Three major airline upgrades

Good morning and welcome back to Daily Drop, the newsletter that’s slowly turning you into someone who checks transfer ratios before checking the weather.

We’ve got some major updates in the world of domestic U.S. airlines today, so let’s get started:

• ⬆️ Spirit introduces some major upgrades

• ☕️ Fly on this JetBlue plane, get Mosaic elite status

• 👬 Frontier offers a new unlimited companion pass

⬆️ Spirit introduces some major upgrades

Spirit Airlines is, in my opinion, one of the most exciting airlines in the U.S.

The latest development to its program came yesterday when Spirit announced some more changes, all of which are — brace yourself — actually awesome. (Yeah, I’m as surprised as you are.)

So let me summarize the more important updates for you, and feel free to check out its full release for more (less important) news.

Change #1: New fare package

The highlight of the announcement is that Spirit will be adding a new “Go Comfy” bundle as a booking option.

Spirit will start installing extra-legroom seats next month, with most of the fleet updated by July.

The seats will include 32 inches of legroom, which is, as it accurately describes, comfy. There will be seven rows, or over 40 “Go Comfy” seats per plane — so not just one sad row up front.

The bundle will include a checked bag, free snacks and drinks, and no change or cancellation fees. 🙌

This new package is available for booking today for travel as early as July 9.

Change #2: All bundles are available to book with points

This one is fun… Another new update is that you can now book any of Spirit’s fare types with Free Spirit points, including the Big Front Seat (part of the “Go Big” package).

I just flew Spirit’s Go Big fare a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it.

The bundle includes priority boarding, free Wi-Fi, premium snacks and drinks, carry-on and checked bags, and flexibility with changes and cancellations.

Honestly, the Big Front Seat might be one of the best domestic seats you can fly — especially for the price.

Anyway, I flew from Nashville (BNA) to Boston (BOS) in this seat, so let’s look at the pricing on that route:

As you can see, you could redeem just 15,000 Spirit points for this package. Between the seat and the perks, this is an awesome deal.

So, for frequent Spirit flyers with points (or those with a Spirit credit card), this is great news.

Speaking of that…

Change #3: New perks for elites and cardholders

Starting in June, Spirit elites and co-branded cardholders will be eligible for free upgrades at boarding — a perk that feels surprisingly generous.

This will be based on your level of status and availability in each seat type, so we’ll see how often this actually works…

But still, there’s not really a catch here. It's just adding great perks without moving the goalposts, which is fantastic.

In summary, Spirit has made even more positive changes to its in-flight experience and loyalty program.

With low fares, a refreshingly simple elite program, and genuinely comfy seats, Spirit is starting to look like a pretty solid option.

☕️ Fly on this JetBlue plane, get Mosaic elite status

There’s one thing I always do right after landing in the U.S.

Beeline to Dunkin’, get a mediocre coffee, and feel my childhood trauma gently resurface.

Growing up in New Hampshire, Dunkin’ was the chain — it was basically our official state religion. So yes, even the bad coffee feels like home.

So this next bit of news hit me right in the iced-coffee-soaked heart:

JetBlue and Dunkin’ are teaming up for a summer promo that could land you elite status with both… and possibly Type 2 diabetes (but that’s a future you problem).

Here’s the deal:

JetBlue has one plane with snazzy Dunkin’ livery (pictured above) that it’ll be flying all around the country.

If you happen to board JetBlue’s flying donut billboard on a Monday between May 19 and September 1, you’ll get the following benefits:

• Three months of JetBlue Mosaic 1 status

• Three months of Dunkin’ Rewards Boosted status

JetBlue Mosaic is the main event here… but hey, free donuts and caffeine perks never hurt either.

This level of status normally requires you to earn 50 tiles with JetBlue’s loyalty program, so this is actually a solid reward:

It comes with perks like free checked bags, bonus points, extra-legroom seating, flexible booking, and more.

As you might imagine, there’s some fine print you want to be aware of:

• Two Mondays (June 30 and July 7) are excluded from the promo.

• Only cash bookings are eligible.

• You must be enrolled in JetBlue’s loyalty program and subscribed to their emails (because apparently nothing good in life comes without “valuable promotional content”).

• After your flight, you’ll receive an email form to fill out to get the Dunkin’ perks.

Finally, there’s some good news for existing elites…

If you already have JetBlue Mosaic status, you’ll get an extra 20 tiles instead of status, further boosting you to the next level.

If you already have Dunkin’ status, you’ll earn twice the normal number of points for three months instead of status.

Check out this page for all the details and a published list of routes eligible for the promo.

👬 Frontier offers a new unlimited companion pass

Let’s round things out with one more big airline move, this time from our favorite no-frills airline gremlin: Frontier.

Frontier has added a new perk for elite members to offer unlimited companion travel.

Yes, it’s taking a page out of Southwest’s playbook… but honestly, Frontier’s version might be even better. 😬

With Frontier’s version, you can have as many different companions as you want.

No locked-in “designated companion” here — you can bring a different buddy (or victim) on every single flight.

Here are the details, which are actually quite straightforward:

• This perk is available for Frontier Platinum and Diamond elites

• You can use it on ANY Frontier flight

• You can use it unlimited times

• The companion still must pay $5.60 in taxes, but that’s it

• The companion must have a FrontierMiles account

If you’ve got status, just log in and book two seats like usual. The second one gets added for (basically) free.

Honestly? This is a major win.

Between this and Spirit’s glow-up, the budget airlines are seriously coming for the majors… and I’m here for it.

Earning Platinum status with Frontier isn’t exactly easy, since flights are so cheap that it takes a while to rack up status points.

But still, Frontier is making its program incredibly competitive with this move.

If you’re based in a Frontier hub and want a flexible, low-cost way to travel with a plus-one, this perk makes their elite status very worth considering.

Alright, folks. That’s a lot of good stuff, eh? Since each of these updates is so different, I’m curious to hear your opinion:

Take care and see you tomorrow, my friends.

7.8014° S, 110.3648° E