The Guide to Spirit Airlines Elite Status

Much to the delight of fans of Spirit Airlines, the budget airline's frequent flyer program has been redesigned from top to bottom. One of the shiny new features of the Jan. 21, 2021, program rollout: elite status levels offering valuable benefits that frequent Spirit flyers will appreciate. Here’s a guide to Spirit Airlines’ new elite status.

» Learn more: Spirit Airlines’ new loyalty program is live and includes new credit cards

Free Spirit elite status comes in three levels — Free Spirit, Free Spirit Silver and Free Spirit Gold — and each tier offers a slew of useful benefits.

Basic-level Free Spirit members earn 6 points per dollar spent on fares and 12 points per dollar on Á La Smarte options like seat selection and checked bags. Silver and Gold level elites earn more while enjoying some other attractive perks.

Some of the interesting benefits of Free Spirit Silver elite include waived award redemption fees, faster security screenings and early boarding, available same-day standby, the ability to choose a free seat during check-in, exit row seat assignment 180 minutes before departure and access to a dedicated guest care line. The Points Pool feature allows the elite member to create a pool of points that can be shared with up to eight friends or family members.

Free Spirit Gold elite members benefit from all the perks of Silver as well as Free Flight Flex, which allows passengers to modify their booking once up to 24 hours before their flight. They also have perks like one free carry-on and one free checked bag, free seat selection during booking, free in-flight snacks and beverages and exit row seat assignment at booking.

You achieve elite status by spending money with Spirit Airlines. For every dollar you spend on fares and Á La Smarte options, you’ll earn 1 Status Qualifying Point (SQP). Accumulate 2,000 SQPs in a year and you’ll attain Free Spirit Silver status. Hit 5,000 SQPs in a year and you’ll achieve Free Spirit Gold. You have one calendar year to achieve status, then the whole process resets.

If you don’t think you can spend that much on Spirit’s budget fares, you can earn more SQPs with an eligible Free Spirit credit card at a rate of 1 SQP for every $10 you spend.

Once you achieve status, you’ll enjoy the benefits for the rest of the calendar year in which you earned it plus the entire following year. So if you earned Silver status in March of 2021, you’ll have access to the benefits until the end of 2022.

» Learn more: The best travel credit cards right now

For those who love Spirit’s low fares and fly the airline often, these new elite levels represent just one of the ways Spirit’s new frequent flyer program has gotten a whole lot better. Elite members in the Free Spirit program enjoy great benefits like a free checked bag and the ability to pool points, plus waived award flight redemption fees, which can save you up to $50 when you redeem miles for a flight.

Best of all, elite status isn’t too hard to attain for travelers who fly with the airline at least occasionally, making loyalty to Spirit Airlines more rewarding than before.