SAN ANTONIO — Frontier Airlines launched its Go Wild! pass. It is a year of travel for a flat rate. At first glance, it looks like an amazing deal. Yet, you may not be able to go hog wild with this pass. Be sure to read the details, all of them, before you buy, because you might find yourself grounded more than you would like.
It is a shoestring traveler’s delight: A year of flights both domestic and international for $599.
“It really is such a fascinating offering that we haven’t seen in the airline world in a long time,” said Summer Hull the director at The Points Guy, a travel website. “It’s like an all-you-can-eat buffet in the sky of flights.”
Before you start planning all the places you will go, read of the rules and restrictions before you find yourself stranded.
- You can start traveling beginning May 2, 2023.
- You can travel more than 300 days.
- There are 65 blackout dates that include major holidays.
- You must book on flyfrontier.com.
- Your flight will cost $.01 for each segment when you book, and you will still have to pay airport taxes, fees, and charges for each flight. Domestically taxes, fees, and charges start at about $14.60 a person. Internationally, it can cost $100 or more per person.
- You cannot buy round-trip flights. You can only reserve your flight for one way and one day in advance for domestic flights and 10 days for international ones.
- Change and cancellation fees apply. Pass holders who repeatedly no-show for flights can have to pay financial penalties including the revocation of the pass without a refund.
- Flights do not include any add-ons like bag or seat fees.
“That means you’re going to have to pay for your seat assignment and even your carry-on bags bigger than a small backpack, if you want them,” Hull said. “If you don’t need them, great. But if you need that kind of thing then you’re going to have to budget that in and that’s going to really add up.”
- You must be 18 or older to enroll.
- Also, be aware your pass automatically renews for another year unless you cancel it.
- You must buy the pass by 1:59 a.m. on November 19.
The pass is only going to be a super saver for those with very flexible schedules.
“This pass is going to potentially be the best fit for someone who truly can hop on a plane and go and maybe they have a second house somewhere, maybe they’ve got family somewhere that Frontier serves, and they have a place they’ll be able to stay without really a whole lot of notice,” Hull said. “I could see it working really well for them. Maybe even a college student that lives in one of these cities that can then come home somewhat regularly on this pass. Whether it’s a retiree with flexibility or even a business traveler on a sort of interesting sort of travel cadence, there are some winners in this.”
Here is how much you willl have to fly to get your money’s worth:
“I would say on average, you have to be using it probably more than once a month to even potentially come out ahead here,” Hull said.
A better alternative could be to wait for Frontier’s $19 each way sales to save.