As a Reston, Virginia local, I was pretty psyched about the news this week that Frontier Airlines will be flying a regular schedule of flights to 14 popular destinations out of Dulles International Airport (IAD) near Washington, DC.
Grab Introductory Fares on Frontier Airlines Now!
Frontier is a low-cost airline and they capped their announcement with a 12 hour sale with fares as low as $15 one way! I didn’t get in on the sale — I heard the website was pretty overwhelmed — but there is still a chance for introductory fares as low as $39 if you buy your tickets by May 17, 2014.
Beginning August 19, 2014, Frontier will offer nonstop service to:
- Atlanta
- Charlotte, NC
- Orlando, FL
- Minneapolis/St. Paul
- Tampa, FL
Beginning September 8, 2014, Frontier will begin nonstop service to:
- Chicago-O’Hare
- Cincinnati
- Detroit
- Fort Lauderdale, FL
- Las Vegas
- Memphis, TN
- Fort Myers, FL
- St. Louis
- St. Augustine/Jacksonville, FL
Frontier’s service from Washington-Dulles will operate on 168-seat Airbus A320 aircraft.
Cranky Flyer has a great analysis today about the tortured history of low cost airlines at Dulles Airport and it’s not a pretty story. Hopefully, Frontier’s entry into this market will create some price competition.
Frontier Credit Card Sign Up Good for Two Free Round Trips
Frontier Airlines has a pretty generous standard award chart, with 20,000 miles required for a roundtrip for travel within the U.S., including Alaska. The Frontier Airlines World MasterCard® offers a sign-up bonus of 40,000 miles after spending $500 in the first 90 days.
So the current credit card offer is good for two round trips, and then some. That’s because you can travel with a companion for just 15,000 per round trip.
That’s a pretty generous bonus for a very low spend requirement!
There is a $69 annual fee which is not waived in the first year. Note that Barclay’s advertises this offer as a 50,000 mile bonus, but that includes the balance transfer provision, which is never a good deal because of the fees charged.
What’s more, look at all the cute animals that you can get on your credit card!
Here are the specifics:
The Frontier Airlines World MasterCard®
- Earn 40,000 bonus miles after spending $500 in purchases in the first 90 days
- Earn up to 10,000 bonus miles on balance transfers (1 mile per $1 transferred) in the first 90 days
- Earn double miles on purchases at FlyFrontier.com and 1 mile per $1 on all other purchases
- No blackout dates! Book any roundtrip award flight on Frontier starting at 20,000 miles (subject to fees/taxes from $5)
- 0% Intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 12 months. After that, a variable APR, currently 15.99% or 24.99% based on creditworthiness
- $69 Annual Fee. Please see Terms and Conditions for complete details.
Two Roundtrip Tickets to Orlando or Vegas for $69 Annual Fee
Just 20,000 miles (plus from $5 in fees/taxes) gets you a domestic roundtrip award ticket so this credit card offer is good for two free roundtrips!
Card members can obtain a companion ticket for 5,000 fewer miles than the standard award. You need to call Frontier Airlines at 1-866-263-2759 to redeem miles for this companion ticket award offer.
Members of the Early Returns frequent flyer program can sign up for Frontier’s Discount Den, to save $5 on carry-on and checked bag prices for you and your traveling companions.
If you cancel your award ticket, there is a $75 fee to redeposit your miles.
Standard Award Chart for Frontier Airline’s Early Returns Program
| Travel within the U.S., including Alaska | Award Miles Required* |
| One Way | 10,000 plus from $2.50 in fees/taxes |
| Roundtrip | 20,000 plus from $5 in fees/taxes |
| Travel to/from Mexico & Costa Rica |
Award Miles Required* |
| One Way (Mexico only) |
15,000 plus from $26 in fees/taxes |
| Roundtrip | 30,000 plus from $46 in fees/taxes |
| Travel to/from Dominican Republic |
Award Miles Required* |
| One Way | 15,000 plus from $34 in fees/taxes |
| Roundtrip | 30,000 plus from $103 in fees/taxes |
| Travel to/from Jamaica | Award Miles Required* |
| One Way | 15,000 plus from $47 in fees/taxes |
| Roundtrip | 30,000 plus from $106 in fees/taxes |
The Early Returns program has two other levels of redemptions, including a last seat available option, which require more miles.
Click here to compare various credit card offers.