Free Spirit Travel More World Elite Mastercard Review

There’s no doubt about who this card is best for. If you already use Spirit Airlines for a lot of your travel, and you are an old hand at finding ways to avoid (or tolerate) Spirit Airlines’ notorious fees, then this card might be a good fit. You can earn rewards on some everyday purchases (unlike the new no-annual-fee Spirit credit card), and points never expire as long as your card is open. Flexible travelers who can fly on off-peak dates will squeeze even more value out of this card, too.

Pros Explained

• Good base miles earning rate: A recent makeover made this card’s earning rates much more competitive when stacked against other budget airline offers. Cardholders will earn 3 miles per $1 spent on Spirit purchases, 2 miles per $1 spent on dining and grocery store expenses, and 1 mile per $1 on everything else. 
• Points don’t expire: Rewards earned with the Free Spirit frequent flyer program used to expire, but not anymore, thanks to a loyalty program reboot. Points earned with this card won’t expire as long as you keep the card open, which is great for infrequent travelers or those who don’t exclusively fly with Spirit. 
• Easy-to-earn annual companion flight credits: The new-cardholder bonus spending requirement is low, and you only need to spend $5,000 on this card over the course of a whole year (about $426 per month, on average) to earn another flight voucher. That’s a great deal compared to other similar airline companion pass requirements.

Cons Explained

• Lacking some typical airline-card perks: Spirit charges many fees, including checked baggage fees, ticket printing fees, and even a fee to choose your own seat. Most other airlines offer ways to dodge these fees with their credit cards, but the Free Spirit Travel More World Elite Mastercard offers no such relief. 
• No ability to book on other airlines: Many airlines belong to “alliances” that allow cardholders to use miles to book flights on partner airlines. Spirit offers no such benefit—your miles can only ever be used on Spirit Airlines flights.  
• Miles are not that valuable: Research by The Balance shows that each Spirit mile is only worth 0.76 cents each, on average. That’s below the 1-cent-per-point value that’s considered a baseline by rewards chasers.

Bonus for New Cardholders

You’ll earn 40,000 bonus points and a $100 Companion Flight Voucher after you spend at least $1,000 within 90 days of account opening. The Balance values Spirit points at 0.76 cents each on average when redeemed for flights, which means the bonus points are worth $304. 

While the face value of those miles may look meager, 40,000 points is nearly enough to book a round-trip flight with the airline (and possibly more if you score a deal). The companion flight voucher is a valuable addition, too. 

Earning Miles & Rewards

With most airline credit cards, the best rewards-earning rate applies when you make airline purchases—particularly flight tickets—and this card is no different. The Free Spirit Travel More World Elite Mastercard offers pretty typical earning rates for a budget airline card with a middle-of-the-road annual fee. Cardholders will earn 3 points per $1 spent with Spirit, 2 points per $1 spent on dining out and groceries, and 1 point per $1 spent on everything else. Plus you can earn even more bonus miles if you dine out at the right places.  

When you sign up, you’ll be automatically enrolled in the Free Spirit Dining Rewards program. If you use your card at any of 10,000 different restaurants, you’ll get between 0.5 and 5 bonus miles per $1 spent, depending on how many purchases you’ve made overall and whether or not you’re on the email list. (You do not need to be a cardholder to join this program.)

This card also gives airline fans a boost toward elite status (silver or gold) within the revamped Free Spirit frequent flyer program. For every $10 in purchases made with this card, you’ll earn 1 Status Qualifying Point (SQP). You’ll need 2,000 SQPs to reach Silver status, and 5,000 SQPs to reach Gold. Both levels come with extra bonus points on Spirit purchases and extras like free checked bags (though other airlines offer cardholders that perk before they prove their loyalty).

Redeeming Rewards

Much like your flights, don’t expect too many frills when redeeming your rewards. Currently, you can redeem your miles for Spirit Airlines flights or on partner retailer purchases (we recommend always using points for flights). You can’t use your rewards to cover baggage costs, unfortunately. To use your miles for a flight, search Spirit’s website for the fare you’re interested in and check “Purchase flight with Free Spirit Miles” in the search engine. That’s all you have to do. There’s no blackout seats or dates when you use Free Spirit points, either. 

You can also pool your points with family or friends who also have Free Spirit rewards to book flights even faster. 

How to Get the Most Out of This Card

Make sure you meet the welcome bonus spending requirement, as it’s a decent offer that will get you well on your way toward booking an award flight (or two). Since miles don’t expire, there’s no rush to use them, but keep your eyes peeled for off-peak travel dates. 

Also, while there is no way to avoid the baggage fees Spirit charges, using this card to book award flights can get you around paying last-minute booking fees. If you can use this card to accelerate you to elite status within the Free Spirit frequent flyer program, even better, as that's when you'll have access to more airline loyalty perks.

Free Spirit Travel More World Elite Mastercard's Excellent Perks

There aren’t a ton of extra airline perks attached to this card, but there are a couple that stand out:

• Annual $100 companion flight voucher: Spend $5,000 in a calendar year and earn a $100 flight voucher to help cover a travel companion’s ticket. 
• Statement credits on in-flight purchases: Get 25% back on food and drink purchases paid for with this card on each Spirit flight.
• Early boarding: Cardholders get to board with Zone 2.

Free Spirit Travel More World Elite Mastercard's Other Features

• Rental car collision insurance (secondary to your own policy)
• Extended warranties
• Lowest advertised price match
• Roadside assistance
• Travel and emergency hotline
• Concierge for booking event tickets, travel, and other services

Customer Experience

Bank of America customers can expect an above-average customer experience. At least that’s according to the 2020 J.D. Power Credit Card Satisfaction survey. Bank of America ranked third out of 11 major card issuers. You can reach customer service via phone 24/7 and there’s a mobile app to manage your card and other Bank of America accounts. The bank also offers a free FICO score. 

Security Features

Bank of America provides standard security features for the industry, such as a zero liability guarantee for fraudulent purchases, locking of your card if the bank detects unusual activity, and account alerts you can customize. If your identity is ever stolen, you can access some identity theft resolution resources, as well.  

Free Spirit Travel More World Elite Mastercard's Fees

One nice thing about this card is that it doesn’t charge any outlandish fees, which we like considering the airline likes to nickel-and-dime its travelers. The annual fee is in line with comparable airline cards, and new cardholders won’t have to pay that otherwise unavoidable cost for one year. Most importantly, there are no foreign transaction fees, which is something we always look for in airline credit cards.