Frontier Airlines is an ultra-low-cost carrier headquartered in Denver, where it has been based since 1994. It serves over 100 destinations with more than 500 daily flights on its A320 family aircraft. Frontier has bases in Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Miami, Orlando, Philadelphia, Tampa and Phoenix, where its more than 7,000 employees are located.
Frontier’s loyalty frequent flyer program is Frontier Miles. It is free to join, and it’s mileage based, so that each mile you fly up in the air with Frontier equals to 1 mile earned with its program. The program also offers a credit card that allows you to earn both miles and elite status with your spend.
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History
The first iteration of Frontier Airlines was created from the merger of three smaller airlines back in 1950. The company grew all the way until the 1980s, where because of stiff competition within the airline industry, it was sold off and later merged into Continental Airlines.
When Continental started to back away from Denver, the executives of the original Frontier Airlines created its second iteration in 1994, with a fleet of a mere two planes.
After continuing to grow, the airline declared bankruptcy in 2008 and was acquired by Republic Airways.
It’s currently well known for being an ultra-low-cost airline offering competition to Southwest and Spirit. You might easily recognize its planes from a distance from the animal depictions on the tails of their aircraft, highlighting the diverse fauna of North America.
How To Earn Frontier Miles
Enrolling in Frontier Miles is simple and comes at no extra charge. Head to the Frontier Miles sign-up page and create your account to get started. Provide all the information required to create your account and submit the form.
Once you sign up, you will be ready to start collecting miles you can use toward your future travels. There are many ways to earn Frontier Miles including flying, spending with Frontier’s co-branded credit card, shopping with its partners and more.
Flying Frontier Airlines
Earning miles with the Frontier Miles program when flying has been simple. Members have been able to net at least 1 redeemable mile for every mile flown. And those who hold status with the program have been able to earn even more.
In the beginning of 2024, Frontier moved to a revenue-based earnings structure. Now members earn 10 to 20 miles per dollar spent and miles flown will no longer be a factor.
The higher up the status ladder you go, the quicker you can get to your next award ticket. A hypothetical $100 flight earns a base member 1,000 redeemable miles. But for members who surpassed 100K qualifying miles in a calendar year would earn 2,000 miles for the same flight.
Earning Status With Frontier Airlines
Elite Status Tiers
If you’ve been a Frontier miles member for a while, you may have noticed a few changes. In 2024, Frontier renamed its existing elite status tiers along with adding a Silver status level that only requires 10,000 miles to reach. It also brought some extra perks to each tier. Here’s a quick look at the revamped status levels and benefits:
New Tier – Silver (10k): Benefits include:
- Earn 12 miles per dollar spent
- No change/cancellation fee seven-plus days before departure
- Free standard seat at booking (member only)
- Family pooling
- Zone 2 priority boarding for everyone on booking
- Priority customer care
- Travel fees waived, including call center reservation fee, same-day confirmed and same-day standby fees
Gold (Previously Elite 20K): Includes all benefits from Silver, plus:
- Earn 14 miles per dollar spent
- Zone 1 priority boarding (member only)
- Free carry-on bag (member only)
- Free premium seat if available at check-in time (member only)
Platinum (Previously Elite 50k): Includes all benefits from Gold, plus:
- Earn 16 miles per dollar spent
- Zone 1 priority boarding for everyone on booking
- Free standard seat at booking for everyone on booking
- Free carry-on bag for everyone on booking
- Free premium seat if available at check-in time for everyone on booking
- Free premium seat at booking (member only)
- Free first checked bag including ski/golf bag for everyone on booking
- Waived pet-in-cabin fee
- 50% off Discount Den membership
- Receive one Silver Pass to gift to a family member or friend
Diamond (Previously Elite 100k): Includes all benefits from Platinum, plus:
- Earn 20 miles per dollar spent
- Board first priority boarding
- Free premium seat at booking for everyone on booking
- Free Discount Den membership
- Receive one Gold Pass to gift to a family member or friend
- Refundability plus-one day from departure
- Free second checked bag for everyone on booking
Note that standard and premium seating assignments are subject to availability.
Frontier Airlines World Mastercard Credit Card
Another way to earn both miles and status on Frontier Airlines is with the Frontier Airlines World Mastercard®*, issued by Barclays.
- Welcome bonus: Earn 40,000 miles after spending $500 on purchases and paying the annual fee both in the first 90 days of account opening. Plus, earn an additional 20,000 miles after spending $2,000 on purchases in the first six months of account opening.
- Rewards: Earn 5 miles per dollar spent on eligible purchases at flyfrontier.com, 3 miles per dollar on eligible restaurant purchases and 1 mile per dollar on all other purchases.
- Status: Each dollar spent earns you one qualifying mile toward status with Frontier. Also, for a limited time, cardholders can earn Gold status by spending at least $3,000 on purchases through February 2024.
- Family pooling: Just by having the card you become eligible for Family Pooling without having to qualify for elite status.
- $100 flight voucher: Receive a $100 flight voucher every anniversary year after you spend $2,500 or more in purchases within a calendar year.
This card comes with an $89 annual fee.
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Transfer Partners
An alternate way to get points is by transferring them from other loyalty programs, in this case, hotel loyalty programs. Not all transfers are the same as some are more valuable (and convenient) than others.
