Why I Paid $149 for Frontier 100k (Diamond) Status

Frontier is currently offering a status match from major airlines and hotels. The last time they offered a status match was in 2021 (see this DoC post). The best you can get with a hotel status is 50k status while with various airline statuses (including Southwest Companion Pass) it is possible to match into Frontier’s top status, called 100k (to be called Diamond from January 2024; see Frontier’s announcement regarding changes to Frontier Status here).

Last time they offered it, the processing fee was only $49, however this time the processing fee is $99 for 20k and 50k status and $149 for 100k status. If you have had the status match before, then they will charge an additional $50 if you received a status match since November 1, 2020 (I know at least one case where they didn’t charge an additional amount).

One reason to pay $149 for this match might be to hopefully turn around and match Frontier’s status into something else. For instance, Alaska offers Status Match challenge where 100k with Frontier will get you 75k with Alaska (Update: “Complimentary or status earned through a promotion do not qualify”).

But I did it for the same reason why people fly Frontier. Cheap flights. Of course, flying Frontier comes with a lot of negatives such as paying for a seat, paying for early boarding, paying for luggage, paying for carry-on, airport help fees, etc etc……fortunately, none of these fees are applicable to you if you are a 100k member. For instance, with 100k status you can book ANY seat on the plane at the time of booking, this includes the stretch seat on the first three rows as well as exit row stretch seats. As a 100k member also get free access to Discount Den (usual cost is $59.99 – $99.99) which gives you access to Discount Den fare (which is slightly cheaper than the standard fare). Additionally, 100k also gives you a free The Works bundle which, among other things, makes your flight refundable. Also, all your 100k benefits (free stretch seat, free carry-on, free luggage, priority boarding, etc) apply to everyone on your reservation!

Yes, Frontier attracts a different type of crowd than the usual legacy airlines but how much of that matters if you are boarding first and seating in front rows? You can think of Frontier’s stretch seat as economy plus seats on other carriers….now imagine how much status grinding you have to do to get that for free on booking.

Closing Thoughts

The main point is that getting 100k with Frontier removes most of the things that makes flying Frontier bad. Additionally, you get useful features like fare refundability, the ability to select a stretch seat at the time of booking, etc.

Now if we can mix 100k well with the highly restrictive yet lucurative GoWild Pass then we might be onto something.