How to Get and Use the Delta Companion Certificate

BY 

Katie Seemann

- UPDATED: October 8, 2019

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What’s better than getting a great deal on a plane ticket? Getting 2 plane tickets for the price of 1! Getting a 2-for-1 deal on a plane ticket is possible with a companion ticket.

Southwest Airline’s Companion Pass is probably the most well-known companion ticket perk, but did you know that Delta also offers a companion ticket? It’s not quite the same as the Southwest Companion Pass, but still has a lot of value.

Here’s how to get a Delta Companion Certificate and use it for maximum value!

What is the Delta Companion Certificate?

The Delta Companion Certificate is a great perk that comes with select Delta credit cards. This perk allows you to essentially get a 2-for-1 deal on a plane ticket.

So, when you purchase one ticket, you can use the Delta Companion Certificate to purchase a 2nd ticket, and you only have to pay the taxes and fees on that 2nd ticket.

Here are a few points to keep in mind when using your Delta Companion Certificate.

• The ticket is good for travel within the continental U.S.; however, if you’re a resident of Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands, your ticket can originate from one of those destinations. You still must travel to one of the 48 contiguous states, and the address in your Delta account must be from one of those areas.
• Companion tickets can be transferred, so you can book for someone else, but once the ticket is issued, it’s not transferrable.
• Companion tickets can’t be applied to fares that have already been purchased.
• If you cancel your reservation, your companion ticket won’t be re-issued.
• The companion ticket must be for the exact same flight as the original paid ticket. You can’t use the companion ticket to purchase a fare for a friend on a different flight.
• The paid ticket and companion ticket are both eligible for upgrades as long as both passengers are either a Delta SkyMiles member, Medallion member, or SkyTeam Alliance partner airline elite member. Any upgrades will be processed according to the passenger with the highest Delta status.
• Companion ticket fares may require an advance purchase of up to 14 days, a 3-night minimum stay, and a 30-day maximum stay.
• Some flights may be excluded, and stopovers and open jaws aren’t eligible for companion flights.
• The primary, paid ticket on the itinerary will earn Delta SkyMiles, but the companion ticket will not.

Bottom Line: A Delta Companion Certificate allows you to purchase a 2nd ticket on select domestic flights for only the price of the taxes and fees on the 2nd ticket.

How to Get a Delta Companion Certificate

You can earn a Delta Companion Certificate simply by having the right credit card in your wallet.

American Express offers 4 co-branded personal Delta credit cards and 4 co-branded Delta business credit cards in total, but not all of them come with the companion pass perk.

The Delta Companion Certificate is only available on the Platinum Delta SkyMiles® and Delta Reserve credit cards:

• Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express
• Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express
• Delta Reserve® Credit Card from American Express
• Delta Reserve® for Business Credit Card from American Express

The companion pass varies slightly depending on what credit card you hold.

Delta Platinum Credit Cards [Personal and Business]

Both the Delta Platinum Card and Delta Platinum Business Card credit cards come with the companion ticket benefit. This perk offers one round-trip, main cabin companion ticket per year after you pay your annual fee.

You’re responsible for paying the taxes and fees on the companion ticket. The companion ticket is valid for L, U, T, X, and V classes of service only. These letters refer to different levels of economy fares. Both the 1st ticket and the fees for the 2nd ticket must be charged to your Delta SkyMiles card.

Delta Reserve Credit Cards [Personal and Business]

If you have either of the Delta Reserve Card or the Delta Reserve Business Card, you’re eligible for one round-trip, main cabin, Comfort+, or first class companion ticket per year after you pay your annual fee.

You’re responsible for paying the taxes and fees on the companion ticket. The companion ticket is valid for L, U, T, X, and V classes of service (economy), I and Z classes of service (first class), and W class (Delta Comfort+ ).

Both the 1st ticket and the fees for the 2nd ticket must be charged to your Delta Reserve American Express card.

Bottom Line: A Delta Companion Certificate is a perk that comes with the personal and business versions of the Platinum Delta and Delta Reserve credit cards. If you aren’t sure which of these credit cards is right for you, check out this guide to the best credit cards for Delta flyers.

How to Use the Delta Companion Certificate

Your Delta Companion Certificate can only be used on Delta.com; it can’t be used on Delta flights that are purchased on any other website.

Once you’re logged in to your account, you’ll be able to see your companion ticket in the My Wallet section.

From there you can select your companion pass then search for flights as you normally would. The system should automatically filter out the flights that aren’t eligible for a companion pass ticket.

There isn’t a price limit to the ticket you can purchase with your Delta companion certificate. So, the higher the price of the ticket, the more value you get from this perk.

Let’s say you and a friend want to travel from New York to Los Angeles for a long weekend, but the tickets are $500 each. While you might not want to spend $1,000 for this trip, with the Delta Companion Certificate, you can purchase both tickets for just $500 (plus the taxes and fees on the 2nd ticket).

You can easily get hundreds of dollars of value from this 1 perk!

Hot Tip: On any itinerary, the primary, paid ticket is eligible to earn Delta SkyMiles, but the companion ticket is not.

Final Thoughts

The Delta Companion Certificate is a great deal. This perk allows you to buy a 2nd seat on a Delta flight for the price of the taxes and fees. That means you and your companion can fly for essentially the price of just one ticket!

The companion ticket is available as a perk on 4 Delta Amex credit cards: the Delta Platinum, the Delta Platinum Business, Delta Reserve, and Delta Reserve Business.