The ultra-low cost carrier has also rolled out a new Spirit Savers Club and two branded credit cards
The new loyalty program was announced last year but officially launched Jan. 21. There are two types of points under the new revenue-based plan: Redeemable points and status qualifying points.
SQPs accrue at a rate of 1 point per dollar spent on airfare and add-on fees. Silver status can be earned by spending $2,000 on Spirit flights, or $20,000 on eligible Free Spirit credit cards, or a combination of the two.
Gold status can be earned by spending $5,000 spent on flights, or $50,000 on eligible Free Spirit credit cards, or a combination of the two.
Status makes a difference in how fast members earn redeemable points:
• Regular members earn 6 points per dollar on airfare, 12 points on options
• Silver status earns 8 points per dollar on airfare, 16 points on options
• Gold status earns 10 points per dollar on airfare, 20 points on options
Other Silver benefits include a free ‘shortcut’ security and boarding, and free general seat selection 24 hours before departure, with exit row availability three hours prior to departure.
To these benefits, Gold status adds a free carry-on and checked bag, and seat selection at the time of booking.
Reward redemptions start at 2,500 points, and can be redeemed against every available seat on all flights, with no blackout dates. As the carrier puts it “If a seat is available for dollars, it’s available for points.”
Points do not expire, so long as members make one qualifying transaction to earn or redeem every 12 months, and those who also hold a branded credit card will see their points remain valid “as their card account remains open.”
Finally the carrier has replaced its existing $9 Fare Club with the Spirit Saver$ Club, offering subscription-based benefits including fare discounts and savings on optional extras.
Details about the Free Spirit program are available here.
“Points are useless if you have to wait forever to use them,” said Bobby Schroeter, Spirit Airlines senior vice president and chief marketing officer. “We started with a clean sheet of paper so we could focus on what travelers and their families want, which is points that add up fast and generate rewards just as quickly. We know our guests want to be able to earn and redeem their points without jumping through hoops.”
