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Spirit launched a status match challenge last week that could be useful if you have plans to fly with them in the next few months as they’re offering 90 days of Silver or Gold status. You can then extend that status with qualifying activity, but that could prove tricky to do.
The Deal
- Match your existing airline status to Spirit for 90 days and extend your Spirit status with the following qualifying activity:
- Silver status – earn 500 SQPs on flights operated by Spirit Airlines or spending on the Free Spirit Travel More Mastercard
- Gold status – earn 1,250 SQPs on flights operated by Spirit Airlines or spending on the Free Spirit Travel More Mastercard
- Direct link to offer.
Key Terms
- Your account will not be credited with Status Qualification Points (SQP’s) equivalent to the normal earning requirement.
- Our Guest Relations team will place you at the correct Status level based on your selected challenge level.
- Enjoy full benefits of the Silver or Gold tier during the 90-day challenge period.
- If you don’t qualify at the end of the 90-day period under the terms of the Status Match Challenge, your membership level will be returned to the level it was prior to the challenge period.
- If you meet the challenge criteria, you will enjoy the benefits of the Silver or Gold program level for the remainder of that calendar year plus the following calendar year.
- If you do not meet the challenge criteria, the Silver or Gold status will be terminated immediately, and you will be returned to the Free Spirit level held prior to the Status Match Challenge.
- You are allowed one Status Match Challenge every two years.
- An email will be sent confirming the outcome of the Status Match Challenge
Quick Thoughts
If you’re going to be flying Spirit in the next few months and have status with another airline already, requesting a status match seems like a no-brainer, especially if your existing status would match to Spirit Gold status. That’s because Gold status offers a free checked bag, a free carry-on bag, a free drink and snack onboard, exit row seat assignment at booking and more. Here’s a complete list of benefits for each status level:
Here’s a list of which airline statuses are eligible for this status match challenge and which levels match to Silver and Gold:
Unfortunately Spirit hasn’t stated how long this status match challenge will be going on for. If you’re not planning on flying Spirit immediately, it would make sense to hold off on matching your status for now, not only because you wouldn’t receive any benefit from the status match, but because if you wait a little while longer then you’d be able to have Spirit status in the beginning of 2023. If this status match challenge lasts that long, having Spirit status in the first few months of 2023 might enable you to match to other airlines at the start of the year which, depending on the status match program for the other airline(s), could net you status with them for the rest of the year. That’s a lot of ifs though.
Another reason that it could be worth delaying your status match request is if you would be able to complete the requirements to maintain your status beyond 90 days. The terms of the challenge state that:
If you meet the challenge criteria, you will enjoy the benefits of the Silver or Gold program level for the remainder of that calendar year plus the following calendar year
That means that if you meet the challenge criteria in 2023, you’d retain the benefits through the end of 2024.
The tricky thing though will be managing to complete the status challenge requirements. Silver status requires 500 SQPs (Spirit Qualification Points) within 90 days and Gold status requires 1,250 SQPs during that same period. You earn 1 SQP per dollar when flying with Spirit which means you’d need to spend $500 or $1,250 with Spirit for Silver and Gold status respectively. If you match to Gold status, you’d be getting seat assignment, a carry on bag, a checked bag, etc., so that’ll reduce your incidental spending with Spirit, meaning you’d likely need to be spending all $1,250 on flights within 90 days. If you need to fly Spirit so frequently that you’d be able to spend $1,250 on flights with them within three months, you have our commiserations.
In theory you could meet that SQP requirement through credit card spending, but that wouldn’t necessarily be worthwhile. You earn 1 SQP per $10 spent on the Free Spirit credit card which means you’d need to spend $5,000 or $12,500 on the card to earn Silver or Gold status respectively. That’s a lot of spend that could potentially be put to much better use.
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Does a SW Companion pass through 2023 without A-List status match to anything?
Yes, that’ll count. Although it says ‘A-List Preferred & Companion Pass’, I think it’s more a case of ‘A-List Preferred or Companion Pass’.
The reason why I think that is because, for example, Delta is listed as ‘Gold Medallion, Platinum Medallion & Diamond Medallion’. You can’t be all three, so you only need one of those statuses to be able to match to Spirit Gold, thus it should be the same for Southwest.
My wife did this a couple of months ago, so here’s a couple of DPs: (1) the ability to select seats only applies at purchase and check-in. If you have previously purchased a ticket, then become Gold, you’ll need to wait until check-in to select a seat and add bags; (2) they did not approve her for several weeks, yet backdated the approval with the result that she only got about 65 days as Gold; (3) notwithstanding this, we somehow stumbled into a glitch and were able to select her seat and add bags to one of her pre-booked flights (she had several), so YMMV on whether you run into a similar glitch and are able to get a free seat/bag(s) on a previously-purchased ticket.
Have learned that even at check-in Golds may not be able to select free seats if the ticket was purchased before becoming Gold. Definitely a YMMV thing.
Spirit status benefits do not apply to your travel companion(s). Only the person with status.
Spirit and UFC should have reciprocal privileges.