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One of the key benefits of the Alaska Airlines credit card is its famous
companion fare
discount code that is credited to your Alaska Airlines account after you are
approved for the card and every subsequent years of your card’s anniversary
date. However, whether this credit card is worth holding on to or not after
the first year, that’s your personal decision. With that being said, I was
asked by a reader whether or not you may lose Alaska’s famous companion fare
discount if you decide to cancel or close your Alaska Airlines credit
card.
companion fare
discount code that is credited to your Alaska Airlines account after you are
approved for the card and every subsequent years of your card’s anniversary
date. However, whether this credit card is worth holding on to or not after
the first year, that’s your personal decision. With that being said, I was
asked by a reader whether or not you may lose Alaska’s famous companion fare
discount if you decide to cancel or close your Alaska Airlines credit
card.
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Alaska Airlines Companion Fare Details
-
Both
Alaska Airlines Visa Credit Card
and
Alaska Airlines Business Credit Card
offer this benefit. -
Each year on your account anniversary get a companion fare from
$121 ($99 plus taxes and fees from $22). - No blackout date.
-
Discount can be applied towards Main economy including
Saver economy seats only.
How To Extend Alaska Airlines Companion Fare Discount Code
There are a couple methods to extend your Alaska Airlines Companion Fare Code:
Due to COVID-19, Alaska Airlines is allowing free flight cancellation. This applies to the companion fare code as well. Generally, when you cancel a reservation that uses a companion fare code, that companion fare code would be forfeit. However, because of the COVID situation Alaska Airlines will re-issue a replacement companion fare code if the reservation is cancelled. The new companion fare code will be valid three (3) months from the date it was re-issued.
I booked a flight ticket last year using the companion fare code that’s supposed to expire on February 28, 2021, but I ended up canceling that reservation on January 10, 2021. The new companion fare code that got replaced and put back into my account has an expiration date of April 10, 2021. To confirm if this is the case for everyone, I reached out to Alaska Airlines and they confirm the following:
Hi there, as it is stated in the Terms and Conditions that if the reservation that was booked using the Companion Fare is cancelled the Companion Fare code would be forfeit however we had made the exception due to Covid to issue out a replacement Companion Fare which will only be valid for three months from the date it was issued.
So this is what you want to do if you want to extend your soon to be expiring Alaska Airlines companion fare discount in 2021:
- Book a speculative flight ticket with a companion fare code for two passengers.
- After 24 hours, cancel the reservation. I recommend that you contact an Alaska Airlines agent to cancel the reservation for you so that they can put in request for a replacement companion fare code correctly. You can also re-confirm with the agent to be sure that your new companion fare will be valid 3 more months from the date it’s re-issued.
- Wait for the new companion fare code to be replaced and deposited into your account. Keep in mind that it may take up to 7 days for your companion fare discount code to be replaced with a new date.
Below is another method to extend your Alaska Airlines Companion Fare Code. Thanks to the recent no change fee policy, here’s what you would do:
-
Book a flight ticket with a companion fare code for two adults. You can
book for the dates beyond the expiration date on your companion fare
code. -
Be sure to avoid booking the Saver Fare because you cannot
change the reservation once it’s booked which makes this method not
work. -
Keep changing the flight ticket until you are able to take the flight in
the future. This is to ensure that although your companion fare code is
expired, you can still change as long as the existing reservation is
active, which makes the companion fare discount code stay applicable.
With this method, it is subject to fare difference but if the new itinerary
is cheaper, you may receive credits back in your Alaska Airlines Wallet
which expires after one year from the booking date. Alaska Airlines also confirms that this method will work:
is cheaper, you may receive credits back in your Alaska Airlines Wallet
which expires after one year from the booking date. Alaska Airlines also confirms that this method will work:
You will want to avoid the Saver Fare if you need to make changes to the reservation, but yes, if you keep the reservation active the code will stay applicable.
Can You Keep Alaska Airlines Companion Fare Discount If You Close Alaska
Airlines Credit Card?
Companion fare discount code is issued each year on your account anniversary.
There’s an annual fee of $75 on Alaska Airlines credit card. The good news is,
you don’t have to pay the annual fee on your account anniversary date in order
to keep the companion fare discount; however, according to the terms and
conditions:
Primary fare and Companion Fare must be purchased with your Alaska Airlines
credit card. In other words, you won’t be able to use the companion fare discount
code if you are not paying for the airfare with an Alaska Airlines credit
card.
