Spirit Airlines has returned with its Status Match Campaign (90 Day Challenge), targeting elite tier members of other U.S.-based frequent flyer programs.
Matched members receive free Spirit Status for ninety (90) days, after which they will have the opportunity to earn ongoing Free Spirit Silver or Gold status based on reduced earning criteria.
Spirit Airlines is a rather exotic carrier to look at for a status match from a legacy carrier but maybe some routes do make sense for the one or other customer.
You can access their status challenge page here.
You can find details about the Status Match Challenge on Spirit’s website.
The Free Spirit Status Match Challenge is an opportunity for you to experience the most valuable benefits of the Free Spirit program. It’s a way to switch your loyalty to Spirit and immediately benefit from our Status levels. If you currently have elite status with another airline, we will give you the equivalent Free Spirit Status for ninety (90) days – complimentary. Plus, you will have the opportunity to earn ongoing Free Spirit Silver or Gold status based on reduced earning criteria which can be found on our Free Spirit 101 page.
Once your request is approved, you will be granted 90 days of Free Spirit Silver or Gold status based on your current status with another airline and the challenge level you have requested. Your complimentary Status Match will last for ninety days within 24 hours after you receive your confirmation email. If your request is not approved, you’ll receive an email notifying you of our decision.
Enjoying your complimentary Free Spirit Status? Extend it by earning the required amount of Free Spirit Status Qualification Points during the ninety-day complimentary period.
- You will have 90 days to earn ongoing Free Spirit Silver or Gold status based on reduced earning criteria which can be found in the chart below and on our Free Spirit 101 page.
- If you meet the challenge criteria, you will enjoy the benefits of the Silver or Gold program level for the remainder of that calendar year plus the following calendar year (same as members who earn Free Spirit Status)
- If you do not meet the challenge criteria, the Silver or Gold status will be terminated immediately, and you will be returned to the Free Spirit level you held prior to the Status Match Challenge
- You are allowed one challenge per member every two years
- An email will be sent confirming the outcome of the Status Match Challenge
Spirit Airlines (Spirit 101) has two levels – Silver & Gold – that customers can match to:
The program is entirely spend-based. To have an indicator, on each ticket you earn one SQP per dollar spent with Spirit Airlines, taxes and fees not included.
If you match to Silver status, you’ll need 500 Status Qualifying Points (SQPs) within the 90-day period in order to keep your status, meaning $500 worth of spend.
To maintain your Gold status, you need 1,250 Status Qualifying Points which equals $1,250 spent.
By utilizing the status match, you can earn and maintain each level for a quarter of the normal requirements under the program.
The following programs are eligible to match from:
As one can see from this chart, the airlines eligible to request a match are all U.S. based as immediate competitors.
Interestingly Spirit is one of these airlines that doesn’t allow you to access the website from abroad, you need a VPN if you wish to access the form from outside North America.
The Spirit Status Match Challenge will be active “until the end of 2022” but as always there is never any guarantee that the airline won’t yank the campaign beforehand if they deem it to suit them so the best is to grab it when it’s most useful to you.
Conclusion
Spirit (while being far from my favorite airline) has been rather bullish in the low-cost aviation sector for years. I have friends who frequently use it on flights, especially to/from Las Vegas. Maybe this match/challenge will help some customers to improve the experience a little. One of my buddies who usually hates low-cost carriers swears on Spirit’s Big Front Seat so I guess I have to take his word for it.
