Free Spirit Travel More World Elite Mastercard Review

Full Review of Free Spirit Travel More World Elite Mastercard

Pros & Cons

Pros Explained

• Bonus with a small spending requirement: This card has a bonus that is relatively easy to earn, unlike some other cards with $3,000 or $5,000 minimum spending requirements. You can earn 50,000 bonus points plus a $100 Companion Flight Voucher after charging at least $1,000 in purchases within the first 90 days of opening an account.
• Zone 2 shortcut boarding: Get priority boarding by using your Free Spirit Travel More World Elite Mastercard to purchase your tickets directly from Spirit Airlines or by showing your card to the gate agent when you board. This includes a 25% rebate on inflight food and beverage purchases when you pay with the card.
• Earn anniversary bonus miles: You can earn a $100 companion flight voucher when you spend at least $5,000 in net purchases annually. "Net purchases" are purchases minus any returns, credits, and adjustments. "Annually" is based on a year beginning with the cardholder’s anniversary date.

Cons Explained

• Award flights can require paying many fees: Spirit Airlines is known for charging plenty of fees, including those associated with its rewards program. As with most award flights on other airlines, you’re still responsible for the taxes and fees portion of the flight. Any additional services must also be purchased separately.
• Points are only food for use on Spirit Airlines: You can only use your miles for award flights with Spirit Airlines flights. Spirit doesn't have airline partners that will accept its miles, unlike many other airlines.
• Annual fee applies after the first year: This card offers a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, but the annual fee rises to $79 after that. The card does offer some unique benefits, but you'll have to determine whether they’re worth paying the annual fee after the first year.

Who This Card Is Best For

The Free Spirit Travel More World Elite Mastercard is ideal for people who often travel on Spirit Airlines and who want to maximize their Free Spirit rewards to get the cheapest award flights possible.

The card gives you access to off-peak awards, which are Spirit Airlines' lowest award flight redemption tier. These award flights start at 2,500 miles for a one-way ticket. The zone 2 priority boarding, 5,000 anniversary bonus miles for spending $10,000 in purchases annually, and the introductory $0 annual fee could make this an attractive card for frequent Spirit Airlines fliers.

Spirit Airlines World Mastercard Bonus

This card offers 50,000 bonus points plus a $100 Companion Flight Voucher after you make at least $1,000 in purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account. That’s a substantial bonus for the small spending requirement.

The bonus miles offer applies only to new accounts and not to requests to convert existing accounts to this card. Bonus miles can take up to eight weeks to post to the account.

Rewards Earning Details

Earning rewards on the Free Spirit Travel More World Elite Mastercard is about as straightforward as possible. You'll earn three points per dollar on eligible Spirit purchases, two points per dollar on dining and grocery purchases, and one point per dollar on all other purchases. 

You do have to be sure to use your rewards and don’t allow the miles you earn to expire. The Free Spirit rewards program has a relatively strict miles expiration policy. Miles expire when an account becomes inactive for a period of three months or more. This is an extremely short time frame. There are no blackout dates on award tickets, but all award tickets are subject to award seat availability.

Rewards Redemption Details

Spirit Airlines is known for its bare-bones flight experience. That carries over to its points redemption options as well. Award tickets only include a flight reservation. Additional services that you’d typically pay extra for on Spirit Airlines aren't included. You must also pay any applicable taxes and fees.

Depending on when you book your award ticket, you may have to pay a nonrefundable per-guest award redemption fee. The fee is $50 for award tickets requested between 0 and 28 days prior to departure. It's free for award tickets requested over 28 days before departure.

There's an additional $25 per person agent transaction charge if you book your award through Spirit's reservations department. You can avoid this fee by booking online. Changes and cancellations aren’t allowed within 24 hours of departure. You can pay $119 per passenger for modifications or cancel your flight prior to that and have your miles redeposited for a $99 fee.

These awards aren't available without this card or the Spirit Promerica Mastercard. You must pay the award redemption fee with your card to book these awards.

