Spirit Airlines has changed the benefits of its credit card offering and now beats all U.S. competitors – by far.
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In what world is this possible? In an objective
At first glance, the question arises as to how a low-cost airline with no lounges, no first class, no IFE system, and no partners can have “the best airline credit card.” It’s a fair question, and probably the first one that comes to mind for most readers. Yet for many consumers, the way they use their credit cards is driven less by incentives (which are reserved for superusers) and more by an aversion to fees. In the words of my mother, who still has a Delta credit card and hasn’t flown with that airline in at least five years:
“With this card, I don’t have to pay for baggage.” That’s absolutely true, Mom, but you don’t have to pay for baggage if you’re not flying anyway. I don’t mean to attack my mom, but ask your own relatives, neighbors and coworkers why they have those airline credit cards and it’s almost entirely reluctance, not incentive.
For this article, we’ll look at those dislikes and compare the card benefits for a similar annual fee and the benefits they offer based on four trips per year and one round-trip flight per quarter. We also have to consider that most of these cardholders fly economy and pay extra for perks and comfort.
Objectively speaking, there is currently no better card on the market for any airline. Let me prove it.
Spirit ups the ante and announces new credit card benefits
Spirit Airlines sent an email to Free Spirit members this week with a special offer on their credit card. With just $5,000 in spending in the first 180 days (six months) with the Free Spirit Travel More Elite Mastercard, cardholders will earn Free Spirit Gold status, valid for the rest of the year and all of next year. If this offer is still valid as of January 1, 2025, the terms would grant Gold status through December 31, 2026.
The basic benefits of the card are as follows:
- 3x points on eligible spirit purchases.
- 2x points when eating and grocery shopping.
- 1x points on all other purchases.
- 25% discount on food and drinks on board.
- Shortcut to boarding/Zone 2 early boarding.
- Points pooling with up to eight other members.
- Companion flight voucher worth 100 USD annually after spending $5,000.
This is mostly comparable to other card offers from other airlines, although most other airlines do not have a points pool feature. The $100 companion flight certificate is a staple of the Alaska Airlines boarding card and in this regard they beat most competitors. With the American Airlines Aviator Red Mastercard from Barclays there is an option to purchase a companion certificate, but it does not come with it; the same goes for Southwest. The sign-up bonus is 50,000 points after spending $1,000.
However, with the new offer – which sets a spending goal for cards in the same annual fee range ($79) – cardholders will also receive the following benefits due to their new Free Spirit Gold status.
- Higher earnings rates: Gold members earn 10 points per dollar spent on fares and 20 points per dollar for À La Smarte options (such as bags and seats).
- Free bags: Gold members receive a first checked baggage free and a free hand luggage on all flights.
- Seat selection: Enjoy Free choice of seats when bookingincluding premium seats such as emergency exit rows.
- Flightflex: Benefit from Free Flight Flexso that changes to flight bookings are possible without additional fees.
- Discounts on board: Gold members are entitled to a Free drinks and snacks on board on every flight.
- Priority services: Members receive Priority check-in And Priority boardingensuring a smoother and faster airport experience.
- Link security: Access to Link securityso you can speed up security checks at participating airports.
- Free WiFi
Comparison with other cards
If you now consider the benefits of Free Spirit Gold status as credit card benefits, this is what the comparison looks like:
- Purchasing flights on Spirit Airlines outperform competitors by 10-20x. A round-trip flight on American Airlines for $300 earns 600 Aadvantage miles at 2x points per dollar. Purchasing an upgrade for another $150 earns another 300 Aadvantage miles, for a total of $450 for 900 miles plus 5x points on the base fare, or a total of 1,500 + 900. Spirit earns 3,900 points for the same base flight purchase, but another 450 points for the upgrade issued with the credit card, and another 20x for the upgrade, or 3,000 more points. Spirit Gold status cardholders earn 7,350 points on this transaction, while American Airlines Aviator Red cardholders earn 2,400.
- All airline credit cards now include a free checked bag, but United, Frontier and Allegiant still charge carry-on fees on their lowest fares, giving Spirit a $25-$45 advantage on every flight.
- Seat selection includes emergency exit rows, but not the Big Front Seat. No other carrier allows credit card holders free seat selection, valued at $19 to $60 (depending on emergency exit row, carrier, availability and flight length). This is a huge advantage.
- Flight Flex allows customers to rebook their flight free of charge within 24 hours of departure without paying a fare difference. This is available for many elite status levels on competing airlines – but not as a credit card benefit.
- Many other cards offer preferred customer service lines and priority check-in at this annual rate, but priority boarding would be moved from Group 2 to Group 1, just behind those who need extra time boarding. It’s difficult to determine the value of Group 1 boarding, but if we say it’s worth $6.99 per flight, that would add up for quarterly travelers.
- The abbreviated security is better than nothing, but it is quite limited in its execution. No other airline credit card in this category offers any kind of priority security measure. At LaGuardia a few weeks ago, it saved at least 20 minutes compared to standard security.
- Free Wi-Fi for all Gold status holders on all flights saves passengers at least $7 per segment, but can easily be far more. Additionally, Spirit offers some of the fastest Wi-Fi in the sky, so the quality of that connection is in itself higher compared to other airlines, but then the free inclusion only competes with American Airlines, which offers a $25 annual Wi-Fi reimbursement.
Overcoming concerns
Many Free Spirit members have two concerns. First, the points are only worth about 1 cent per person, about 30% less than most other airlines. They often charge a copayment, but not always, and there is often a last-minute booking fee, but this is waived for tier members who are eligible for this offer. Essentially, the points are worth the same and there isn’t a huge amount of value in collecting them.
The second concern is that Spirit is facing economic difficulties and this could affect overall usage of the points and benefits. Some might speculate that this is a move to secure cash and increase the user base, but it could also be a simple way to counteract Frontier’s push to offer free bags to cardholders.
Diploma
For casual travelers who can use Spirit routes, this is a great card to keep at least for the duration of Free Spirit Gold status. It offers more benefits than other cards while saving you the cheap price of a basic economy ticket. For casual flyers who want to save on nonstop flights, this is hands down the best product on the market. For international passengers flying lie-flat business class, it’s not particularly good for building up valuable points balances – but that’s not something you need for every trip, and not something you need for every traveler.
What do you think?
