Frontier Airlines, based in Denver, is an ultra-low-cost carrier that operates approximately 350 flights daily to more than 100 destinations in the United States, Canada, Central America and the Caribbean.
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Frontier Miles replaced EarlyReturns as the budget airline’s frequent flyer program, adding plenty of valuable benefits Frontier loyalists can take full advantage of. Lets take a closer look at the Frontier Miles program below.
For further reading, see the best frequent flyer programs for earning & redeeming points/miles here.
| Domestic Hubs | Denver |
| Domestic Focus Cities | Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Las Vegas, Miami, Orlando, Philadelphia, Raleigh/Durham, San Antonio, Trenton |
| Personal Credit Cards | Frontier Airlines World Mastercard |
| Business Credit Cards | No business credit cards |
| Redemption Options | Award flights, family pooling, hotel stays, rental cars, magazines, gift miles |
| Average Mile Value | $0.011 |
Frontier Miles Elite Status
It’s extremely rare for low-cost carriers to offer elite status. So Frontier Miles gets a huge plus for rewarding you for your loyalty. The program has three elite status tiers: Elite 20K, Elite 50K and Elite 100K.
Here’s what you’ll need to unlock elite status:
| Status | Qualifying Miles or Segments |
| Elite 20K | 20,000 miles or 25 segments |
| Elite 50K | 50,000 miles or 50 segments |
| Elite 100K | 100,000 miles or 100 segments |
Earn Qualifying Miles by:
- Frontier flights: 1 Qualifying Mile for every mile flown.
- Frontier Airlines World Mastercard: 1 Qualifying Mile for every $1 spent.
Unfortunately, special bonus miles, mileage multipliers and other promotional miles don’t count as qualifying miles.
All status levels unlock access to family pooling, priority boarding, last seat availability, waived redemption fees and Stretch Seating.
See all elite status benefits below:
Source: For updated information on Frontier Miles Elite Status, click here.
Earning Frontier Miles
Earn one Frontier mile for every mile you fly, no matter what your ticket costs. Frontier does not have business class, so there’s no way to earn bonus miles on class fare. But if you have elite status, you’ll earn extra miles on all paid flights:
| Status | Miles Multiplier |
| Elite 20K | No multiplier |
| Elite 50K | 1.25x |
| Elite 100K | 1.5x |
Source: For updated information on Frontier Miles Elite Status, click here.
Earn Frontier miles, plus enjoy other perks, when you use the Frontier Airlines World Mastercard credit card:
| Welcome Bonus | 40,000 miles when you spend at least $500 on purchases within the first 90 days. |
| Bonus Value | $440, or enough for 2 roundtrips at the lowest redemption level. |
| Ongoing Rewards | 5x miles at flyfrontier.com 3x miles at restaurants 1x miles everywhere else |
| Elite Status | 1x Qualifying Miles on purchases |
| Other Perks | Priority boarding Award redemption fee waiver Unlock Family Pooling Spend bonus* Free FICO credit score No foreign transaction fees |
| Annual Fee | $79 |
*Spend bonus: Earn a $100 flight voucher when you spend $2,500 or more on purchases during your cardmembership year.
Earn Frontier miles with the following hotel partners:
Earn Frontier miles with the following transportation partners:
| Partner | Details |
| Alamo | 50 miles/day for 1-4 day rentals 500 miles for 5+ day rentals |
| Avis | 4x miles for 3+ day rentals 35% off base rates |
| Budget | 500 miles for 3-4 day rentals 1,000 miles for 5+ day rentals Up to 30% off base rates |
| Dollar | 50 miles/day for 1-4 day rentals 500 miles for 5+ day rentals |
| Hertz | Up to 500 miles per rental Save on base rates |
| National | 50 miles/day for 1-4 day rentals 500 miles for 5+ day rentals Up to 20% off base rates |
| SuperShuttle | 50 miles per Blue Van ride 150 miles per ExecuCar ride |
| Thrifty | 50 miles/day for 1-4 day rentals 500 miles for 5+ day rentals |
Earn Frontier miles with the following partners:
| Partner | Details |
| Frontier Cruises | Up to 10,000 miles per cruise |
| Teleflora | 10x miles on flowers |
| Thanks Again | Up to 5,000 miles every calendar quarter |
| Vinesse Wines | 5,000 miles + 4x miles on your first shipment |
Buy Frontier miles through Point.com at a rate of $0.025 per mile. Because we value each mile at $0.011, we generally recommend against purchasing Frontier miles. You’ll be paying over double what they’re worth.
Earning Frontier Miles With Marriott Bonvoy Points
You can earn Marriott Bonvoy points and transfer them to your Frontier Miles. You will get up to 2x miles.
The best way to rack up on Marriott Bonvoy points is by getting a Marriott co-branded credit card and qualifying for its welcome bonus.
Chase offers two personal credit cards that earn Marriott points, while American Express (Amex) offers one personal and one business card. If you’re looking to apply for a Marriott credit card, keep in mind:
- The Chase 5/24 rule. If you opened five or more new credit cards in the past 24 months (from any bank), you won’t be approved for a new credit card from Chase.
- The Amex once-in-a-lifetime welcome bonus rule. You can only qualify for the introductory offer on each Amex personal and business card once in your lifetime.
MARRIOTT BONVOY BRILLIANT™ AMERICAN EXPRESS® CARD
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card has an offer for 75,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months. We value these 75k points at around $675.