How to Maximize Your Rewards

Maximizing rewards with the Free Spirit Travel More World Elite Mastercard is mainly a matter of getting the best redemption value for your miles. You earn 1 point per dollar on all purchases so the only way to earn more miles is to spend more money. You can also make sure you collect the full bonus.

Try to book online and at least 29 days prior to departure to minimize fees when you're booking award flights. Focus on flying during off-peak periods to minimize the number of points required for each flight.

An Average Case

Let's say you want to fly from Nashville to Fort Lauderdale. A round trip award would cost you 5,000 miles plus $26.20 in taxes and fees if you book at least 29 days in advance and find off-peak flight times that work with your schedule. The same flight would cost $74.60 if you paid for it in cash using the standard fare.

This results in a value of roughly 0.97 cents per mile after accounting for the taxes and fees on the rewards flight.

An Aspirational Case

Now suppose that you want to fly from Orlando to San Juan, Puerto Rico. To get the most value, You’d fly using off-peak awards and book far enough in advance to avoid the award redemption fees to get the most value. You could get a round-trip flight for 5,000 miles plus $26.20 in taxes and fees by doing that. The same flight would otherwise cost $171.38 in cash, including taxes and fees, based on a standard fare.

This results in a per-mile valuation of roughly 2.9 cents per mile.

Standard Benefits

• $0 liability for fraudulent transactions
• Automatic enrollment in Free Spirit Dining Rewards program with 1 point per $2 spent at participating restaurants
• Other World Mastercard benefits as detailed in your new account materials

Cardholder Experience

Bank of America, which issues this card, scored 818 out of 1,000 in J.D. Power's 2022 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study. This is four points below the national issuer average of 809 and fifth among all card issuers. 

You can get in touch with customer support by calling the number on the back of your card or 800-732-9194 if you have questions or need help with your account. Bank of America also offers online and mobile banking for managing your credit card account.

Security Features

The security features of this card are fairly standard for the industry. It does allow for chip and PIN purchases which provides enhanced security and can be useful if you travel internationally.

Like many other cards, this card also offers access to your FICO credit score, updated on a monthly basis so you can keep an eye on your credit.

Fees to Watch Out For

This card waives its $79 annual fee only for the first year. Earning at least 1 point per dollar is nice, but you can earn similarly valued rewards with cards that don’t charge an annual fee on an ongoing basis.

The other fees are fairly standard, but this card does charge a variable penalty APR of up to 29.99% which will apply to new purchases if you make a late payment. Many other rewards credit cards don't have penalty APRs. On the plus side, this card doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee.

Final Verdict

The Free Spirit Travel More World Elite Mastercard offers at least 1 points per dollar on all purchases. Add on the 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 in the first three months of account opening and this card can provide you with a fair value. 

Unfortunately, you can only book your award flights on Spirit Airlines, and its additional fees can get excessive if you don’t book online or far enough in advance. You may want to consider another airline's credit card or a general travel rewards card that lets you redeem your rewards in many different ways if you're looking for more flexibility and lower fees.

FAQs

What is the minimum credit limit on a World Elite Mastercard?

Bank of America issues the World Elite Mastercard. It doesn't cite a specific credit limit range for the card because this factor will depend on your own creditworthiness, including your credit score and the information contained in your credit report. The better your credit, the higher the limit you should qualify for.

What are the benefits of having a Spirit Mastercard?

The Spirit Mastercard lets you earn from one to three points for your various purchases, and there's no limit as to how many points you can earn. They're not capped and they won't expire as long as your card is open and in good standing. You'll earn 50,000 bonus points if you make at least $1,000 in eligible purchases within the first 90 days. Points earn you reward bookings on flights, which can be a nice benefit for frequent travelers, but many fees apply.

Can you use a Free Spirit Mastercard anywhere?

You can use the Free Spirit card wherever Mastercard is accepted. Unfortunately, points and miles earned on your charged purchases can only be used on Spirit Airlines flights.

What is the difference between World Mastercard and World Elite Mastercard?

All Mastercards are either Standard, World, or World Elite. The World Elite Mastercard offers the most benefits: all those offered by Standard and World, plus some of its own. These can include concierge service and cellphone protection.