way: Earn 75,000 Avios after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card
Our pick for: Delta devotees
The benefit: Companion certificate
How you get it: Annually, once you renew your card. Terms apply. The card's annual fee is $350.
Details: With this card, you’ll score a companion certificate for main cabin round-trip flights to the U.S., the Caribbean, Mexico or Central America (less taxes and fees of no more than $80 for domestic flights, and $250 for international flights). Terms apply (see rates and fees).
You’ll have to book and complete travel by the date that’s listed on the front of the certificate.
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
Our pick for: Flying in luxury
The benefit: Companion certificate
How you get it: Annually, once you renew your card. Terms apply. The card's annual fee is $650.
Details: Unlike some other companion certificates, the one that comes with the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card is not limited to coach tickets. It's good for one round-trip flight in the U.S., the Caribbean, Mexico or Central America in first class, Delta Comfort+ or main cabin for your travel companion (minus taxes and fees of no more than $80 for round-trip domestic flights, or $250 for international flights). However, you and the person using the certificate must be flying in the same fare class. Terms apply (see rates and fees).
AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®
Our pick for: Avid American Airlines flyers
The benefit: Companion Certificate
How you get it: Every anniversary year you hold the card, but only after you spend $20,000 on purchases in that year. (You can also earn the benefit before your first anniversary if you meet the introductory bonus criteria. See below.) The card's annual fee is $99.
Details: This Companion Certificate is good for one round-trip qualifying domestic economy fare ticket for a guest at a cost of $99 plus taxes and fees, which range between $21.60 and $43.20, per the card's terms and conditions.
This card occasionally offers its pass both as an introductory perk, as well as one that you can earn each year after that. The introductory version, when available, is easier to attain because it requires only that you make your first purchase (any amount) in the first 90 days and also pay the $99 annual fee. But the anniversary certificate, in successive years, requires that you put $20,000 in eligible purchases on the card during the card membership year.
The certificate is good for one year from when it's issued. Other restrictions apply.
Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card
Our pick for: Traveling to Ireland
The benefit: Companion ticket
How you get it: Each calendar year that you make purchases of $30,000 on your card. The card's annual fee is $95.
Details: When you reach the required spending threshold with the Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card, you'll receive an economy companion ticket good for 12 months. The ticket is valid for Aer Lingus-operated flights only, but unlike many other companion tickets, you will not pay any taxes or fees on it.
Miles & More® World Elite Mastercard®
Our pick for: Lufthansa loyalists
The benefit: Companion ticket
How you get it: After your first use of the card for a purchase, and then on your cardmember anniversary each year thereafter. The card's annual fee is $89.
Details: With the Miles & More® World Elite Mastercard®, you'll be eligible for an economy-class companion ticket upon your first use of the card and every year following, as long as the account stays open and in good standing. Be aware that you must book by phone, and also that the companion ticket is subject to restrictions, plus taxes and fees. In addition, you may also face a weekend surcharge of around $60 round trip.
Other cards that might help you
Our pick for: Fans of Southwest Airlines
The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card, along with the airline's other co-branded cards, can give you a head start on earning a coveted Southwest Companion Pass thanks to their sign-up bonuses. Periodically, those bonuses will include access to a Companion Pass. The current offer: Earn a $400 statement credit and 40,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 4 months from account opening.
All three co-branded Southwest consumer cards offer the same sign-up bonus, but the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card has the lowest annual fee among them, at $69. Unless it's part of your sign-up bonus, you’ll need 135,000 points total in a calendar year to secure a Companion Pass, which lets you choose one traveler to fly for free with you (minus taxes and fees) each time you purchase or redeem points for a Southwest flight. A Companion Pass is good from the date it’s earned through the next full calendar year.
Our pick for: Spirit superfans
The Free Spirit® Travel More World Elite Mastercard® doesn't offer an outright companion pass or ticket, but it does feature a way to snag a discount for your flight buddy, thanks to its Companion Flight Voucher, worth $100. Currently, you can score the voucher as part of the card's introductory sign-up bonus: Earn 50,000 Bonus Points + $100 Flight Voucher after making at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening. But you can also earn a $100 Companion Flight Voucher every anniversary of your card ownership after you make at least $5,000 in purchases on the card within the previous year. The guest must be traveling on the same itinerary, and your flights need to be booked at the same time via Spirit.com, using the Free Spirit® Travel More World Elite Mastercard®. You have 12 months to use the voucher from the date it's issued.
Our pick for: Traveling to Spain
The Iberia Visa Signature® Card does not offer a companion pass or companion ticket per se. But for each year you make purchases of $30,000 on your card, you will earn a potentially valuable discount voucher of $1,000 to use toward two tickets on the same flight. There are several restrictions — most notably, you must be purchasing two tickets for the same flight in the same class of travel. But assuming you can meet the terms, that's a sizable discount on a vacation to Spain. The card's annual fee is $95.
Our pick for: Traveling to Hawaii
You won't get a companion ticket outright with the Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard®. But what you will get is a one-time 50% discount off round-trip coach airfare between Hawaii and North America for a companion in the first 13 months that you have the card. And once you hit your first anniversary as a cardholder, you'll also snag a $100 discount on a companion ticket annually, also good for round-trip travel between Hawaii and North America. The card charges a $0 introductory annual fee the first year, then $99 after that.
Our pick for: Maximum flexibility
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® card doesn’t come with a companion pass, but it does come with a $300 annual travel credit and a broad range of categories toward which that credit can be used, including airfare. That can go a long way toward offsetting the cost of a travel companion’s ticket when you book it with your card. Of course, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® also comes with a hefty annual fee of $550, so keep that mind when considering whether the card is right for you.
United℠ Explorer Card
Travel
Get valuable perks like free checked bag, lounge passes and rental car insurance for a fee of $0 intro for the first year, then $95. Limited time offer: Earn 60,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
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