Review: Bank of America Spirit Airlines World MasterCard 

Spirit airlines has earned the reputation as most hated airline in the USA. Until we moved to South Carolina, I have never flown with spirit and often heard of its infamous reputation. As long as you don’t expect any great perks, the cheap prices are unbeatable.

The seats do not recline, and they are among the smallest in the industry. Absolutely everything is an extra cost: food, drinks, seat assignment and luggage not just checked bags, but also carry-on bags. Even though Spirit’s website is very transparent about its charges, customers must pay attention to the details to understand what they are being charged for.

As a family, we have traveled on Spirit dozens of times and experienced nothing out of the ordinary. We knew what to expect how to use the rules to our advantage.

16.24% Variable

Sign-Up Bonus:

The 15,000 mile sign-up bonus is received after the first purchase. 15,000 is enough for up to six one-way segments. You must be a Spirit Airlines MasterCard cardholder to get award rates of 2,500 miles per flight.

Points Earned:

Spirit Airlines offers good rewards for their cardholders.

• Two miles per dollar on every purchase
• 5,000 bonus points when you spend $10,000 a year and pay the annual fee

You can check the amount of your rewards at the site by loging into your account.

Spirit Airlines serves 52 destinations in the Continental U.S., Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, Colombia and Peru. Spirit Airlines can be especially valuable if you live in one of their focus cities like Fort Lauderdale, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit and Las Vegas. Spirit Airlines does not have airline partners with whom you could use Free Spirit miles.

Benefits:

• Award discounts for spirit MasterCard cardholders
• Preferred boarding and domestic priority check-in at select airports
• Miles won’t expire as long as you use the card monthly
• 5,000 bonus points when you spend $10,000 a year and pay the annual fee
• One-way award availability
• Exceptionally easy and accurate online award booking engine

Keep in Mind:

• Miles expire in three months without any mile-earning activity or a monthly credit card purchase
• No airline partners
• Three percent foreign transaction fee
• Must pay for an award flight with the Spirit Airlines credit card in order to get the lowest rate
• Close-in award booking fees: $15 for 21 to 179 days prior to departure; $75  for 7 to 20 days prior to departure; $100 for 6 days or less prior to departure

 

What Can Spirit Miles Do For You

Free Spirit is a distance-based program. Basically, the shorter the flights, the better value you will get. Using Free Spirit miles for nonstop flights within the same region is the best value. For example, a flight between New York and Fort Lauderdale only costs 5,000 miles roundtrip. Long flights can be quite reasonable too. Flying between New York and Lima, Peru (via Fort Lauderdale) only costs 25,000 miles roundtrip. Spirit now has airports in Cuba. As a family of three, we flew from Cuba to Fort Lauderdale in April of 2017.

Additional Cardholder Benefits:

• $0 liability guarantee
• Secure chip technology
• Mobile and text banking
• Standard World MasterCard Benefits, such as car rental insurance and extended warranties