Frontier Airlines World Mastercard vs. Free Spirit Travel More World Elite Mastercard: Which low-cost carrier card is best?
Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information. For many travelers, it’s about the destination, not how you get there. If you tend to be budget-conscious and don’t mind flying ultra-low-cost carriers such as Frontier Airlines or Spirit Airlines, you may have considered either of these cobranded credit card options. While …
Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information.
For many travelers, it’s about the destination, not how you get there. If you tend to be budget-conscious and don’t mind flying ultra-low-cost carriers such as Frontier Airlines or Spirit Airlines, you may have considered either of these cobranded credit card options.
While the Frontier Airlines World Mastercard® and the Free Spirit® Travel More World Elite Mastercard® are often overlooked, they may be surprisingly decent options to add to your credit card portfolio based on their benefits.
With similar annual fees, I’ll help you decide which airline card is best for you.
The information for the Frontier Airlines World Mastercard and the Free Spirit Travel More World Elite Mastercard has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Frontier Mastercard vs. Free Spirit card comparison
| Frontier Airlines World Mastercard | Free Spirit Travel More World Elite Mastercard | |
| Annual fee | $0 for the first year, then $99 | $0 for the first year, then $79 |
| Welcome offer | Earn 50,000 bonus miles after spending $500 on purchases and paying the annual fee in full within the first 90 days of account opening | Earn 50,000 bonus points plus a $100 companion flight voucher after making at least $1,000 in purchases within the first 90 days of account opening |
| Bonus categories | 5 miles per dollar on eligible Frontier purchases
3 miles per dollar on restaurant purchases 1 mile per dollar on all other purchases |
3 points per dollar on eligible Spirit purchases
2 points per dollar on eligible dining and grocery store purchases 1 point per dollar on all other purchases |
| Benefits |
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Frontier Mastercard vs. Free Spirit card welcome offer
The Frontier Mastercard lets you earn 50,000 bonus miles after spending $500 on purchases and paying the annual fee in full within the first 90 days.
On the other hand, the Free Spirit Mastercard provides a similar offer. New cardholders will earn 50,000 bonus points plus a $100 companion flight voucher after making at least $1,000 in purchases within the first 90 days of account opening.
Frontier miles and Spirit points are currencies that are both worth 1.1 cents, according to TPG’s February 2025 valuations. That makes the Frontier card’s welcome offer worth $550 and Spirit’s worth $650 (with the inclusion of the $100 companion flight voucher).
Considering that both welcome offers both require a low spend requirement, that’s fantastic value.
Winner: Free Spirit card. Its welcome offer is slightly more valuable.
Frontier Mastercard vs. Free Spirit card benefits
These cards share many similarities, so the differences lie within the details of each benefit offered.
First, both cards offer the opportunity to earn a $100 flight voucher each year. This great incentive can cover the cost of their respective annual fees. However, the Frontier card’s annual voucher is a better offering since you’ll only have to spend $2,500 or more on your card to receive it.
Meanwhile, you’ll need to spend $5,000 or more with the Free Spirit card.
Plus, you can use the Frontier voucher for your own flight with fewer limitations, while the Spirit voucher requires you to use it on a companion ticket (in conjunction with booking your own ticket).
Both cards offer the opportunity to earn elite qualifying miles from your card spending. The Frontier Mastercard earns 1 Elite Status Point per dollar spent and earns Elite Gold status after your first purchase on the card in the first 90 days of account opening.
Similarly, you can reach Free Spirit Silver or Gold elite status with the Spirit card by earning 1 Status Qualifying Point (SQPs) for each $10 in purchases during a calendar year. It’s easier to achieve elite status with the Spirit card, as you can reach Silver status by getting 2,000 SQPs or Gold status with 5,000 SQPs.
So, with $20,000 or $50,000 in spending each year, you can get exclusive benefits such as free same-day standby flights and seat selection at check-in.
