We are looking at our options in lieu of all the changes at WN reward program. We have flown F9 in the past but not on a regular basis. Our focus is on the earning opportunities (ex: current 35k CC offer) for reward flights and easiness of redeeming for flights. We usually fly between TUS and PDX, MSP, & LGA. (Got to get the grandkid fix) Any guidance you could provide would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for the help

GVretiredguy and Wife

F9's fares are usually rock bottom. Sometimes much cheaper than anyone else, including Southwest. Always buy your tickets on their website www.frontierairlines.com. If you buy Classic fare ticket, you will get two free bags, free TV, and 125% of actual mileage flown. If you buy Classic Plus you get two free bags, free TV, free Stretch seats (extra legroom) and 150% of acutal mileage flown. You only need 12,500 miles for a one way ticket, or 25,000 roundtrip.

Also if you fly 15k miles in one year you get priority seating, check-in, free TV, free bags, and generally excellent treatment... and 25k/year adds free drinks and no change fees (so tickets are essentially refundable, though you can only apply credit to future flights, not actually get the $$$ back).

Thanks for the question. I decided to lurk over here this afternoon for exactly the same reason. I have a RT BNA-PDX already booked in April along with an MSP-BNA OW. If I like what I find, I might use these guys for more of my west coast trips. I make about 10 RTs per year from BNA to points west.

So, F9 folks, thanks in advance for the help.

Thanks for all the great info azstar and DenverF9flier. It looks like there are plenty of options and it is always nice to have a one-way option in case of emergencies when you are not sure of a return date. A nice mix of additional rewards for more flights as mentioned by DenverF9flier. Have you had any trouble redeeming for flights? I understand the need to be flexible, I was just wondering about overall availability. It certainly sounds like a very workable option for our needs. F9 flies to the cities that are our usual destinations.
Again, thanks for all your help!!!!

Gvretiredguy & Wife

Now that I've provdided some input regarding fares and mileage accrual, here are a couple of things you should be prepared for when/if you fly Frontier. There are usually a couple of efficient knowledgeable employees, but the majority are uninformed and basically worthless. You have to know Frontier's rules and policies because many of the counter/gate employees won't. Also, you can never be sure what type of plane you'll be flying, especially between DEN & BNA. They are constantly substituting Republic 76 seat or 90 seat aircraft at the last minute. Once I was checking in at TUS and while they were in the process of getting my boarding pass DEN-MCI the 90 seat plane was switched for a 76 seater. So, you won't get TV or Stretch seating on some of those aircraft.

Frontier recently created a new status match program called "Attest" which allows elite members from certain competing airlines to get elite status on Frontier. These members can submit a request via e-mail to [email protected] with their EarlyReturns number (if they don't have one, they can apply at www.flyfrontier.com/earlyreturns) along with an e-copy of their Elite credentials from the other airline (card, statement etc.) for consideration.

If approved, they will get elite status on Frontier for a short "test" period and must fly a certain number of flights during that test period to retain Elite status for the rest of the current year. Both Ascent and Summit status match is being offered through this program. The details of the qualification period and requirements are provided in the acceptence e-mail.

Great news! Looks like they've been reading these forums

+1

Hey, great to hear from you MMiles! Thanks for chiming in. I know you have to be judicious in how/when to participate, but know that you're always welcome around here!

There are some issues with redemption, like any airline, but I have been pretty happy with it. The other benefit of Elite status is that you get last-seat-available redemption using extra miles. I try to plan ahead when possible but often do spur-of-the-moment trips like going to Mexico for the weekend, or booking Thanksgiving tickets to DC or NY the week before, and that makes using double the normal miles a pretty good value when they would otherwise cost $800! Also reward availability often opens up as you get closer to departure dates, so it pays to check often or use a service like ExpertFlyer which offers availability notification.

On the employees comment, some of them are indeed pretty green but all the ones I've encountered are at least nice about it. I had an employee in SAN charge me the $45 same-day-confirmed fee to take an earlier flight, which I was perfectly happy to pay... then their supervisor/trainer overheard, came over, made them refund my payment, then showed them how to put me at the top of the standby list due to my status, which immediately confirmed me for free (standby is free for elites, another great benefit). I'll say this, for a piddling 15k miles/year, they sure make you feel like a king sometimes...