Guide to the Alaska Airlines Companion Certificate (2021)
Get 2 for 1 Airplane Tickets with Credit Card Companion Certificates, Airfare Booking Strategies
For many people, the Alaska Airlines companion certificate is probably the best credit card perk available from a non-premium card. You can use it to get a nearly-free flight to Hawaii, Costa Rica, Mexico, or across-the-country, even at peak holiday times.
Using the certificate is easy. The first person pays the normal fare. The second person pays only $99, plus taxes (typically a total of $121). Unlike many other companion deals, there is no need to buy a “non-discounted” coach ticket, and no worry about the ability to redeem the certificate on your desired flight. You can even use it for a free multi-city itinerary.
You’ll get your first certificate once you’ve met the initial spending requirement on the Alaska credit card, and an additional certificate each year you have the card.
If you live in Alaska Airlines territory, the Alaska credit card's companion certificates can save you hundreds of dollars a year on an airplane ticket.
The Alaska Airlines companion certificate is probably the best of several different credit card companion certificates, but it is not the only one. Get 2 for 1 Airplane Tickets with Credit Card Companion Certificates.
Due to the change in travel opportunities due to the Covid pandemic, Alaska has extended the expiration of their companion passes. All certificates that were due to expire in 2020 are extended to the end of the year. You can then use them to book travel through the end of November 2021.
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Getting multiple certificates
If you fly fairly frequently, or as part of a family, it is worthwhile getting multiple cards, so you can use multiple certificates each year.
- If you have a business, you can sign-up for both the personal and business versions of this card. Any business counts, even if you have another full-time job, aren’t incorporated, and haven’t made any money yet You can probably even get approved for multiple versions of the Alaska Airlines business card, giving you access to additional certificate each year.
- You can no longer get multiple copies of the personal version of the card. You are not eligible to get a new personal version until 24 months after you last had the card.
Tips on using the certificate
- Alaska allows a great deal of flexibility when using your certificate. You can have stopovers, open-jaws, and even multi-city itineraries. For example, you could fly from the East Coast to San Francisco, then on to Hawaii, then to Las Vegas, and then back to the East Coast—all with a single companion certificate. Flights need to be operated by Alaska, not one of their partners.
- The flights need to be booked by the expiration date but can be flown after it—so you have close to two years to take your flights.
- You need to pay for the tickets with an Alaska Airlines card. You CAN'T just use whichever card earns the highest reward rate on travel purchases and/or offers the best travel protections. This also makes it technically impossible to use a certificate if you've closed your card(s). In our experience, this isn’t enforced if you book your flights online.
- Unlike almost any other companion certificate, the primary card holder doesn’t need to fly. If the cardholder buys the ticket, any two people can take advantage of the certificate.
- The companion ticket requires coach fares. Once bought, these are upgradable using the normal mechanisms, such as upgrade certificates. If you purchase Y, B, S, M, or H fares, you can even upgrade them using 15,000 miles per ticket per direction of travel. The companion doesn’t pay anything extra for the upgradable fare class. Combining the companion certificate and upgrades can make for a very affordable first-class flight to Hawaii or Costa Rica for two.
- Also unlike most other companion certificates, both passengers earn miles, even when using the certificate.
- Cancelling your reservation may cause you to lose your companion certificate. But if you call in, you can often get it applied to a new ticket.
Other benefits of the Alaska Airlines credit card
While the companion certificate is the best benefit of having the Alaska Airlines credit card, it is not the only reason to get it.
- The typical signup bonus is 30,000 points, more than enough for a domestic coach ticket. Alaska airlines has many partners, allowing you to use their miles on a variety of different airlines.
- The cardholder, and up to six other passengers, get their first bag checked free, as long as the cardholder’s frequent flyer number was used on the reservation.
