Frontier Airlines Credit Card

Barclays Credit Cards, Airline Credit Cards

If you occasionally fly Frontier, you may want to get this card for its signup bonus (although there are better options available from Barclays).

If you fly Frontier a few times a year, it is probably worth paying $79 per year and using the card for at least $2,500 of spending to get the $100 discount voucher, priority boarding, family pooling, a way to easily keep your points from expiring, waived award redemption fees, and the opportunity to spend your way to the next status level.

Jump to

Intro to Frontier Miles
Signup Bonus
Spending Your Way to Status
Other Notable Benefits
Bonus Categories
Getting Rid of the Card

Award prices are good. Normal prices are 20,000 miles for round trips in the United States (and to Puerto Rico) and 30,000 points to Mexico, Central America, or the Caribbean. This is lower than the required points with many other programs, but Frontier is a budget flying experience and the typical cash ticket prices are also lower than normal.
Miles expire after only six months of inactivity. You'll need to use your miles quickly. As long as you still have the card, it is easy to keep them alive with a single purchase every few months.
There is a $15 ticketing fee for tickets booked between 21 and 179 days prior to departure; but you won't pay it if you have the card. It is very unusual to have fees for award tickets booked so far in advance, but having the credit card waives these fees, so it isn't a problem if you use your miles before you cancel the card. Within 21 days, the fees are higher.

Collecting the Signup Bonus

If you fly Frontier, it is worth signing-up for this card just for the signup bonus. The typical signup bonus is 40,000 Frontier Miles. That's enough for two round trip tickets within the United States and Puerto Rico. However, because Frontier flights are so inexpensive, it is hard to find opportunities to good value from your reward points.
It is possible to earn the same signup bonus multiple times. Barclays has no real limit on the number of times you can get the bonus. Hold onto the card until close to the end of your first year, cancel it, wait a few months, and reapply.

However, if you have been actively signing up for credit cards, it can sometimes be hard to get approved for new cards from Barclays. If you really want to keep the card part of your core credit collection, don't cancel it, counting on being able to be re-approved for the card a few months later. But if you are mainly interested in the signup bonus, there is little harm in trying.

Spending Your Way to Status

The Frontier card is the only airline credit card that counts the points you earn from spending towards your status requirements.

You can use the card to get the next highest status level. For example, if you wind up flying 12,000 miles over the course of the year, you can spend $8,000 on the card to make it to the "Elite 20K level". Or if you wind up flying 30,000 miles, you could spend $20,000 on the card to get to the "Elite 50K level".
Earning status can significantly lower the "add-on" costs of flying on Frontier. With Frontier, you pay extra for bags, seating, etc. Even low-level (20K) elites get free carry-ons, free seat assignments, and free access to "stretch seating" at check-in. 50K elites get free assigned seating for their entire family and 100K elites get "the WORKS bundle" for their entire family and a free checked bag.
Given the low reward rate, it typically isn't worthwhile to earn status primarily via spending. The opportunity cost of spending even $20,000 on the card is at least $300.
But if you frequently fly Frontier, spending on the card can be the key to saving hundreds of dollars of fees. The more you fly on Frontier, the more valuable the elite status benefits are and the less you'll need to spend on the card to earn status.

Other Notable Benefits

Annual $100 Frontier Airlines voucher (with a $2,500 spending requirement). You'll receive a voucher if you spend $2,500 with the card during each 12 month period (starting when you open the card). If you are planning on holding onto the card, it probably makes sense to try to spend enough to earn the voucher. Even if you paid a 2.5% service fee to generate the $2,500 in spending, you would earn a $100 voucher for $62.50 in fees.
Waived award redemption fees. You'll save $15 on each of your longer-term award redemptions and even more on shorter-term redemptions.
Ability to pool miles. Cardholders can combine points from up to 8 different linked accounts to aggregate enough points to make an award redemption.
Priority boarding. You can board in Zone 2.
Access to Mastercard luxury hotel program. When you book at one of the participating hotels, you'll get an number of valuable benefits, like free breakfast, a $100 hotel credit, a room upgrade, and late checkout.Take Advantage of Luxury Hotel Programs for Valuable Extra Perks
Free ShopRunner membership. Like all World Elite Mastercards, your card entitles you to a complimentary ShopRunner membership, which provides free two-day and return shipping from around 150 of the largest online retailers. ShopRunner
DoorDash and Hello Fresh discounts. Cardmembers who have a DoorDash membership get $5 off their first two orders each month when paid for by their Mastercard. If you don't have a free membership from Chase, you can get your first three months membership for free through Mastercard. You also get a 5% credit back on each HelloFresh purchase.

Bonus Categories

You are better off making your Frontier purchases with a card that earns a higher reward rate for airfare spending. 2x Frontier miles is okay but not as good as what you'd earn from one of the better cards.Best Credit Cards for Travel Spending.
There are better options for your restaurant purchases. 3x Frontier miles might be more valuable than what you would get from a good general-purpose reward card, but you can earn even more valuable rewards with other cards. Best Credit Cards for Restaurant Spending
You don't want to use this card for your everyday spending. You'll earn higher rewards from a good general-purpose reward card. Get a Great General Purpose Reward Card and Use It for All of Your Spending.

Getting Rid of the Card

You can cancel without worrying about losing your Frontier miles. Once you earn them, they are treated like any other miles in your Frontier account.
If you keep a Barclays Card and don't spend on it, you can have a harder time getting approved for new Barclays cards.
You can wait to cancel the card until after the annual fee shows up on your statement. As long as you cancel within 30 days of the statement closing date, Barclays will refund the fee.
You might be able to receive a retention offer to keep your card. It could be enough to make it worthwhile to keep the card.

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