Spirit vs Frontier Airline Credit Cards: A Practical Comparison

Follow us on Google

For ultra-low-cost flyers, the right co-branded credit card can mean the difference between a bare-bones trip and a surprisingly comfortable journey. Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines both pitch their cards as a way to dodge fees and unlock perks without abandoning rock-bottom fares. I put the Spirit Airlines Free Spirit Travel Mastercard and the Frontier Airlines World Mastercard side by side to see which one delivers better value in real-world travel, not just on a glossy application page.

Meet the Two Cards: What They Are and Who Issues Them

Both Spirit and Frontier partner with major banks to offer credit cards designed for frequent flyers who primarily travel within the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean. The Free Spirit Travel Mastercard is issued by Bank of America and ties into Spirit’s Free Spirit loyalty program, while the Frontier Airlines World Mastercard is issued by Barclays and links to Frontier Miles. In both cases, you are dealing with a mainstream issuer, so you can expect standard online account tools, mobile apps and fraud protections comparable to other major credit cards.

These cards are not general travel cards like those from big banks that earn flexible points. They are very much airline-specific tools. Points or miles you earn generally make the most sense when redeemed on that airline’s flights and fees. That means your decision should start with a simple question: Do you realistically fly Spirit more, or Frontier more, over the next couple of years? If the answer is neither, a broad travel card is probably smarter than either of these niche products.

From an eligibility and underwriting standpoint, both cards tend to target customers with at least good credit. You are more likely to be approved if you already have a history of handling credit responsibly. If you are rebuilding credit or brand new to credit, these may not be the right first step, especially given that their best value comes when you are spending several thousand dollars per year on the card and flights.

It is also important to understand that both cards sit on the Mastercard network. That means you should have wide acceptance at merchants across the United States and abroad. But acceptance alone is not the reason to choose either card. The real decision point is how much value these cards can give you on Spirit or Frontier compared to the cost of carrying them.

Annual Fees, Welcome Offers and Basic Earning Power

At the time of writing, both cards charge annual fees that are moderate by airline-card standards rather than ultra-premium. The Spirit Free Spirit Travel Mastercard typically comes with an annual fee that is often in the double digits, while the Frontier Airlines World Mastercard charges an annual fee that rises after a first-year promotion. These fees change over time, so you should always check the current terms on the issuer’s application page before you apply, but neither card is fee-free in the long run.

Both products usually come with welcome bonuses that can be enough for at least one or two roundtrip flights if you use your points or miles carefully. For example, Spirit has offered tens of thousands of bonus points plus a companion flight voucher when new cardholders meet a minimum spend within the first few months. Frontier has run offers where new cardholders could earn bonus miles, sometimes with a promotional expansion if they were switching from another airline card. In real terms, this could look like opening a card in spring, using it for everyday expenses like groceries and gas, and then using the welcome bonus to book August flights from Dallas to Orlando or Denver to Las Vegas for a family trip.

On everyday earning, both cards follow a similar pattern. You earn the highest rate on purchases with the airline itself, a mid-tier rate on common categories like dining or groceries, and a base rate on everything else. Spirit’s Free Spirit Travel credit card typically earns multiple points per dollar on Spirit purchases and a smaller multiplier on dining and grocery stores. The Frontier World Mastercard offers elevated miles on Frontier bookings and on restaurant purchases, then one mile per dollar on general spend. For a traveler who charges around 1,000 dollars per month to a card, this can add up to several thousand extra points or miles per year beyond the welcome bonus.

The key question is not just how fast you earn, but what those points or miles are worth when you actually try to redeem them. On both airlines, redemption values can vary widely depending on route, demand and timing. A one-way redemption from Chicago to Fort Lauderdale on a Tuesday in October might cost far fewer points than a Sunday departure in March during spring break. That variability means you should think of welcome bonuses and ongoing rewards as “potential free flights” rather than guaranteed dollar values.