There’s an annual fee of $75 on Alaska Airlines credit card. The good news is,
you don’t have to pay the annual fee on your account anniversary date in order
to keep the companion fare discount; however, according to the terms and
conditions:
Primary fare and Companion Fare must be purchased with your Alaska Airlines
credit card. In other words, you won’t be able to use the companion fare discount
code if you are not paying for the airfare with an Alaska Airlines credit
card.
When your card’s annual fee is posted, you have a month to pay off that
balance. During that time, the companion fare is already issued. Once you
verify the companion fare discount code is issued, use it and pay with your
Alaska Airlines credit card right away. After that, you can go ahead and call
Bank of America to request closing your credit card’s account. See my timeline
below:
balance. During that time, the companion fare is already issued. Once you
verify the companion fare discount code is issued, use it and pay with your
Alaska Airlines credit card right away. After that, you can go ahead and call
Bank of America to request closing your credit card’s account. See my timeline
below:
- Annual fee $75 was posted on June 10.
- Companion Fare discount code was issued June 14.
Should you decide to not keep the card, it’s worth calling up Bank of America
for retention offer to see if they can either waive the annual fee or offer
Alaska bonus miles to you. It does not hurt to ask!
for retention offer to see if they can either waive the annual fee or offer
Alaska bonus miles to you. It does not hurt to ask!
Can You Use Personal Alaska Airlines Credit Card To Book For Companion Fare
Discount Code Issued By A Business Card And Vice Versa?
Yes. Alaska Airlines system does not care whether you are using a personal or
a business version of Alaska Airlines credit card to pay for an airfare that
has a companion fare discount. As long as it is an Alaska Airlines credit
card, you are all set!
a business version of Alaska Airlines credit card to pay for an airfare that
has a companion fare discount. As long as it is an Alaska Airlines credit
card, you are all set!
How to View Your Companion Fare Discount in Your Alaska Airlines Account?
-
Log into your
Alaska Airlines account
online. -
From your name’s drop down list, click on
Discount and companion fare codes. -
The companion fare discount code should be listed there if you receive
any. See screenshot below.
How to Use Alaska Airlines Companion Fare Discount?
-
Log into your
Alaska Airlines account
online. -
From your name’s drop down list, click on
Discount and companion fare codes. -
The companion fare discount code should be listed there if you receive
any. Click on Shop button. - Follow the booking interface to search for flights for 2 adults.
-
On the result page, the companion discount is included automatically in
the displayed total fare (see screenshots below). Simply follow the screen
to finalizing your booking.
Make sure to use your Alaska Airlines credit card to book.
Alaska Airlines Companion Fare Cancellation
During normal time, when you cancel a reservation that has a companion fare discount code, the companion fare code would be forfeit. This is stated in the terms and conditions:
If the reservation that was booked using the Companion Fare is cancelled the Companion Fare code would be forfeit.
However, because of COVID-19 Alaska Airlines had made the exception when it comes to issuing out a replacement companion fare code due to a cancellation. The replacement companion fare will be valid for three (3) months from the date it was re-issued.
It’s also worth noting that when you redeem the companion fare discount code and later on you wish to
cancel the tickets. The companion fare discount code does not get replaced and put back
into your Alaska Airlines account instantly. In fact, it takes up to 1 week
for a new replacement companion fare discount code to be issued. So please keep that in
mind. If possible and cheaper, it’s better to make change to the tickets
rather than completely cancel and then rebook the tickets. That way the
companion fare discount code is still attached to the old reservation. This
method allows you to extend the expiration date on your companion fare
discount code as well. See
How To Extend Alaska Airlines Companion Fare Discount Code section
above.
cancel the tickets. The companion fare discount code does not get replaced and put back
into your Alaska Airlines account instantly. In fact, it takes up to 1 week
for a new replacement companion fare discount code to be issued. So please keep that in
mind. If possible and cheaper, it’s better to make change to the tickets
rather than completely cancel and then rebook the tickets. That way the
companion fare discount code is still attached to the old reservation. This
method allows you to extend the expiration date on your companion fare
discount code as well. See
How To Extend Alaska Airlines Companion Fare Discount Code section
above.
Maximizing Alaska Airlines Companion Fare
I am a dedicated travel enthusiast with a deep passion for miles and points. Always willing to share my expertise, I possess a wealth of knowledge on miles and points, extensively researching and staying up-to-date with the latest strategies for maximizing travel rewards through credit cards and loyalty program promotions.
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