Earning elite status with Spirit comes with a handful of benefits that can be great if you frequently fly Spirit. This includes bonus points, seat selection, and waived redemption fees to name a few.
How To Qualify
In order to obtain elite status with Spirit Airlines, you'll have to earn a certain amount of Status Qualifying Points or SQPs for short. You earn SQPs by spending with Spirit Airlines which includes fares and A La Smarte options when booking your flight. The amount you earn spending with Spirit will depend on your status in the program.
In addition to spending with Spirit, you can also earn points:
- Spending on the Free Spirit Travel More Mastercard
- Spending with Spirit's Partners
Member Tier
When you sign up for a Free Spirit account, you'll be at the member level. This level grants the following benefits:
- 6 Points Per $1 spent on fares
- 12 Points Per $1 spent on A La Smarte options
- This includes options such as seats and bags.
- The ability to combine Free Spirit Points + Cash to purchase flights
- Ability to join a Points Pool
Even if you only fly Spirit a few times per year, I recommend signing up for an account. You may not earn a bunch of points, but you can always redeem them towards various options even if you have only a few points accumulated.
Silver Members
Free Spirit Silver tier is the second tier in Spirit's program. You can obtain Silver tier after meeting the following requirements:
- 2,000 Status Qualifying Points (SQPs)
Once you become a Free Spirit Silver Member, you'll receive the following benefits:
- 8 Points Per $1 spent on fares
- 16 Points per $1 spent on A La Smarte options
- Free Shortcut Security and Boarding
- Same-Day Standby
- Seat Selection at Check-In
- Dedicated Guest Care Line
- Ability To Create A Points Pool
- No Redemption Fees
These are benefits that can be great if you spend enough with Spirit to hit Silver status. You can use the Free Spirit Travel More Mastercard to earn 1 Status Qualifying Point per $10 spent which can help push you towards Silver Status faster.
Gold Members
Free Spirit Gold tier is the third and highest level in Spirit's program. You can obtain Gold tier after meeting this following requirements:
- 5,000 Status Qualifying Points (SQPs)
Once you become a Free Spirit Gold Member, you'll receive the following benefits:
- 10 Points Per $1 spent on fares
- 20 Points per $1 spent on A La Smarte options
- Free Flight Flex
- Free First Checked Bag
- Free Carry-On Bag
- Free Seat Selection at Booking (including Exit Rows)
- Free In-Flight Beverage & Snacks
- The remaining benefits of Silver status
Spirit Status Match Challenge
Like other programs, Spirit allows you to participate in a status match if you have status with another airline. This allows you give the Free Spirit program a test run if you're thinking about switching to Spirit in the future.
When status matching, you'll receive the equivalent Free Spirit Status complimentary for ninety (90) days. Do note that you can only status match if you earn status through another airline's published requirements. This means you cannot status match off of airline status earned complimentary, in promotions, or with credit cards.
Summary
The Free Spirit program offers a good amount of benefits that can be useful for anyone dedicated to flying Spirit. Spirit can be expensive for those without status due to the cost of all the add-ons, but this becomes less of a problem once you obtain status and you can receive the most expensive and costly add-ons complimentary.
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- Best flexible travel card: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
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- Best for heavy business spend: Capital One Spark Cash Plus
