Frontier Airlines will soon offer unlimited free companion travel (for only the cost of taxes and fees) to its Platinum and Diamond elite members. The new benefit, which is part of a bundle of Frontier Miles loyalty program changes the airline announced, is coming in mid- to late- 2025.
It’s not the only airline to offer a companion benefit. Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines also offer some form of a companion pass or fare, but based on what we know so far, Frontier’s version might soon be the most generous available — and a relatively easy one to earn. Here’s how they stack up.
Frontier Miles unlimited companion travel details
Frontier’s new companion travel benefit for Platinum and Diamond elites will offer unlimited trips with a companion while you hold the qualifying elite status. Unlike Southwest’s companion pass, you’ll be able to fly with a different companion each time. The flexibility of this upcoming benefit could make it the most valuable companion pass on the market.
You must book your companion’s seat at the same time you book your own and pay taxes and fees, which start at around $6 per segment — but those are just about the only restrictions we know of so far. Frontier hasn’t specified if this benefit will be available with award tickets or if it’s limited to paid flights.
Keep in mind your companion won’t earn any award miles or credit toward elite status when they fly with you, which isn’t unusual for a non-revenue ticket.
The benefit is available to Frontier Platinum and Diamond elite members. To reach these statuses, you have to earn at least 50,000 or 100,000 Frontier elite status points, respectively, in a calendar year.
Frontier Miles members earn 10 points per $1 spent on Frontier until they reach 10,000 points, the threshold for Silver Status. Silver and Gold members earn 12 points and 14 points per $1 spent on Frontier respectively.
Frontier Airlines World Mastercard® holders also have a fast track to achieve elite status. Cardholders earn 1 point per $1 spent on the card, plus they can unlock automatic Gold elite status for 12 months if they spend $3,000 in net purchases on the card in the first 90 days after account opening.
If you were to apply for the Frontier Airlines World Mastercard® and meet the requirement for Gold elite status, you’d already have 3,000 points. From there, if you put $3,134 of spending on Frontier on your card that year, you’d earn another 47,000 points.
So you could spend as little as $6,134 to earn Frontier Platinum status and Frontier’s unlimited companion pass. That’s much cheaper than the cost to earn high tier status with other airlines, according to NerdWallet’s analysis.
Comparing popular companion pass offers
Alaska and Delta offer a one-time certificate as part of their respective co-branded credit card benefits, whereas Frontier and Southwest offer an unlimited companion option tied to your elite status in each loyalty program.
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Must have the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card and spend $6,000 or more on purchases in an anniversary year to qualify. |
Must have an AmEx Delta SkyMiles Reserve, Reserve Business, Platinum or Platinum Business card. |
Must fly 100 one-way flights or earn 135,000 qualifying points with Southwest in a calendar year. |
Must have Diamond or Platinum elite status with Frontier. |
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Good for one round-trip coach companion fare per cardmember year from $122 ($99 fare and taxes and fees from $23). |
AmEx Delta SkyMiles Platinum or Platinum Business card holders get one round-trip coach companion flight certificate within the U.S. and to Mexico, the Caribbean or Central America each year after card renewal. |
Unlimited flights with a companion for only the cost of taxes and fees. Applies to paid and award flights. |
Unlimited flights with a companion for only the cost of taxes and fees. You can bring anyone along with you for only the cost of taxes and fees, as long as they have a Frontier account and you book their seat at the same time as yours. |
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Can only earn one per card per year and must spend on the co-branded credit card. |
Can only earn one per card per year. Taxes are up to $80 for round-trip domestic and up to $250 for round-trip international flights. |
You must designate a single companion, but you can change your choice up to three times per calendar year. |
Companion won’t earn award miles or credit toward elite status. |
Alaska companion fare
It’s good for one round-trip coach flight at a cost of $99 plus taxes and fees that start at $23. You must book your companion’s ticket at the same time as yours and must pay for both tickets with your Alaska credit card. Only paid tickets qualify for the benefit, and both travelers will earn award miles.
You can give away your companion ticket by booking it along with someone else’s ticket, so you could, for example, buy a flight for two friends or family members. The only condition is that you use your own Alaska card to purchase the fares.
Restrictions: There’s currently no way to earn additional certificates other than a welcome offer or spending on either Alaska card. Spending more on either card won’t earn you another companion fare.
Delta companion certificate
Like Alaska, Delta offers one annual companion certificate through its co-branded credit cards. There are two versions depending on the card you have — and no spending is required other than paying the card’s annual fee.
Restrictions: You must fly with your companion and pay for both tickets using your AmEx Delta card. You will earn miles for your ticket, but your companion won’t earn any.
Southwest Companion Pass
Before now, Southwest was the only airline with an unlimited companion pass. To earn it, you must fly 100 qualifying one-way flights or earn 135,000 qualifying Rapid Rewards points in a calendar year. You’ll be able to use the pass for the remainder of the calendar year you earned it, plus the full following calendar year. Similar to Frontier, you can earn qualifying points through a Southwest credit card.
Restrictions: You must designate one person as your companion, but can change your option up to three times per year. It’s valid for paid or award flights, too.
One slight quirk is you must book your flight and then add your companion after the fact. They won’t earn points for their flight, but you’ll earn points for the cash portion of your ticket, not including taxes and fees.
Frontier companion travel
Frontier describes its upcoming companion benefit as a perk you can use foras long as you maintain elite status.
But unlike Southwest, you can change your companions whenever you want. You’ll also be able to book both tickets at the same time, though your companion won’t earn elite status credit or miles for their Frontier flight.
This new offering could be valuable, especially for families. Combined with Frontier’s new first class seats coming later next year and upgrade eligibility, flying on Frontier could be more comfortable and affordable for Platinum and Diamond elites than flying with legacy carriers.
Which companion pass is better?
As far as Alaska and Delta go, they’re one-and-done and tied to credit cards, so it’s not a big commitment to earn or use. The most apples-to-apples comparison is with Frontier and Southwest, which both require a high level of elite status. So how do they stack up?
The best companion benefit for you might depend, in part, on where you want to travel. Frontier and Southwest both have large networks domestically. They also fly to international destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean. But there are some major differences. For example, Southwest offers flights to Hawaii; Frontier doesn’t currently.
Either companion benefit can be worth hundreds or even more, especially if you fly a lot. And one thing is sure: It’s nice to have another worthwhile option for nearly-free companion fares.
