Spirit Airlines is an ultra low-cost U.S. carrier known for its “bare fares.” The airline specializes in extremely low fares and no-frills flights to over 75 destinations across North, South, and Central America, as well as the Caribbean. The airline’s new loyalty program, Free Spirit, offers perks , travel credits, and provides value for frequent Spirit passengers. Here is everything you need to know in BestCards’ Ultimate Guide to the Free Spirit frequent flyer program.
What Is Free Spirit?
Spirit Airlines is the eighth-largest carrier in the United States and flies to 77 destinations in the U.S., Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean.
Like other frequent flyer programs, Free Spirit is free to join, with the airline offering an easy signup process on its website. While it isn’t as luxurious or robust as other loyalty programs, those who prefer to fly with the low-cost carrier – especially those flying to Spirit’s international destinations – will still find significant value in the program.
How to Earn Free Spirit Points
Spirit bases Free Spirit points on Status Qualifying Points (SQPs). Members earn SQPs by flying with Spirit. Reaching set levels of SQPs entitles a Free Spirit member to additional benefits. Currently, there are two tiers in the Free Spirit frequent flyer program:
- Silver: 2,000 SQPs in a single calendar year
- Gold: 5,000 SQPs in a single calendar year
Silver and Gold status in the Free Spirit loyalty program entitles members to additional points on eligible purchases.
Silver membership, for instance, entitles the member to 8X points on Spirit ticker purchases and 16X points per dollar spent on extras – including additional carry-on or checked baggage, in-flight purchases, and more.
Gold status entitles members to even more frequent flyer points. Gold members earn 10X points on flight fares and 20X points on Extras.
Earn Points with Co-Branded Credit Cards
Spirit Airlines currently offers four co-branded airline credit cards. Two, issued by Bank of America, earn up to 3X points for every dollar spent – making them one of the easiest ways to amass a haul of frequent flyer miles quickly. The cards (the Free Spirit® Travel World Mastercard® and Free Spirit® Travel More World Elite Mastercard®) also come with bonus points, anniversary gifts, priority boarding, and more.
The other two Free Spirit credit cards are issued by First Bank and Trust and Mercury Finance – the issuer of the popular Mercury Mastercard. The Free Spirit Points Mastercard and Points World Mastercard offer loyalty program members lucrative rewards but don’t have the high credit score requirements of the Bank of America cards.
Earn Points with Spirit Airlines Partners
Free Spirit members can also earn points by spending money with select Spirit partners. Spirit offers a wide range of partner brands and companies, including:
| Avis | Spirit Cruises | EA+ | Rocket Mortgage |
| Budget | Free Spirit Dining | Mags for Points | Thrifty Car Rental |
| Dollar Car Rental | Free Spirit Online Mall | Payless | Ticket Club |
| Hertz | Free Spirit Points | Points for Thoughts | Vinesse Wine Club |
The best value with Spirit partners comes from the in-house airline companies. These include Spirit Cruises, which offers up to 10,000 points when booking cruises. Spirit Dining, the airline’s in-house dining rewards program, offers a 1,000-point bonus when signing up and using the service within 30 days.
Booking with Choice Hotels also provides excellent value – especially for those who frequently travel and want to keep their frequent flyer points active. Members can earn 250 points per day when staying at eligible Choice properties.
Do Free Spirit Points Expire?
Points in the Free Spirit frequent flyer program expire after three months of account inactivity. That expiration period is among the shortest in the industry – but don’t worry. There are several ways to keep a Free Spirit account active:
- Earn at least one point every three months
- Use one of Spirit’s partner services via the airline’s website at least once every three months
- Make at least one transaction with a Spirit Airlines World Mastercard each month
How to Redeem Points with Spirit
edeeming Free Spirit miles for award flights is somewhat tricky. This difficulty stems from the various ways reward flights break down in the program. Spirit Airlines offers four types of mileage on award flights:
- Off-Peak Flights: Only available when booking award flights with the Spirit Airlines World Mastercard
- Standard Flights: The primary tier of award flights. These flights are only available on certain days of the week and at select points in the year.
- Peak Flights: Offers more availability than Standard fares, but still subject to blackout dates.
- Premium Flights: The most expensive mileage tier offering the best award flight options.
Within these flight types, there are different fares based on the region you are flying to. Spirit bases its regions on a set distance from gate to gate. Here is an example award chart based on Free Spirit’s miles needed to book award flights:
| Region | Miles needed (one way) | |||
| Off-peak | Standard | Peak | Premium | |
|
Region 1 (0 to 1,249 mi) |
2,500 | 10,000 | 15,000 | 25,000 |
|
Region 2 (1,250 to 1,749 mi) |
5,000 | 12,500 | 17,500 | 27,500 |
|
Region 3 (1,750 to 2,499 mi) |
7,500 | 15,000 | 20,000 | 37,500 |
|
Region 4 (2,500+ mi) |
12,500 | 20,000 | 25,000 | 45,000 |
What Are Free Spirit Points Worth?
How much your Free Spirit points are worth depends on when are where you plan to book award flights. Here is an average valuation of airline miles:
| Program | Value (cents/point) |
|---|---|
| Air Canada (Aeroplan) | 1.5 |
| American Airlines (AAdvantage) | 1.5 |
| Alaska Airlines (Mileage Plan) | 1.4 |
| Avianca (LifeMiles) | 1.5 |
| British Airways (Avios) | 1.3 |
| Delta Air Lines (SkyMiles) | 1.2 |
| Frontier (Frontier Miles) | 1.2 |
| Hawaiian Airlines (HawaiianMiles) | 0.9 |
| JetBlue (TrueBlue) | 1.4 |
| KLM/ Air France (Flying Blue) | 1.2 |
| Korean Air (SkyPass) | 1.6 |
| Lufthansa (Miles & More) | 1.5 |
| Southwest (Rapid Rewards) | 1.5 |
| Spirit Airlines (Free Spirit) | 0.8 |
| United Airlines (MileagePlus) | 1.2 |
| Virgin Atlantic (Flying Club) | 1.5 |
Free Spirit Elite Membership Tiers
The Free Spirit program has two tiers of membership:
Silver
Silver is the entry-level tier in the Free Spirit program. Gaining Silver status requires 2,000 SQPs within a calendar year and offers the following perks:
- Earn 8X points on fares and 16X on extras
- Ability to host a points pool with friends and family
- Redemption fee waiver when redeeming Free Spirirt points
- Free seat selection at check-in (excluding exit rows and premium Big Front Seats)
- Free exit row seat selection up to three hours before departure
- Shortcut boarding
- Complimentary same-day standby
- Dedicated customer service phone number
Gold
Gold is the second tier in the frequent flyer program. This level offers a higher level of perk and requires over double the SQPs of Silver. To reach Gold status, Free Spirit members need 5,000 SQPs. Gold entitles holders to the following perks (on top of all Silver benefits):
- Earn 10X points on fares and 20X on all extras
- Free seat selection at booking, including the exit row (excluding premium Big Front Seats)
- Complimentary snacks and drinks on board
- One free carry-on bag
- One free checked bag
- Free Spirit Airlines Flight Flex (allowing members to change itinerary online up to 24 hours before departure)
Current Spirit Airlines Credit Cards:
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