【Updated April 2023】There is now a deadline, and it is April 23. It looks like this promotion is very popular, so if you need this, hurry up to match.
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About Spirit Matching
Spirit in the U.S. is also doing a status match, and the great part is they accept not only airline elite status, but hotel status too—for example, Hilton Diamond. Even better, one match gives you 12 months of membership, with no flying requirement. It costs $49 to match to Silver and $99 to match to Gold. If you can make use of this airline’s elite status, it’s definitely worth trying.
Spirit Member Benefits
Honestly, the benefits of this low-cost carrier are actually quite good. Because low-cost fares are cheap, most of the pain comes from baggage and seat fees, and elite benefits like free baggage and free seat selection can precisely cover those big holes.
- Silver benefits: free overweight baggage (one of the biggest costs; Spirit’s overweight bag fees are very high)
- Gold benefits: free checked and carry-on baggage, priority boarding, early seat selection, and free pet allowance. It basically covers almost every extra-fee trap.
Match Requirements
These are the airline and hotel programs you can match from; I’ve included some of the most common ones.
Airline Match
Here’s the airline list. Getting higher-tier airline status is hard enough, so this is not a big surprise.
Hotel Match
Hotel list:
- Hilton Diamond from a credit card can match to Gold—that’s great.
- Even Hilton Gold from a Platinum card can match to Gold.
- IHG Platinum from a credit card can be matched directly to Gold.
- Marriott Gold (included with Amex Platinum cards) can match to Gold.
My Take
If you’re going to fly Spirit a few times, don’t miss this. The value of the benefits from elite status is much greater than the $99 match fee.
If you don’t need it, just pass. It also doesn’t rule out using Spirit status to chain-match into other airline programs with some advanced strategy; feel free to be creative. If you find a good method, feel free to share.