7 Easy Ways to Score Free Drinks in Economy

Ahead of last week’s NFL game between the Chiefs and the Raiders, a Southwest crew flying from Oakland (OAK) to Kansas City (MCI) ran into an interesting situation: The flight attendants found that they’d served all the alcohol on board — in just three hours and 20 minutes, the excited Raiders fans had drank the entire aircraft dry. When notified, the pilot reacted in a very Southwest-y way: by congratulating the passengers on their accomplishment.

Here at The Points Guy, we cracked up about this story, figuring many of these fans paid $5 each for their drinks, resulting in a nice bit of revenue for the carrier. Luckily, there are ways to get free drinks on Southwest — and other airlines — that’ll save you some money the next time you feel like toasting your trip in the air.

1. Fly 10 Flights on Southwest Airlines

The surest way of getting free Southwest drink coupons is to fly 10 one-way flights with the carrier — note that unfortunately, flights booked with Rapid Rewards points or a Companion Pass don’t count toward this total though. You also need to be at least 21 years old to start accumulating these flight credits. And make sure your preference is set for your Rapid Rewards account to receive your drink coupons.

As you fly Southwest more, you’ll earn even more free drinks. One Southwest Companion Pass member I spoke with — who doesn’t earn the Companion Pass the easy way — says he gets drink coupons each time he meets the requirements for A-List, A-List Preferred and the Companion Pass. Southwest also remembers to send drink coupons for his birthday — he just got a pack in the mail this week wishing him a happy holiday, too.

2. Take a Break From Flying Southwest

While flying Southwest a lot will get you coupons for free drinks, doing the opposite might also work for you. One TPG team member has gotten “We miss you” coupons from Southwest trying to incentivize her to fly with the airline again.

3. Travel on a Holiday

Southwest has a long-running offer that gives passengers free drinks on certain holidays, which are listed at the bottom of the in-flight drink menu and are typically about once a month. These holidays include:

4. Fly International on a Legacy Carrier

While we’ve focused on Southwest so far, let’s take a step back and discuss other airlines. Although the trend was moving away from free beer and wine in economy on international flights, thankfully that’s been reversed and most legacy carriers still offer this. American Airlines even offers sparkling wine in economy, but as we’ve found, the carrier only stocks four mini-bottles on some international flights. Japan Airlines, on the other hand, offers sake.

5. Leverage Your Elite Status

This suggestion takes a bit more effort than the others, but if you can pull off top-tier status on many airlines, you’ll be able to get a free drink in economy. American Airlines offers a complimentary alcoholic beverage to Executive Platinum members traveling in coach, as does United for its 1K members. While Delta Medallion members don’t have this as a stated benefit, members who are upgraded to Delta Comfort+ can score a free drink as well.

6. Befriend Another Passenger

While Southwest flight attendants used to be lax about accepting expired coupons, that’s not the case anymore. But you might luck out and end up sitting in a row with someone who has expiring drink tickets — perhaps they’re heading to a meeting and can’t drink or they simply have too many coupons to use on their own — and they might be happy to hand over a couple of coupons.

It’s also worth noting that Southwest Business Select fares not only get you first in line for boarding and extra Rapid Rewards points, but they also come with a coupon for a free drink — keep in mind that while you also have the option of buying your own Business Select ticket, that’s virtually never worth the extra cost (in cash or points). That being said, whether it’s due to a last-minute booking or a company’s allowance for “business-class” tickets, you’ll find some business travelers booking Business Select tickets with no intention of ever using the drink coupon, which is only valid on the day of travel, so they won’t be able to save it for future use. A handful of times, I’ve gotten free drink coupons from these types of business travelers, sometimes offered after a short conversation, other times just handed over after taking a seat in that person’s row and saying hello.

7. Airline Fee Credits

One final option applies if you hold a credit card that will cover a certain amount of charges made with an airline. Examples include the annual $100 airline fee credit on the Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express and the $200 annual airline credit on the Platinum Card from American Express. The $300 annual travel credit on the Ritz-Carlton Rewards Card should work too, along with the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card‘s $300 annual credit and the Citi Prestige Card‘s $250 annual air travel credit.

…And Here’s How NOT to Drink for Free During Your Flight

Source: thepointsguy.com