Trip Report: Southern California 2022

Many people who know me, or have read Nonstop Points before, know my love for the Southwest Companion Pass. While I could go into detail describing the ins and outs of this “elite status” on Southwest, the short story is that it allows the pass holder to bring a companion with them on any Southwest flight for just the taxes and fees.

This means that you could fly around the U.S. all year with your companion for only $5.60 per flight (taxes and fees are often higher for international flights such as the Caribbean). Regardless of whether they book flights with cash or points. You are able to earn the companion pass via frequent flying or strategic credit card use. We choose the latter.

For multiple reasons, we decided that it did not make sense for us to go for the companion pass this year (earned in 2022 for use in 2023) since a lot of our travel is already laid out for 2023, and therefore, we would not be able to make use of it. The opportunity cost to earn the pass was too high compared to putting spend on other cards.

With December 31^st being the last day to take advantage of the companion pass (we have consistently re-earned the pass since 2018), I knew we had to make use of it one last time. When my dad told me he needed to be in California in mid-December, all the pieces fell into place. A perfect opportunity to use it one last time.

Trip Outline

The articles to come will consist of the flight and hotel reviews, as well as a few experiences I had while in Southern California. I finally, got to check out the new (to me) Star Wars Land part of Disneyland.

The stories will include:

• The Final Companion Pass Flight: DCA-SNA
• Hotel Review: Sheraton Park Hotel Disneyland
• The Happiest Place on Earth: My One-Day Disneyland Experience
• Lakers vs. Nuggets: Box Seats
• Hotel Review: Hilton Checkers Los Angeles

The Last Point

It was an interesting two-day trip to California, but I have lots of thoughts to share. There was some outstanding service from hotels, so I look forward to being able to review them here.