- Marriott Bonvoy: Get 1 Frontier Mile for every 3 Marriott Bonvoy points you transfer. Receive a 5,000 mile bonus when you transfer in increments of 60,000.
- Wyndham Rewards: Get 1 Frontier Mile for every 5 Wyndham Reward points you transfer.
Frontier Miles does not partner with any of the major transferable currencies like Chase Ultimate Rewards®, American Express Membership Rewards or Citi ThankYou points.
Featured Partner Offers
Buying Frontier Miles
You can buy Frontier Miles directly from the program’s website. Miles can be purchased in quantities from 1,000 to 30,000 at a cost of $0.025 per mile. Buying miles, regardless of any discounted promotion, is normally not the best way to accumulate miles for award travel. Frontier Miles are relatively easy to earn, and buying miles should be relegated mostly to top off your account for a specific redemption in mind in instances where you’re short.
Other Ways To Earn Frontier Miles
Retail Partners
You can also earn anywhere from 4 to 10 Frontier Miles per dollar spent buying from any of its retail partners like Teleflora, Vinesse or Home Chef.
Hotel Stays
Hotel stays with Marriott Bonvoy, Wyndham and Radisson Hotels Americas will also earn you Frontier Miles. Do keep in mind that if you choose to earn Frontier Miles on your hotel stays, you will forgo earning any rewards with the hotel’s loyalty program.
Rental Cars
Renting cars from any of major rental car agencies like Hertz, Alamo, Dollar, Thrifty, Budget, National or Avis will also help you earn Frontier miles. Each partner will earn a different amount depending on the length of your rental.
Cruises
Additionally, you can earn miles booking cruises through Frontier Cruises. Earn anywhere between 1,500 miles when booking a one to five night cruise all the way up to 10,000 miles for cruises of more than 13 nights.
How To Redeem Frontier Miles
Earning miles really is only half the fun. Now that you know how to earn them, let’s take a look at what all of those miles can get you.
On Frontier Airlines Flights
Redeeming Frontier Miles is straightforward. There are three award levels you can choose to book: Value, Standard and Last Seat. Value redemptions include the same benefits as a standard fare. Standard awards have the same benefits as standard fares but offer more availability. Last Seat awards are only available to elite members and offer the same benefits as standard fares but allow you to book any flight where there is an open seat.
These are the redemption rates:
| Destination | Value | Standard | Last Seat |
|---|---|---|---|
| All flights within the U.S. | 10,000 miles each way | 20,000 miles each way | 22,500 miles each way |
| All international flights to and from Mexico, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, El Salvador, Bahamas, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Antigua | 15,000 miles each way | 25,000 miles each way | 27,500 miles each way |
While the award redemptions are the same for all international destinations, the taxes and fees will be different based on country and departure/arrival airport.
Fees
Infant Fees
There are no infant fees for children under 2 years old flying as lap infants on any Frontier flights. Additionally, if you purchase a Discount Den membership, kids 14 years of age and under can fly for free on eligible flights when flying with an adult on a Discount Den fare.
Award Redemption Fees
Frontier charges a fee when you redeem your miles for award tickets. The fee is per passenger and is based on the number of days before travel the booking is made. You can avoid the fee by booking your flight over 180 days from departure.
The award redemption fee is also waived for those who hold a Frontier co-branded credit card or have elite status with the airline.
Redeposit Fee
If you ever need to cancel an award booking before departure, you will incur an award redeposit fee of $75. If you booked a Last Seat award, this fee will be waived for you.
Discount Den Membership
Discount Den is a membership that costs $59.99 a year (the first year costs $99.99—$59.99 plus $40 enrollment fee) and it can help you save on exclusive promotions, fly with your kids for free and extend exclusive discounted fares with up to an additional eight people on your reservation.
Baggage Fees
Being an ultra-low-cost carrier, you will incur fees when bringing bags with you. The fee varies depending on your flights, when in the booking process you pay for it and whether you have status with Frontier or not.
Read more: Frontier Airlines Baggage Fees
Family Pooling
Frontier Miles allows you to pool your miles with those earned by your family members or friends. You can combine mileage from up to eight people’s accounts, whether they are actually related to you or not—Frontier enforces no restrictions as to the relationship between you and whoever you pool your accounts with.
There are no fees to doing so and there’s also no maximum or minimum to the amount of miles you can pool together.
Family pooling is an excellent idea to be able to accrue a larger balance of miles that you can take advantage of, instead of having smaller, separate amounts on each individual member’s accounts.
This benefit is available only to Frontier’s elite members, starting with Elite 20K and up, as well as Frontier Airlines World Mastercard cardholders.
Other Ways To Redeem Frontier Miles
Magazine Subscriptions
The only other use for Frontier Miles is to redeem them for magazine subscriptions from its partner Mags for Miles. Redemptions start at 500 miles, and you can choose many publications from travel to personal finance, entertainment and more.
Quirks
Expiration: Frontier Miles do not expire as long as there is activity on your account at least once every 12 months. Activity includes either flying on a Frontier flight, using your Frontier Airlines World Mastercard or earning mileage through Frontier’s partners.
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Bottom Line
If Frontier Airlines matches your travel plans, you should consider signing up for its frequent flyer program. After only a few flights, you could earn enough miles to help offset the cost of your next trip. If you want to maximize your mileage earning, don’t forget all the other ways to earn miles like credit card spend and other retail partners that can help top up your balances quickly and easily.
