Airline Companion Tickets Compared: Passes, Fares and Certificates

• Different models

  Repeated-use pass, annual certificate, annual fare and one-time card offer

• $22 – $250

  Delta's stated taxes and fees on a companion certificate, for up to four segments

• $80 / $250 caps

  Delta's domestic and eligible-international companion fee caps

• Repeated use

  How a Southwest Companion Pass differs from a single annual certificate

“Companion ticket” and “companion pass” sound interchangeable, and they are not. This page compares an earned, repeated-use pass with the single-use companion products issued with certain credit cards, using only the details each carrier’s current official page establishes. Where a current figure could not be verified from the source, the field is described as something to check rather than filled in from memory. Make any comparison itinerary-specific.

The distinction is worth getting right before you spend. A pass that covers dozens of trips is a different commitment than a certificate you must use once before it expires, and each has its own earning path, primary-fare requirement and tax math. Deciding which to value — or whether either is worth a card’s annual fee — depends entirely on the two-person trip you actually plan to take and the cabin, route and dates that trip needs.

Pass versus certificate

The essential difference is how the benefit is earned and how often it can be used. A companion pass — Southwest’s is the leading example — is earned by activity, such as 100 qualifying flights or 135,000 qualifying points, and it covers a designated companion on repeated trips for a set window. A companion certificate is a single-use coupon or discount tied to a qualifying credit card. Some arrive annually after renewal or qualifying spend; others are one-time card offers. The products answer different travel jobs, so comparing them fairly requires knowing which job your trip is.

Delta certificate mechanics

Delta’s current companion-certificate page says eligible SkyMiles Platinum, Platinum Business, Reserve and Reserve Business cardmembers receive one certificate each year, after card renewal and payment of any required annual fee. The card tier sets the eligible cabin: Platinum certificates cover eligible Delta Main round trips, while Reserve certificates add eligible Delta First, Delta Premium Select and Delta Comfort. Delta Basic is not eligible for the certificate.

Both passengers travel on the same flights and dates, in the same cabin, on the same reservation, and the itinerary must be booked and fully flown by the certificate’s listed expiration. A certificate is transferable before ticketing, but the companion ticket is not transferable after it is issued. The full restriction set — round-trip origin and destination, cabin, inventory, primary ticket, segments, taxes and fees, expiration and payment — is on the live page and should be read before booking.

The cabin tier is the single biggest driver of the certificate’s value. A Platinum certificate limited to eligible Main round trips is worth the most on a domestic trip you were already going to book in Main. A Reserve certificate that adds eligible First, Delta Premium Select and Delta Comfort can justify a much higher primary fare, because the companion rides in the same higher cabin. But the certificate also imposes round-trip origin and destination and inventory conditions that can block the exact itinerary you want, so the eligible cabin only matters if the route qualifies.

Delta taxes and fees

The companion trip is not free money. Delta’s page states taxes and fees between $22 and $250 for up to four segments, with a domestic cap of $80 and an eligible international cap of $250. “Domestic cap” and “eligible international cap” are Delta’s own framing, so confirm which routes qualify under the current page. These fees are a floor, not the total: your companion still pays the assessed government taxes and fees on the issued ticket.

The distinction between the domestic cap and the eligible international cap is where the certificate can exceed expectations or fall short. On a short domestic route the companion’s taxes and fees stay under the $80 domestic cap, which for a modest fare is a small but real saving. On an eligible international itinerary the cap rises to $250, which can make the certificate far more valuable but also pushes the cash cost up before you account for the primary fare you must also book.

Run both numbers before you decide. For a low-cost domestic round trip, the certificate’s saving after taxes and fees may be modest, and a refundable-versus-nonrefundable fare or a cash booking might be simpler and almost as cheap. For a more expensive flight, or one where you would pick a higher cabin anyway, the certificate can be worth the annual fee. The comparison is always about the fare you would actually book, not the certificate in isolation.

