Spirit Airlines and airlines Frontier and Allegiant make up most of the budget airline travel in the United States. However, Spirit has several Latin American and Caribbean destinations that they serve.
The Free Spirit program is the frequent-flyer program of Spirit Airlines. Free Spirit points are relatively easy to earn by flying with Spirit, spending money on their co-branded credit card, or through dining and shopping portals. This guide will give you the basics of redeeming your miles for award flights that provide your points maximum value.
Free Spirit Redemption Basics
Spirit Airlines’ new
loyalty program is revenue-based and no longer tied to an award chart. The good news is that there are no blackout dates associated with award travel.
The most significant improvement Spirit made with their new loyalty program is that historically their points expired after just three months of inactivity. Leading to most travelers’ points expiring before they ever had a chance to use them. Now, Spirit Airlines points will expire after 12 months of inactivity. Allowing much more time for travelers to use, gain or lose their effectiveness.
Spirit also had a ridiculously high redemption fee of anywhere between $15- $100 if you redeemed an award within six months of the flight. Thankfully, now these fees have been reduced to a mere $50 if redeemed within 28 days of departure. Again, these redemption fees are waived for those with Gold and Silver status or a Spirit Travel More Mastercard.
How Much Do Award Flights Cost?
The cost of an award flight with Spirit is directly tied to the flight price but starts at 2,500 one-way. Therefore, the cheaper the flight, the fewer points are required. The cost of an airline ticket will depend on several variables based on the day and route. So keep an eye out for deals and promotions with Spirit to grab a low-priced award flight.
However, there is no one standard rate for any given flight. The award flight costs can vary significantly from one itinerary to another, even on the same day. To determine the value of your Spirit points for any potential trip, you can divide the cash price by the number of Spirit points required. Generally speaking, if the value is more than 1 cent per point, you are getting a good deal to redeem your Spirit points.
One example is using 2,500 Spirit Airlines points for a $43 ticket, minus the $6 TSA passenger fee, which would be right around 1.5 cents of value per point. That’s pretty good and well above 1 cent of value, so in this instance it would be a great redemption.
Ways to Redeem Free Spirit Points
Free flights on Spirit are dynamically priced and begin at 2,500 points each way. To search for how much a particular flight will cost, start at spirit.com, select Points in the upper right-hand corner, and begin your search. I highly suggest you check out Spirit’s Points Deal Finder and do a little exploring with destinations and dates to find a good deal.
These are some of the best ways to maximize your Spirit points:
- East Coast flights to the Caribbean starting at 2,500 points one way
- Transcontinental Flights from LA to NYC starting at 2,500 pts
- Various domestic flights starting at 2,500 pts one way
If you don’t have enough points, you use the Points + Cash option to combine payments and reduce the cash needed for a flight. Friends and families also can earn reward flights faster by Points Pooling with up to 8 members. One member must have Silver or Gold status or hold a Free Spirit credit card.
Spirit Airlines Military Benefits
Spirit Airlines provides active-duty military two free checked bags and a free carry-on, in addition to the already free personal item by showing their military I.D. at check-in. However, unlike other airlines, this policy is not extended to family and friends flying with an active military member.
However, Spirit Airlines offers the ability to validate their active duty affiliation online during the booking process by using ID.me and clicking on the “verify” button. Additionally, Spirit does not offer any other military discount on their fares with already low fares.