This program was reviewed and rated by our editors in February 2007. Changes in the program past this date are possible, especially program partner information. We recommend you subscribe to the #1 source of frequent flyer information, Inside Flyer Magazine, to get the most current information possible.

Spirit Airlines made significant changes since its origin in 1980 as a charter airline, "Charter One," with operations out of Detroit. At the end of 1999, the airline relocated to Miramar, Florida and over the next few years expanded its service to include cities in the Midwest, West Coast and the Caribbean. The low-cost carrier continues to increase its service to include new destinations in the U.S. and the Caribbean and has plans to introduce flights to St. Maarten, Haiti and Caracas, Venezuela this year. In addition to venturing outside the confines of North America, Spirit entered the world of frequent flyer programs and caught our attention when it launched its frequent flyer program last year.

Members of Free Spirit earn miles on flights based on status and class of service flown, credit card purchases, balance transfers and partner services (currently limited to car rentals and restaurants with other services to be added soon). A member who falls into the first level, Somebody, will earn half the miles on a coach nonrefundable ticket. Most programs offer all the miles for this ticket so if you tend to travel in this class, be aware that you will receive a reduced number of miles. It is possible to receive full credit for coach tickets if you sign up for the Free Spirit credit card that automatically bumps you up to the Elite level when you make a monthly purchase. The credit card offer also includes 15,000 bonus miles upon first use, which is enough for a free coach ticket within Florida.

Free Spirit awards fall into two categories; Early Bird Awards require that travel is booked more than 21 days in advance and Free Spirit Awards are available anytime. An Early Bird Award coach flight within Florida is redeemable for only 15,000 miles and an award from Florida to cities in other states and countries ranges from 20,000 to 25,000 miles. Unlike many airlines where redemption within the United States is offered for the same amount of miles regardless of distance, this is a good deal for people who regularly travel on shorter flights. For someone who flies from Boston to Atlanta or New York to Tampa, an award is 20,000, a savings of 5,000 miles when compared with other major airline redemption charts. A Free Spirit award business class flight within Florida is available for only 30,000 miles and from Florida to destinations outside the state from 75,000 to 80,000 miles (90,000 on other airlines). Free Spirit miles can only be redeemed for flights.

Spirit Airlines partnered up with Hertz last year and members can earn 50 miles per day for up to four days and 750 miles for rentals of five or more days. Until March 31, members can earn double miles on all qualifying weekend rentals of two or more days or weekly rentals at participating locations. Spirit Airlines is also currently running a promotion that offers double miles when using the Free Spirit MasterCard at participating locations, including Burger King, Lukoil and Getty gas stations and the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Free Spirit also plans to launch a partnership with Wyndham Worldwide in a couple of months. The program is actively seeking new partners and would benefit from adding additional hotels, airlines and other partnerships to create more earning opportunities for members.

Unlike most frequent flyer programs, all miles count toward your Free Spirit account status, regardless of whether the miles are earned on flights, with the Free Spirit MasterCard or with partners so getting into the higher levels isn't too difficult. Staying at a particular level, however, requires consistent mileage earning. Your status changes monthly based on the account activity in the preceding six months so you aren't guaranteed status once you've reached a particular level.

Free Spirit's program has six levels: Somebody, Elite, VIP, A-List, Celebrity and #1. Somebody is the lowest level and the next level, Elite, is achieved by earning 12,000 miles or by spending $1,200 in flight fares, excluding taxes and fees, in a six-month period. Credit card-carrying members will automatically qualify for Elite member status when they make at least one purchase per month. Elites earn 150 percent of mileage credit on coach and business class refundable tickets, 125 percent on nonrefundable business class and 100 percent on nonrefundable coach class.

Earn 24,000 miles or spend $2,400 on fares in six months and you will reach VIP status. VIPs earn 200 percent of mileage credit on coach and business class refundable tickets, 150 percent on nonrefundable business class and 100 percent on nonrefundable coach class.

The top 500 members with the highest number of miles earned in the preceding six months will be designated A-List members. A-List members earn 250 percent of mileage credit on coach and business class refundable tickets, 200 percent on nonrefundable business class and 100 percent on nonrefundable coach class. A-List members also receive the opportunity to upgrade another member to the VIP tier.

The top 10 members are Celebrities and receive the same benefits as A-List members with the additional perk of moving any member they choose into A-List status instead of VIP and higher class-of-service bonuses. Celebrities earn 300 percent of mileage credit on coach and business class refundable tickets, 250 percent on nonrefundable business class and 100 percent on nonrefundable coach class.

In addition to monthly status rankings, yearly rankings are given to the top mileage earners. The #1 member (the one person who earns the most miles) will be determined at the end of October and is the only level that allows a member to retain status for the following membership year. The #1 member will have a plane named in their honor, unlimited flights, the opportunity to designate a person a Celebrity member, limousine service to and from the airport for all Spirit Airlines flights, a Spirit Vacations trip for two and bonus miles of up to four times the miles flown when booking refundable business class tickets on Spirit Airlines. The next nine highest earners will be designated as Celebrities of the Year and will each receive a Spirit Vacations trip for two, an opportunity to designate a person an A-List member in the program and two free flights. Rankings of the year are maintained only through earning miles and do not continue automatically into the next year except for the #1 member. If everyone can be a Somebody with Free Spirit and only one person is #1, it will be interesting to see how this played out last year.

If you fly irregularly with Free Spirit, be aware that miles expire if you don't maintain at least 2,000 miles in your account during a six-month period. Miles can come from flight miles, bonus miles, credit card miles or partner activity. Even if you have 20,000 miles in your account in January, if less than 2,000 miles post to your account between February and July, all miles older than six months (including the 20,000) will expire in August. The only exception to the expiration policy is to make one purchase per month with a Free Spirit MasterCard, which will prevent your miles from expiring. Missing mileage credit can be requested up to 30 days after the flight.

While you can redeem miles for an award for another person, transferring miles into another member's account is not allowed.

Getting to the service support center took some time and the system disconnected us a few times because of high volume. Once we were actually able to talk to someone, the person was knowledgeable and provided answers to our questions. It is also possible to e-mail questions or comments via the Web site's Help tab and there is a helpful FAQ section that answers commonly asked questions like how to access your account if you've forgotten the password and what to do if miles haven't posted to your account.

Spirit Airlines has created a well-organized Web site that is easy to navigate. The site features online enrollment, ticketing and check-in for domestic destinations. You can access your membership information to see the number of miles in your account and elite status. Mileage credit requests can be made online with your record locator or Web ID up to 30 days after your flight. Online award redemption can also be made electronically and a Spirit Airlines reservation specialist will call to confirm.

The 15,000 mile award for flights within Florida is one of the cheapest around and the policy that allows all miles (not just flight miles) to count towards higher status allows greater opportunity for reaching the more elite levels. Free Spirit also offers generous flight mileage bonuses for Elite, A-list and Celebrity members and these bonuses count toward elite status. The program is also known for running very good mileage promotions such as the BOGO (Buy One Get One Free) and 5,000 bonus miles per roundtrip flight.

The program is more complex than most with six membership levels and status that is determined monthly. There are some nice bonuses for the highest tiers but the lowest tier member flying nonrefundable coach class receives only 50 percent of miles flown. Miles also expire quickly if you don't travel at least 2,000 miles every six months or make purchases with the credit card. Free Spirit is having some growing pains as they determine how the program will eventually look, but we applaud their effort.

(800) 772-7117 (press #4)

Free Spirit Member Services
2800 Executive Way
Miramar, FL 33025