I can't quote the details, but I definitely remember a similar situation. I believe that with my CM credit card I get one "free" companion ticket a year. But the original fare to which one can add the companion ticket has to be some crazy elevated fare class, and the companion ticket had to be some special class that wasn't available for any of the flights I wanted. The end result was the total with the "free" companion was virtually the same as just buying two tickets off the website, and at worse times. Combine that with the aggravation of having to call in and hope for an agent with a clue.... not worth it. And I admit, I was 'suckered' by the marketing ploy: I was going to take a totally unplanned trip just because of the allure of getting something for free. Instead, I just discarded the whole idea.