Checked Bags and Onboard Fees: Where These Cards Can Really Pay Off

Spirit and Frontier both built their brands around ultra-low base fares with nearly every extra sold a la carte. That is exactly why the baggage perks on these cards matter. A standard checked bag on either airline can easily cost 40 to 70 dollars each way depending on when you pay for it. For a couple checking one bag each on a roundtrip, baggage alone can add 160 dollars or more to what looked like a cheap ticket when you first saw it in the search results.

Spirit has significantly increased the appeal of its co-branded card by adding substantial checked bag benefits for the Free Spirit Travel More Mastercard. When you purchase eligible Spirit flights with the card, the primary cardholder can receive up to two checked bags free, subject to the program’s specific terms and weight limits. For a family of four heading from Detroit to Orlando with two large suitcases and a shared sports equipment bag, this could easily save more than 200 dollars on one vacation if those bags would otherwise be charged individually each way.

Frontier’s World Mastercard offers a different but still substantial baggage perk: cardholders can receive free checked bags when they book and pay eligible Frontier flights with their card and ensure that their Frontier Miles number is correctly linked. Frontier has promoted the ability to get two free checked bags per flight, which is a major benefit on an airline that otherwise charges heavily for luggage. To put it in context, a traveler flying from Phoenix to Cancun with one 50-pound suitcase might pay roughly 60 to 70 dollars each way without the card. With the card, that single trip could offset a large part of the annual fee in savings.

In practice, the baggage benefits are where many travelers make back their annual fees quickly. Imagine you live in Cleveland and visit family in Tampa twice per year, always checking a bag. On Spirit with no card, you might pay 60 dollars per bag each way, or around 240 dollars per year just in checked bag fees for those two trips. If the Spirit card’s free bag perk applies to both roundtrips, the savings could outstrip the annual fee in a single year. The math is similar on Frontier for someone in Denver who takes two or three ski trips where checked bags are non-negotiable.

Elite Status Shortcuts and Ongoing Loyalty Benefits

Another area where these cards differ, but both add value, is elite status earning. Spirit’s Free Spirit program offers Silver and Gold status levels, which unlock benefits like priority boarding, waived certain fees, and in the case of Gold, a free first checked bag, free carry-on and complimentary snack and drink. The Free Spirit Travel card helps you climb this ladder by awarding Status Qualifying Points for card spending. For example, for every 10 dollars you spend on the card, you earn qualifying points that count toward Silver or Gold. Someone who puts 1,500 dollars a month of everyday expenses on the card could gain enough qualifying points in a year to reach at least Silver, even if they only fly a few times.

Frontier’s loyalty program operates with several elite tiers such as Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond, each adding more perks like free seat selection, carry-on baggage, and eventually companion travel options. The Frontier World Mastercard can speed up status earning by issuing elite qualifying points based on card spend, and from time to time Frontier runs targeted promotions where cardholders can earn companion certificates or bonus miles by hitting spending thresholds. A frequent flyer based in Denver or Orlando who charges most household expenses to the Frontier card may find themselves nudging into an elite tier faster than they would via flights alone.

Elite status tie-ins matter because they stack with card benefits. A Spirit Gold member with the card can layer the card’s baggage perks over elite benefits for a more fee-free experience. A Frontier Platinum member who also holds the World Mastercard can benefit from both the card’s free bags and the status-based seat and change fee perks. In day-to-day travel, that can mean breezing through check-in with no surprise charges and boarding earlier, which is especially helpful on crowded leisure routes like Las Vegas, Orlando, or Cancun.

At the same time, it is important not to overvalue elite shortcuts if you are not already flying the airline regularly. If you live in a small Midwest city served by Spirit only seasonally, you may struggle to get full value from Silver or Gold. Similarly, if Frontier only serves your home airport a few months a year, chasing elite tiers through credit card spend alone may not be worthwhile. For many travelers, the core value will still be checked bags plus occasional free flights, not shiny status levels.