This card earns 6 points per $1 at hotels participating in the Marriott BonvoyTM program and 3 points at U.S. restaurants and on flights booked directly with airlines. You’ll receive 2 points per $1 spent on all other purchases.
You’ll get a Free Night Award (redemption level up to 50,000 points) every account anniversary year, and up to $300 in statement credits each year for eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott BonvoyTM program. Resort fees may apply. Other benefits include unlimited airport lounge visits with the Priority Pass Select membership and no foreign transaction fees.
This premium card comes with an Annual Fee of $450. See Rates & Fees, Terms Apply.
MARRIOTT BONVOY BOUNDLESS® CREDIT CARD
The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card from Chase has an offer for 3 Free Nights after spending $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.
New to the card, you will earn 3x Bonvoy points on the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases each year on grocery stores, gas stations, and dining. The card is also offering an Elite Night Credit towards Elite Status for every $5,000 spent.
The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card earns 17 points for every $1 spent at over 7,000+ participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels. You’ll receive 2 points per $1 spent on all other purchases.
You’ll get a Free Night Award (valued up to 35,000 points) every account anniversary year and automatic Silver Elite Status. Additionally, you’ll receive 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year.
This card has no foreign transaction fees and the annual fee is $95.
MARRIOTT BONVOY BOLD® CREDIT CARD
The Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card has an offer for 30,000 bonus points when you spend $1,000 within the first 3 months. We value these 30k points at around $270.
This card earns 14 points per $1 at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels. Other travel purchases (from airfare to taxis and trains) will earn 2 points per $1. All other purchases will earn 1 point per $1.
You’ll receive 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year, qualifying you for Silver Elite status.
There are no foreign transaction fees and no annual fee.
MARRIOTT BONVOY BUSINESS™ AMERICAN EXPRESS® CARD
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
The Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card has a limited time offer for 75,000 bonus points when you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of Card Membership. We value these 75k points to be worth around $675.
This card earns 6 points per $1 at participating hotels in the Marriott BonvoyTM program. It’s 4 points per $1 at U.S. restaurants and U.S. gas stations, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers, and on U.S. purchases for shipping. And 2 points per $1 on all other purchases.
Every year after your account anniversary you’ll get 1 free night award. You can earn an additional free night award after spending $60,000 in purchases in 1 calendar year.
There are no foreign transaction fees and the annual fee is $125. See Rates & Fees, Terms Apply.
Redeeming Frontier Miles
If there is no account activity, your Frontier miles will expire in 180 days. Earn and burning miles will keep them “alive.”
Once your miles have expired, you can get them back by paying a fee, based on the number of miles. The range is between $50 (up to 25,000 expired miles) and $500 (over 250,000 expired miles).
Use your Frontier miles for award flights with the airline. There are three award levels: Value, Standard and Last Seat. Value Seats start at 10,000 miles one-way, but have limited availability. Standard Seats start at 20,000 miles each way with greater award availability. And Last Seats are reserved for elite members. It gives access to any seat on the plane, even the last one available.
Keep in mind, there are various fees for award travel:
| Bookings between 21-179 days in advance | $15 |
| Bookings between 7-20 days in advance | $50 |
| Bookings under 6 days | $75 |
| Bookings over the phone | $10 |
There is no fee for booking your award travel 180 days or more in advance.
Elite and Frontier Airlines World Mastercard members get redemption fees waived.
There are also fees for changing or canceling award tickets:
| Changes made 7 days or less before travel | $99 |
| Award ticket cancellations | $75 |
| Changes or cancellations over the phone | $10 |
Source: For updated information on using Frontier Miles, click here.
Pooling your miles is also an option if you’re an elite or Frontier Airlines World Mastercard member. That member can open a family pooling account and will serve as the head of the group. They can invite up to eight family members and friends to join and share miles and has the ability to redeem the pooled miles for an award flight.
By pooling your miles, you’ll be able to book award flights faster and you won’t have have to keep track of multiple account balances.
In comparison, very few frequent flyer programs (JetBlue and Hawaiian Airlines) allow family pooling.
Use your Frontier miles to book hotel stays through the frequent flyer program, rent cars with Alamo, Hertz and National, subscribe to magazines and newspapers via Mags For Miles, or gift your miles through Points.com.
Frontier Miles Tips & Tricks
A Discount Den Deals membership gives you access to the lowest fares on Frontier. You can book as many deals as you want for yourself and up to six additional travel companions for just $59.99 a year. Plus, you’ll earn Frontier miles with every purchase.
Other features include:
- Kids Fly Free. This perk is only available for families and for children aged 15 and under.
- First to know about new Frontier destinations, flight offers and promotions.
On average, the difference between Den and standard fares is only $10, so make sure you’re using all other Discount Den perks to make your membership worth its annual fee.
Because Frontier doesn’t fly to as many destinations as the bigger airlines, your “cheap” award options are a bit limited. In general, travel to Puerto Rico, Mexico and the Dominican Republic are good deals.
| Puerto Rico roundtrip | 20,000 miles |
| Mexico roundtrip | 30,000 miles |
| Dominican Republic roundtrip | 30,000 miles |
Bottom Line
To get the most out of Frontier Miles, you have to be a frequent Frontier Airlines flyer. Especially since your miles expire after 18 months of inactivity. Because it’s based in Denver with limited destinations and no airline partners, you don’t have a lot of choices when it comes to award flights.
That said, the frequent flyer program does offer decent ways to earn miles. Redemption for award travel is fairly generous and very simple. Plus, Frontier Miles offers an elite status program, a rare perk for budget airlines.
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