Frontier cardmembers currently have a pathway to Elite Platinum status by accumulating 20,000 elite status points by April 30.
Furthermore, both cards grant you access to family pooling, which allows you to share miles with family and friends.
With the Frontier card, you’ll also get an award redemption fee waiver, which starts at $5.60 for a one-way ticket. This is unlocked with the Spirit card at the Silver elite level, requiring $20,000 in spend per year.
Meanwhile, the Free Spirit card offers a 25% rebate on inflight purchases. Both cards offer perks such as Zone 2 priority boarding and no foreign transaction fees.
The Frontier card gives you free checked bags on all Frontier Airlines-operated flights when you pay with your card.
Winner: Tie. These cards offer very similar benefits.
Earning rewards with the Frontier Mastercard vs. Free Spirit card
Although Frontier and Spirit are low-cost carriers, their cobranded credit cards offer impressive earning rates.
The Frontier card offers 5 miles per dollar on eligible Frontier purchases, 3 miles per dollar on restaurant purchases and 1 mile per dollar on all other purchases.
In contrast, the Free Spirit Mastercard offers slightly lower earning rates, with 3 points per dollar on eligible Spirit purchases, 2 points per dollar on eligible dining and grocery store purchases and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.
Based on TPG’s February 2025 valuations, the Frontier card offers an effective return of 5.5% on Frontier purchases, 3.3% at restaurants and 1.1% on all other purchases.
Meanwhile, the Free Spirit Mastercard offers a slightly lower return of 3.3% on Spirit purchases, 2.2% on dining and grocery and a similar 1.1% on all other purchases.
While the Frontier Mastercard offers a much higher rate on affiliated airline purchases, it only offers one other bonus category (restaurants). Meanwhile, you can earn 2 miles per dollar on dining and grocery store purchases with the Free Spirit card.
Winner: The Frontier Mastercard. Since airline cards are best for airline spending, the Frontier Mastercard wins with higher earnings on Frontier purchases than the Free Spirit’s earnings on Spirit purchases.
Redeeming rewards with the Frontier Mastercard vs. Free Spirit card
Both airline currencies are valued at 1.1 cents each according to TPG’s February 2025 valuation, so we’ll pare down the redemption options to see which loyalty program offers a more user-friendly experience.
Frontier publishes an official award chart, citing that a one-way domestic flight starts at 10,000 miles. This is huge since you can fly anywhere within the U.S. and Puerto Rico for this price — even trans-continental flights.
With your welcome offer, you can unlock two round-trip flights or as many as five one-way flights.
Meanwhile, Spirit does not have an official award chart for redemptions. However, using the Free Spirit loyalty program, the carrier has incredible potential for low-cost awards. We’ve found that one-way flights can cost as low as 2,500 points, stretching the value of your sign-up bonus with a ton of booking options.
One important thing to remember is that Spirit charges a $50 redemption fee for flights booked within 28 days — severely affecting the value of using your hard-earned points. There’s no redemption fee if you book more than 28 days in advance.
With the Frontier Mastercard, you can save on redemption fees (which range from $15 to $75) — adding immense value to this card.
Winner: The Frontier Mastercard. Thanks to its waived redemption fees and clear, published award chart, it pulls ahead of the Free Spirit card.
Should I get the Frontier Mastercard or Free Spirit card?
If you live near a Spirit or Frontier hub, pick the card that best benefits your travel patterns. If not, the Frontier Mastercard has a slight edge over the Spirit Mastercard in earning and redeeming rewards. I encourage you to make your choice based on which airline you fly more frequently.
Bottom line
These two airline cards have low annual fees and perks to enhance the experience of flying these ultra-low-cost carriers. While the Frontier card offers slightly more benefits, you should choose the card with the airline you fly most frequently.
Learn more: Frontier Mastercard review
Learn more: Free Spirit Mastercard review
Related: Budget airline survival guide: Avoid fees and enjoy your flight