Redemption Experience: Using Spirit Points vs Frontier Miles

On paper, both cards earn rewards that can be redeemed for flights with their partner airline. In reality, the redemption experience feels different. Spirit’s Free Spirit points are generally redeemed for Spirit-operated flights, with the option to mix points and cash on some bookings. That means you could, for instance, use 7,500 points plus a modest cash co-pay to secure a one-way ticket from Chicago to New Orleans on a midweek departure in low season. This flexibility is helpful if you earn points slowly and rarely hit very high balances.

Frontier Miles earned from the World Mastercard are typically used for Frontier flights. One-way award tickets can start at relatively low mileage levels on less popular dates and routes, such as a Tuesday flight from Denver to Omaha in February. Frontier sometimes offers promotional off-peak awards which let you stretch miles further. For example, a cardholder might find roundtrip Denver to San Diego awards for under 20,000 miles total if they can travel midweek and outside school holidays.

Both programs still charge taxes and many of the same optional fees on award tickets. A “free” ticket on Spirit from Baltimore to San Juan may still involve government taxes and perhaps seat selection or carry-on bag fees if your card or elite status does not already cover them. On Frontier, a mileage ticket from Miami to Las Vegas may look cheap in miles, but once you add a carry-on bag and select seats, you may be nearly back to a low cash fare. When you compare the two cards, it is essential to remember that awards are not truly free in the way some full-service airline redemptions feel.

In practice, the best value on both programs tends to come when you are flexible with dates and willing to take early-morning or late-night flights that leisure travelers often avoid. A family trying to fly Saturday to Saturday during spring break on either carrier will see much worse redemption value than a couple who can fly midweek in late September. The card you choose will not change those underlying dynamics, but owning the right card can give you more miles or points to work with when sale fares and award seats line up.

Real-World Scenarios: Which Card Fits Which Traveler?

To see how these cards play out, consider a traveler based in Orlando. Spirit and Frontier both operate busy schedules from Orlando to popular leisure destinations like Atlantic City, Denver, Las Vegas, and San Juan. If this traveler flies Spirit four to six times a year to visit family in New Jersey and enjoy weekend trips to the Caribbean, the Free Spirit Travel card starts to look attractive. Two free checked bags when using the card to purchase tickets means they can pack generously for longer trips. Meanwhile, the elevated points earnings on Spirit flights can build enough points over a year or two for a couple of free one-way tickets.

Now imagine a budget skier living in Denver, which is one of Frontier’s biggest hubs. They book two or three winter trips a year to places like Salt Lake City, Bozeman or Reno, always checking a heavy ski bag and a suitcase. With current Frontier baggage pricing, each ski trip could easily involve 120 to 180 dollars in luggage fees alone for a single traveler. With the Frontier World Mastercard, the free checked bag perks can reduce or even erase those fees, essentially returning the annual fee in a single long weekend trip, especially if they also earn miles that can later cover a spring getaway to Florida or Mexico.

For a family that splits travel between both carriers, the decision becomes trickier. Suppose parents fly Spirit to visit grandparents in Fort Lauderdale but take Frontier to Colorado for an annual ski trip. In that case, it might make sense for one adult to hold the Spirit card and the other to hold the Frontier card, especially if both cards are regularly used to purchase flights. This way, each trip can leverage the baggage benefits and earning structures of the relevant airline, instead of hoping a single card will cover all needs.

Finally, consider the occasional traveler who grabs whichever ultra-low-cost fare is cheapest on Google Flights a couple of times per year, regardless of airline. If you are that person and you do not have a clear favorite between Spirit or Frontier, neither card is likely a home run. A general travel card that gives you flexible points redeemable for statement credits or a broader range of airlines will probably be far more forgiving and less complicated to manage.

