How I got a free trip to California (without points)

After getting home from spring break last year, I started thinking about my next opportunity to get back on a plane (as one does when they get home from vacation). We were just about a month and a half into our free nine months of Southwest Companion Pass which we got as a sign-up bonus for the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card in addition to 30,000 Rapid Rewards points.

First, I looked at my school calendar and unfortunately found that there were no good three-day weekends for me to travel so I looked towards the start of summer. Surprisingly, I got out of school on a Wednesday, a full three days before my brother and the normal school end dates.That meant that I had the opportunity to travel with my dad after school ended, but without the thought of leaving my brother behind because he already had a commitment to school.

I consistently persisted that we needed to go somewhere, anywhere for that matter. It was always the same response, “sorry, it’s probably not going to work out.” One day he got home from work and informed me that he had good news. Excited, I pried the information out. The news was great, he had to be in California for work the week I got out of school. With a little bit of flexibility, he managed to schedule his meetings for Thursday and Friday.

I got out of school at 11:15 that Wednesday and ran home. We hopped into an Uber and got to the airport as fast as we could. I have never been so thankful to live so close to a small airport like Washington-National (DCA). We got into the Uber at 11:30 hoping to make a 12:30 flight. If we had lived in NYC, getting to any airport would have taken a lot more time.

We did not check any bags and were at the gate by 12. Trust me, I was just as impressed as you are now that I made it from my house to the airport gate in just about 30 minutes. Ten minutes later, the flight began boarding and we were off to Saint Louis, Missouri. During our quick connection we ran to a Priority Pass restaurant, where we got $56 worth of food for free. When we asked for the check, the flight began boarding. Due to Southwest’s policy of first come, first serve seating, my dad ran to the gate to board with his A-List status. The waitress said that I would not be able to pay with my dad’s Priority Pass card right after he left, but I was able to use my own, which really surprised her. Then I boarded my flight and we were off to the city of Angels.

First night we stayed at the DoubleTree in Santa Monica. While my dad was at meetings, I got to explore the Santa Monica boardwalk, pier and Third Street Promenade before getting into an Uber to downtown. In the late afternoon, we met at Paramount Studios for our pre-booked tour followed by a Dodgers game. When we checked into the Hotel, we were able to get an upgrade to their Penthouse Suite, which was without a doubt the best hotel room I have ever stayed at. 

The next day, on Friday, my dad dropped me off at Disneyland and headed to his meetings. I had a great day exploring Disney California Adventure Park, where I managed to go on 22 rides in an eight-hour period. When you subtract the time I spent entering and exiting the park, eating and the time I spent walking from ride to ride, I calculated that on average I waited less than 16 minutes per ride.

On Saturday, the last day of the trip, I went to Disneyland with my dad. It was great even though we did not get to go on nearly as many rides. That night we flew to Denver, where he had a meeting and bright and early the next morning we went home. My flights cost a whopping $11.20 round trip, which we happily paid for with the American Express Platinum Card to get 5x points. 

In summary, using the benefit of the companion pass, I was able to work an ordinary business trip by my dad into a quick getaway. If you are a teen reading this and hope to do the same for yourself, just make sure that you’re okay spending most of the day alone in a foreign environment. If so, the possibilities are endless.