Frontier Copies JetBlue’s Status Upgrade Promotion, But They’re Still A Hot Mess

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Back in June, as a way to celebrate its 25th anniversary, JetBlue began its “25 for 25” promotion. If you landed in a total of 15, 20 or 25 unique airport destinations where JetBlue flies, you could get some really cool benefits:

JetBlue (Nasdaq: JBLU) today announced its ‘25 for 25’ promotion, continuing the airline’s 25th birthday year celebration with a once-in-a-quarter-century opportunity for TrueBlue members to earn massive rewards. From June 25 through December 31, 2025, TrueBlue members can earn up to 350,000 bonus TrueBlue points and even secure 25 years of Mosaic 1 status just by exploring more of JetBlue’s expansive network. The more destinations a TrueBlue member visits, the more bonus points they can earn. Here’s how the rewards stack up:

• 15 JetBlue Destinations: Earn 150,000 bonus TrueBlue points

• 20 JetBlue Destinations: Earn an additional 200,000 bonus TrueBlue points

• 25 JetBlue Destinations: Earn 25 years of Mosaic 1, plus all the above bonus TrueBlue points

The promotion was one of the more inventive and, frankly, altruistic promotions we’ve seen in a while. Granted, you had to pay for all those flights but once you do, you get Mosaic 1 status for 25 years, plus 350,000 TrueBlue points, which is nothing to sneeze at.

It’s hard to say how many people are pursuing the 25 destinations (*cough* I’m one of them *cough*), but based on social media discussion, it seems to be relatively popular.

Enter: Frontier

So now, all of a sudden, Frontier has its own promotion:

Frontier Airlines (Nasdaq: ULCC), America’s Low Fare Airline, today announced the launch of its new Platinum Status Challenge, giving travelers the chance to enjoy Elite Platinum Status through the end of next year. By enrolling in the challenge for just $99 and earning 12,500 Elite Status Points within 90 days, participants will unlock Platinum benefits through December 31, 2026, making every trip more rewarding.

Elite Platinum Status Benefits Include:

• Unlimited companion travel (choose a different companion for every flight)
• Free checked bag, plus free carry-on for everyone on the booking
• Complimentary premium seat selection at booking, upgrades to UpFront Plus seating 12 hours before departure, and eligibility for First Class upgrades beginning in early 2026 (all based on availability)
• Boarding Group 1 priority access
• No change or cancel fees
• Priority customer care

Normally, 50,000 Elite Status Points are required to achieve Platinum, but the Platinum Challenge makes it possible with just 12,500. Enrollment is open through December 31, 2025.

So you have to pay Frontier $99 just to enroll in the challenge and earn 12,500 Elite Status Points within 90 days , and you’ll get Elite Platinum Status (that’s the best status they’ve got) until December 31, 2026. So about a year and 2 months.

That’s cute.

The problem with Frontier

The thing is, Frontier can give people all that…and it’s still trying to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.

— Unless you live near a Frontier hub and are traveling to another hub, you’re going to be stuck with very limited options (read: how many flights per day or how many days per week) to get from Point A to Point B.

— If their flight is cancelled, they don’t work with any other airline to try to get you to your destination. It’s “Too bad, so sad, you’re on your own, kid.”

— They’re still dead last for being on time (59.5% of the time)

— And for denying boarding due to overselling.

— They even get among the worst reports for discrimination reports, disability complaints and civil rights complaints

— They’re tied for last place in cancelling flights (3.1% of flights)

— About the only thing they’ve got going for them is that they don’t mishandle bags as often as many other airlines:

So yeah…Frontier’s still got a WHOLE LOT not going for it.

Overall, just because you COULD get Elite Platinum Status on Frontier doesn’t mean you necessarily SHOULD. Y’know?

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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary