Pros
- No blackout dates on award flights
- Easy to earn Silver and Gold status
- Two worthwhile co-branded credit cards
- Many different ways to earn points
Cons
- Fewer destinations than top competitors
- Points expire after 12 months of account inactivity
- No airline partners
- Expensive fees compared to top competitors
Free Spirit Review Summary
The Spirit Airlines Free Spirit program is the 8th best frequent flyer program for 2025, according to WalletHub’s review. Some of the best qualities of Free Spirit are points worth an average of 1.13 cents apiece, bonus points on flights for elite members, and no blackout dates.
Below, you can learn all about the Free Spirit program, including how to earn and redeem points, as well as what the different status levels offer. You can also see how Free Spirit compares to other popular frequent flyer programs.
Free Spirit Review Scorecard
| Category | WalletHub Rating | Rank vs Other Airlines |
|---|---|---|
| Earning Policies | 80% | #4 |
| Rewards Value | 57% | #5 |
| Redemption Policies | 100% | #1 |
| Destination Coverage | 9% | #9 |
| Status Levels | 47% | #4 |
| Other Features | 9% | #9 |
| OVERALL | 51% | #8 |
Free Spirit Review Snapshot
| Free Spirit Points Needed for a Free Flight: | Min: 5,000 Avg: 18,250 Max: 31,500 |
| Average Free Spirit Point Value: | 1 mile= 1.13 cents 1,000 miles= $11.30 |
| Free Spirit Airline Partners: | 0 - Spirit Airlines does not have any airline partners |
How to Earn Free Spirit Points
WalletHub Rating for "Earning Policies": 67% (10.00 / 15 points)
Free Spirit members earn points for purchases made through Spirit Airlines and its partners. Below, you can see what transactions accrue points, and how many they offer.
Transactions That Earn Free Spirit Points
- 6 - 20 Free Spirit points per $1 spent: Spirit Airlines flights
- 1 - 3 Free Spirit points per $1 spent: Purchases on a Spirit Airlines credit card
- 50 Free Spirit points per day: Car rentals from partners like Budget, Avis, Dollar, Hertz, Payless and Thrifty (up to 500 points per qualifying rental of 5+ days)
- 1 Free Spirit point per cruise: Free Spirit Cruises
- 5 Free Spirit points per $1 spent: Free Spirit Dining (plus 1,000 points for spending $30 in the first 30 days)
- 1 - 9 Free Spirit point per $1 spent: Purchases at various merchants through Spirit’s online mall
- 250 Free Spirit points per stay: Stays at hotels in the U.S., Caribbean, Mexico, Canada, Europe and Australia
In addition, you may be able to find special deals on Spirit Airlines flights on Spirit’s website. Such deals might let you spend fewer points than usual on a reward booking or earn more than usual on a regular booking.
Other Key Things to Know About Earning Free Spirit Points
Earning limitations: Spirit Airlines does not specify a maximum number of points you can earn per ticket.
Retroactive flight credit for members: Free Spirit members can get credited for miles from any Spirit Airlines flight taken in the past 12 months if their frequent flyer number was not on the reservation (as long as they were a member at the time).
Retroactive flight credit for non-members: New Free Spirit members can get miles for flights taken up to 30 days before they became a member.
How Much Are Free Spirit Points Worth?
WalletHub Rating for "Rewards Value": 52% (10.41 / 20 points)
Free Spirit points are worth 1.13 cents each, on average, according to WalletHub’s research. That means you need about 32,389 points to get a free flight, based on the average domestic fare of $366.
Below, you can check out how many Free Spirit points you’ll need for some popular round-trip routes, on average.
- New York to Lauderdale: 22,830 points (or $257.98)
- Orlando to Lauderdale: 6,193 points (or $69.98)
- Los Angeles to Lauderdale: 20,297 points (or $229.36)
How to Redeem Free Spirit Points
WalletHub Rating for "Redemption Policies": 70% (14.00 / 20 points)
| Redemption Method | More Info |
|---|---|
| Flights | Book flights with Spirit Airlines |
| Subscriptions | Trade points for subscriptions to magazines |
Other Key Things to Know About Redeeming Free Spirit Points
- There are no booking blackout dates.
- You can book a flight with points up to 365 days before departure.
- There is no short-notice booking fee.
- Spirit Airlines allows stopovers on reward flights.
- There is no award-ticket redeposit/cancellation fee.
Where Can Free Spirit Points Take You?
WalletHub Rating for "Destination Coverage": 9% (2.18 / 25 points)
Spirit Airlines flies to 59 U.S. destinations and 23 international destinations. Spirit Airlines has no partner airlines.
Free Spirit Status Levels
Category Rating: 43% (3.83 / 9 points)
The Spirit Airlines Free Spirit rewards program is free to join, but you won’t receive any benefits from it other than earning points until you qualify for the Silver or Gold levels. Qualification for these levels is based on the number of points you earn.
The more times you fly with Spirit Airlines, and the more money you spend with a Spirit Airlines credit card, the higher your status level will go. The higher your Free Spirit status level is, the more benefits you will receive on Spirit Airlines flights and the more you will save when you fly.
Below, you can see exactly what you’ll need to do to achieve and maintain each Free Spirit status level, along with the perks that come with it.
| Free Spirit Levels | How to Qualify | Points Bonus | Other Notable Perks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic member | Join the program for free | None | 6-12 points per $1 spent on Spirit airfare |
| Silver | Earn 2,000 points | 33% | Basic member benefits Priority security and boarding Same-day standby Seat selection at check-in Dedicated guest care line Ability to never pay redemption fees |
| Gold | Earn 5,000 points | 67% | Silver benefits Free Flight Flex – modify reservation with no charges Seat selection at booking Free inflight beverage and snacks |
Members must satisfy a given status level’s qualifying requirements between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31 to reach or maintain that status level and enjoy its benefits. Once you earn any Free Spirit status level, you will keep it for the rest of the current calendar year and all of the next calendar year.
