Bank of America Spirit Airlines World MasterCard Review
Updated May 4, 2014.
The Facts
The Math
The card looks great on paper, having a return rate of 2 miles per dollar spent. You can even achieve 2.5 miles per dollar spent if your annual spending is exactly $10,000. Also Spirit advertises its miles program very smartly - oneway trip starts at only 2,500 miles. However, there are some caveats. First, unlike most other frequent flyer programs, you are limited to Spirit flights only. Secondly, based on the 2014 off-peak/standard/peak dates, we calculate you can only use miles at lowest redemption level "off-peak" on 1/3 of the dates. The "standard" or "peak" level requires significantly higher number of miles. Thirdly, you have to call in to book awards tickets. Lastly, we have heard generally bad experience from members who try to redeem their miles. So our suggestion is do your homework and figure out if it will suit your travel plan - we are sure some people will find this credit card so great that they don't even want to share their secrets while some people will never come out ahead even going through a lot of hassles.
Spiriti MasterCard vs. FIA Fidelity Amex: since the maximum earning rate on the MasterCard is 2.5 miles/$, in order to beat Fidelity Amex's 2% cash back, you will need to value miles at least 1.04 cent a piece , since $10,000 x 2.5 miles/$ x 1.04 cent/mile - $59 = $10,000 x 2%.
The Conclusion
BofA Spirit MasterCard returns 2-2.5 miles per dollar spent with an annual fee of $59 and could be valuable to some travelers. However, before you jump in too soon, make sure you do your homework to understand how the program works.
The Facts
- Annual Fee: 1st year free and $59 thereafter.
- Signup Bonus: 15,000 miles
- Rewards: 2x everywhere. You also earn an annual bonus of 5,000 miles when you spend at least $10,000 per year.
- Best Use of FREE SPIRIT miles: FREE SPIRIT is the frequent flyer program of Spirit Airlines. As a low cost airline, Spirit is not part of any airline alliance and doesn't have any partners. You can use FREE SPIRIT miles on Spirit flights. The current awards chart can be found here. Oneway redemption rate for coach class is between 2,500 and 45,000 miles. The lowest rate "off-peak" is available exclusively for the Spirit MasterCard members.
- Other Benefits: Your FREE SPIRIT miles don't expire as long as you use the card every month.
- Other Facts: This is one of the two cards currently available that offers 2 miles per dollar spent for general spending. The other one is BofA Virgin Atlantic WEMC.
The Math
The card looks great on paper, having a return rate of 2 miles per dollar spent. You can even achieve 2.5 miles per dollar spent if your annual spending is exactly $10,000. Also Spirit advertises its miles program very smartly - oneway trip starts at only 2,500 miles. However, there are some caveats. First, unlike most other frequent flyer programs, you are limited to Spirit flights only. Secondly, based on the 2014 off-peak/standard/peak dates, we calculate you can only use miles at lowest redemption level "off-peak" on 1/3 of the dates. The "standard" or "peak" level requires significantly higher number of miles. Thirdly, you have to call in to book awards tickets. Lastly, we have heard generally bad experience from members who try to redeem their miles. So our suggestion is do your homework and figure out if it will suit your travel plan - we are sure some people will find this credit card so great that they don't even want to share their secrets while some people will never come out ahead even going through a lot of hassles.
Spiriti MasterCard vs. FIA Fidelity Amex: since the maximum earning rate on the MasterCard is 2.5 miles/$, in order to beat Fidelity Amex's 2% cash back, you will need to value miles at least 1.04 cent a piece , since $10,000 x 2.5 miles/$ x 1.04 cent/mile - $59 = $10,000 x 2%.
The Conclusion
BofA Spirit MasterCard returns 2-2.5 miles per dollar spent with an annual fee of $59 and could be valuable to some travelers. However, before you jump in too soon, make sure you do your homework to understand how the program works.