New Elite Status Program
 

Per Pizza in Motion, it looks like Frontier just implemented new elite statuses:

Elite 20K:

• Free carry-on bag
• Family pooling of miles
• Free seat assignment
• Free stretch seating (extra legroom) if available at check-in

Elite 50K earns all the benefits of 20K plus the following:

• Family seating (get seats together when traveling with your family).
• 50% off Discount Den membership
• 25% mileage bonus on paid flights

Elite 100K earns all the benefits of 50K plus the following:

• Free Discount Den membership
• 50% mileage bonus on paid flights
• Free the WORKS bundle for the entire family

For those unfamiliar with the WORKS bundle, it’s a collection of benefits that Frontier usually sells:

• Free carry-on bag
• Priority boarding
• Free checked bag
• Free seat selection
• Change your flights without penalty
• Free refunds on paid tickets

Wow... these are real improvements, not at all like other airlines "enhancements!"
As I read it, the 20K level stays unchanged.
For a LCC carrier, I think it is a very fair offering of benefits.

The only change that seems to be negative is the FAMILY POOLING... does this mean you can only redeem your miles for an award for someone in the "POOL?"

I guess the enhancement there is that you can earn elite qualifying miles through either flying or one mile for every dollar spent on their co-branded credit card.

My understanding of it is that you don't have to redeem your miles for an award with someone in the POOL but you can POOL your miles with 8 others and redeem them on awards how the head of the pool sees fit.

they also count spending to get to elite status-- SPEND TO ELITE

Every dollar spent on your Frontier Airlines Mastercard earns you an Elite Qualifying Mile.

The official information
https://www.flyfrontier.com/myfronti...s/elite-status

What does this mean?

That language is unintelligible. Under other programs some miles count for status and some don't but they are all redeemable. Southwest has points, companion qualifing points and tier qualifing points, which also count towards companion pass but all are redeemable for flights. The only exception is special tier qualifying points sometines offered for sale to people who barely missed qualifying for the basic level of status which are not redeemable but since you have to buy a minimum number of points it's basically a buy up.

AA EQMs are not redeemable miles, you can get more EQMs on a flight than redeemable miles if it's a long flight and you paid a low fare.

I am now more inclined to get the credit card...I do not necessarily fly F9 enough to reach status, but I do have the spending power to "top off" and reach a status level/get additional benefits when I do fly them.

I see the credit card spend equating to status miles as and pooling family mileage account balances (as they expire quite quickly if not used) as two improvements I will use.

Unless these changes have also changed expiration rules the miles only expire if you don't earn any new ones. You could keep them alive indefinitely with credit card usage, transfers or other new miles. I hope that has not changed.

That makes the Frontier statement even more nonsensical.

The thing about ULCCs shifting benefits to being dependent on being a cardholder is that I would bet a much higher percentage of ULCC customers would have difficulty getting or would be shut out of getting the card! They're competing with Greyhound, the curb bus companies and driving, after all. Would bet that a good number of ULCC tickets are purchased on debit cards rather than credit cards. When Barclay's Bank had the Spirit card during the great recession they were very picky about who they'd take, and paranoid about people instantly maxing with cash advances even though their interest rates were awful.

So if an airline like Frontier links too many benefits to a card that I'll bet 33-50% of their fliers can't get, then the have-nots get to feel like second-class citizens who (ironically) get to sit in the back of the plane (am sure they won't like that way of putting it).

"Daddy's Reclaim Program" ...hehehe. :p:p

Dad gets to do what companies have wanted to do for years.

Of course, if Dad's like a ULCC version of a certain POTUS he might use the miles to fly to SoCal to see a certain porn star but forget to bring the raincoats. :p:p

The younger kids are *probably* none the wiser about FF programs anyway, though I'm amazed at the level of knowledge of some here in their early 20s vs. where I was at that age in pre-Internet times. Heck, I was totally taken by surprise when I got my first FC upgrade and didn't even know I had status.