Alaska Companion Fare

Alaska’s former Famous Companion Fare is now the Atmos Rewards $99 Companion Fare. Current official material says eligible Atmos Rewards Ascent and business cardholders can receive it annually after their card anniversary and qualifying purchases, where applicable. The companion fare is $99 plus taxes and fees starting from $23 and is valid for eligible Alaska-operated flights and Hawaiian flights within North America booked on alaskaair.com; codeshares are excluded. Check the live certificate and card terms for your spend requirement, cabin, expiration, payment and cancellation rules before booking.

Hawaiian card companion discount

Hawaiian’s current World Elite Mastercard page describes a one-time 50%-off companion discount. That is not an annual free-ticket certificate, and it should not be valued as one. Verify the eligible itinerary, fare, expiration and card terms shown with your offer before applying because the live offer controls. HawaiianMiles transitioned into Atmos Rewards in October 2025, so older comparisons that present a separate annual HawaiianMiles certificate are stale.

How to value a certificate

To value a single-use companion product, start with the full-price round-trip fare the two of you would actually book for that cabin and route. Then subtract the certificate’s companion fare and taxes, the primary fare you are required to book, and any annual fee you would not otherwise pay. What remains is the certificate’s real saving, and it can be near zero on short, cheap, or inventory-restricted routes where you would get a low main-cabin fare anyway.

The math breaks toward the certificate when you want a higher cabin, a specific route the certificate covers, and a primary fare you are already willing to pay. It breaks against the certificate when you would travel solo, when the eligible inventory forces an expensive fare, or when you would never otherwise hold the card. Run the break-even per itinerary rather than treating “has a companion certificate” as value in hand.

Card cost is the trap many valuations miss. A certificate appears to deliver one free-ish companion seat, but you hold the card usually for a year, paying its annual fee, or complete qualifying spend to receive it. If you receive benefits beyond the certificate, the comparison is different; if the certificate is your only reason to hold the card, its value must clear the annual fee after subtracting the primary fare you were going to pay anyway. That is a far higher bar than “the companion fare is cheaper than a second ticket”.

Restrictions to verify first

Every certificate page in this comparison carries the same family of restrictions, and the exact values differ by carrier. Before you book, verify all of the following for your specific certificate and itinerary.

The reason this checklist exists is that each carrier publishes a different version of these terms, and none of them tracks the others exactly. Delta’s cabin and tax structure is specific to its own page; Atmos Rewards and Hawaiian set their own qualifying fares and rules. Working through the checklist for the carrier you hold prevents the most common mistake in companion-ticket planning: assuming a yesterday detail on one card applies to a different card, route or certificate today.

1. How it is earned. Which card, renewal timing and annual fee produce the certificate.
2. Primary-fare requirement. What the member must book and in which cabin or fare environment.
3. Eligible cabins and routes. Whether your cabin and origin-destination pair are covered.
4. Companion charge and taxes. The companion fare and the assessed taxes and fees.
5. Expiration. When the itinerary must be booked and fully flown.
6. Cancellation and reissue. Whether the certificate or a used booking can be changed or recovered.
7. Who must travel. Whether both passengers must be on the same flights, dates and cabin.
8. One use vs repeated use. Whether the product is a single redemption or covers multiple trips.

Companion products at a glance

The table keeps the different carriers’ established facts side by side using the distinctions on their current official pages. The issuer’s live certificate or offer still controls fields that can vary by account, including eligibility and expiration.

The table is a comparison aid, not a promise. It keeps the different carriers’ verification points in one view so you can check the same field across products without pretending that a pass, annual fare and one-time discount are interchangeable. Use the table to know which combination of cabin, route, tax and expiration matters for your trip, then confirm the terms on the carrier’s live page.

Decide alongside related guides. The Southwest Companion Pass guide covers the repeated-use pass in detail, the airline flight credit guide covers what to do with an unused fare, and the credit card trip delay insurance guide covers a different card benefit that can matter when a two-person trip is affected by weather.

Companion tickets come in two very different forms. An earned, repeated-use pass such as Southwest’s covers many trips; Delta’s annual certificates, the Atmos Rewards annual Companion Fare and Hawaiian’s one-time card discount each cover a single use under different rules. Value each against your exact itinerary, verify every field on the carrier’s current terms, and never assume a certificate is worth its annual fee.