The Takeaway

Comparing the Spirit Free Spirit Travel Mastercard and the Frontier Airlines World Mastercard is less about which product is objectively “better” and more about which airline you naturally fly the most. Both cards exist to make their respective ultra-low-cost models more livable: they trade an annual fee and some loyalty for relief from baggage charges and the chance at low-cost award travel.

If you live near a Spirit stronghold like Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Las Vegas or Atlantic City, and you routinely book Spirit for quick trips to the Caribbean or across the East Coast, the Free Spirit Travel card’s combination of checked bag benefits, status shortcuts and elevated earning on Spirit purchases can pay for itself quickly. A couple of trips a year with two checked bags could easily offset the fee, and the welcome bonus may fund your next off-peak getaway.

If Frontier is your go-to carrier from cities like Denver, Orlando, Las Vegas, Dallas or Miami, the Frontier Airlines World Mastercard can be equally compelling. The free checked bags are especially valuable for travelers hauling sports gear or families with lots of luggage, and the card’s earning structure and occasional promotions can generate a steady stream of Frontier miles. Just be honest about how often you will really fly Frontier in the next few years; if your patterns change, you may find yourself paying an annual fee for a card tied to an airline you rarely see.

Ultimately, both cards are powerful tools for a very specific type of traveler: someone who has embraced the ultra-low-cost airline model and is willing to think carefully about fees, routes and travel dates. If that is you, choosing the card that matches your preferred airline can turn bare-bones flights into surprisingly affordable trips with room for luggage and a bit more comfort, while your less prepared seatmates are still pulling out their credit cards at the check-in counter.

FAQ

Q1. Does the Spirit Free Spirit Travel Mastercard always give me free checked bags?
The card can provide free checked bags when you meet Spirit’s conditions, such as purchasing eligible flights with the card and having your Free Spirit number properly attached to the booking. Always verify current terms before you rely on the benefit for a specific trip.

Q2. How many free bags can I get with the Frontier Airlines World Mastercard?
Frontier has promoted up to two free checked bags per flight for cardholders on eligible bookings, but exact limits, weight rules and who in the reservation is covered can change, so you should confirm the latest policy when you book.

Q3. Do I need to book directly with the airline to receive card benefits?
In most cases, yes. Both Spirit and Frontier typically require that flights be purchased directly through their websites or apps with the co-branded card to trigger benefits like free checked bags or qualifying points.

Q4. Can I use Spirit points or Frontier miles on other airlines?
These programs are primarily designed for redemptions on their own flights. Unlike large global alliances, Spirit and Frontier do not offer broad partner airline redemptions, so you should expect to use rewards mainly on the issuing carrier.

Q5. Which card is better if I fly only a couple of times a year?
If you fly infrequently and do not strongly prefer Spirit or Frontier, a general travel rewards card that earns flexible points is likely a better fit than either of these co-branded cards.

Q6. Will holding one of these cards guarantee me elite status?
No. The cards help you earn status qualifying points faster through spending, but you still need to hit each program’s published thresholds for Silver, Gold or higher levels within a calendar year.

Q7. Do these cards charge foreign transaction fees?
Both cards are positioned as travel products and are often marketed with no foreign transaction fees, but you should always review the latest cardmember agreement or application details to confirm before using them abroad.

Q8. Is the annual fee worth it if I usually travel with only a backpack?
If you rarely check bags or buy extras, the baggage benefits may not justify the annual fee. In that case, you would need to get enough value from welcome bonuses and flight redemptions alone to make the card worthwhile.

Q9. Can my family or companion share my card benefits on the same reservation?
Each airline has specific rules about whether free checked bags or priority boarding extend to companions on the same reservation. Sometimes only the primary cardholder is covered, so carefully check the current benefit terms before counting on it for a group trip.

Q10. What happens if I cancel my Spirit or Frontier credit card?
If you close the card, you typically lose card-specific perks such as free bags or accelerated status earning. Your existing points or miles usually remain in your airline loyalty account, subject to the program’s general expiration and activity rules.