In light of the above information, Free Spirit's scores for this section are as follows:
Ease of achieving elite status: 96% (2.89 / 3 points)
- According to our study, the cost of achieving elite status with Spirit Airlines is $5,000.
Valuable membership perks: 18% (1.09 / 6 points)
- Based on average spending profile, new members can expect to receive priority security/boarding as a valuable perk. Heavy travelers could expect to qualify for: Free checked baggage and priority security/boarding
Other Features of the Free Spirit Program
WalletHub Rating for "Other Features": 9% (1 / 11 points)
The "Other Features" component of this Spirit Airlines Free Spirit program review focused on four sub-categories. Below, you can see how many points AAdvantage earned in each category, along with the corresponding WalletHub Rating.
| Category | Points | WalletHub Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Miles Expiration | 0 / 6 | 0% |
| Expired-mile reactivation | 0 / 1 | 0% |
| Transferring miles between accounts (without fees) | 1 / 1 | 100% |
| Purchasing miles | 0 / 3 | 0% |
Other Key Features
- Free Spirit points expire after 12 months of inactivity (no earning or redemption).
- You cannot reactivate expired points.
- You cannot transfer points between accounts. But if you reach the Silver level or higher, you can pool points with family members and friends. All points that members of the pool earn will be consolidated into a single balance under the account of the person who created the pool, and only the “head” of the pool can redeem points for flights.
- Buying points costs more than they’re worth, as Free Spirit points are sold at a 132% markup, on average.
Spirit Airlines Credit Cards
Opinions and ratings are our own. This content is not provided, commissioned or endorsed by any issuer. Some offers are from WalletHub partners.
Applying for a Spirit Airlines credit card is worth considering if you have good credit or better and fly with Spirit Airlines several times each year. There are two Spirit Airlines credit cards, and you can see additional details about them below.
Spirit Airlines Credit Card Offers Compared
annual fee$0 intro 1st yr, $79 after | annual fee$0 |
rewards rate
| rewards rate
|
bonus offer 50,000 points + $100 Flight Voucher | bonus offer 10,000 points |
Purchase Intro APRN/A | Purchase Intro APRN/A |
transfer intro aprN/A | transfer intro aprN/A |
Regular APR19.74% - 27.74% (V) | Regular APR19.74% - 27.74% (V) |
SponsoredApply Now | SponsoredApply Now |
8 Tips for Free Spirit Members
- The best way to redeem Free Spirit points is for Spirit Airlines flights. Points are worth 1.13 cents apiece that way.
- Pool or transfer points if it makes sense. Free Spirit only allows members to pool their points together with 8 family members at the Silver level and up.
- Avoid buying Free Spirit points, if possible. Free Spirit points cost more to purchase than they are worth when redeemed, on average. However, it could be worth buying a small number if it puts you over the top for a free flight.
- Take advantage of status perks. One of the biggest reasons that airline rewards programs are worth joining is that their status levels tend to provide a wealth of benefits, such as bonus points, priority boarding and waived fees. Make sure you take advantage of everything that Spirit Airlines Free Spirit offers.
- Consider applying for a Spirit Airlines credit card. The best Spirit Airlines credit card could save the average person roughly $1,886 over the first two years of use, according to WalletHub’s calculations.
- Try the Island Approach with your credit cards. Spirit Airlines credit cards offer competitive rewards on Spirit flights, but different credit cards may provide better terms on other types of transactions. Using a collection of cards for specialized purposes can enable you to get the best deal on everything you buy.
- Make sure to read Spirit Airlines reviews & Free Spirit FAQs. Learning from experts and fellow travelers will help you pick up some helpful tips as well as avoid tricks and pitfalls.
- Compare your flight options if you’re not wedded to Free Spirit. Spirit Airlines is not the only airline with a rewarding loyalty program. You can see how Free Spirit compares to a couple of popular alternatives below. You can also check out WalletHub’s rankings of the Best Frequent Flyer Programs to learn more.
Free Spirit vs. Frontier Miles vs. AAdvantage
| Category | Free Spirit | Frontier Miles | American Airlines AAdvantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| WalletHub Rank | 8th | 9th | 5th |
| Average Mile Value | 1.13 cents | 1.11 cents | 1.49 cents |
| U.S. Destinations | 59 | 77 | 229 |
| Average Daily U.S. Departures | 715 | 553 | 2,660 |
| International Destinations | 23 | 19 | 177 |
| Mile expiration | After 12 months of inactivity | After 12 months of inactivity | After 24 months of inactivity |
| Credit Card to Consider | Free Spirit Airlines Credit Card | Frontier Airlines Credit Card | Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® |
Free Spirit Review Methodology
Overall program rankings are based on the same methodology as WalletHub’s annual study on the Best Frequent Flyer Programs. Editor’s ratings reflect the sum of each rewards program’s scores across the study’s 6 major categories – earning policies, rewards value, redemption policies, destination coverage, status levels and other features – adjusted to a 5-point scale, to create a representative distribution of ratings.
WalletHub calculated Spirit Airlines Free Spirit point values by comparing flight rates between U.S. cities and popular travel destinations – both domestic and international – to the number of points needed to book a flight. We applied the process to round-trip flights from Friday to Monday for each destination’s high and shoulder tourist seasons.
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