Despite being a budget carrier, Frontier has a strong elite program. I had elite status with Frontier in 2023 via a status match through statusmatcher.com. I believe I paid $99 to match to top tier Frontier status for 2023. They have offered very generous status match promotions in 2023 as well.

An overlooked benefit of Frontier Diamond status is that every flight purchased through their website is fully refundable up until about 24 hours before the schedule flight time. By setting a google alert, this allows you to purchase the flight at the lowest price possible. Outside of Southwest, I don’t believe any other carrier offers refundability on all fares, even with elite status. And unlike Southwest, Frontier flight prices fluctuate wildly so it’s often possible to get flights for a couple cents plus taxes and fees.

New to 2024, Frontier’s elite program allows you to cancel flights up to 7 days before departure at any elite level. Since Frontier’s prices generally increase closer to departure, this benefit could be just as good as full refundability.

• travel