Frontier Airlines has been quietly working its way upmarket. The ultra-low-cost US carrier now sells extras like extra-legroom rows, blocked middle seats and even a coming first-class cabin, and it packages those perks into fare bundles you can pay for with cash or Frontier Miles. The catch is the top tier, the Business Bundle, usually costs more than double the miles of a bare-bones Basic fare.
One writer at The Points Guy flew both back-to-back to find out whether the upgrade stacks up. The verdict: it depends on your bags, not your standards.
Frontier sells four options. A Basic fare starts at 5,000 miles one-way plus $5.60 in taxes and covers a personal item only — carry-ons, checked bags and seat selection all cost extra. The Economy Bundle, from 7,000 miles, adds a carry-on, a standard seat assignment and fee-free changes. The Premium Bundle, from 9,000 miles, throws in extra-legroom seating and Group 1 boarding. The Business Bundle, from 13,000 miles, adds two 50-pound checked bags and an UpFront Plus seat at the front with a guaranteed empty middle seat beside you.
On the Basic leg, a two-hour flight from St Louis to Denver, the writer boarded in an orderly Group 5, sat in row 27 and got a punctual, uneventful flight — with the main headache being nowhere to stash anything beyond a personal item. On the Business Bundle hop from Denver to Kansas City, the perks kicked in before the airport: seat 1A selected at booking, an empty seat next to him, Group 1 boarding, and luggage included. What no bundle gets you is complimentary food, drink or lounge access — every snack on board costs extra, a reminder this is still a budget airline.
His maths makes the trade-off clear. Even at the cheapest award rates, the Business Bundle costs 8,000 more miles than Basic — more than double — for a short domestic flight where nothing is free. Unless you need two checked bags or genuinely value the personal space of an UpFront Plus seat, it reads as paying for convenience rather than a premium product.
The sweet spot, he argues, is the Economy Bundle: just 2,000 extra miles fixes the biggest Basic pain point (a proper carry-on) and makes your booking flexible. Worth remembering that award rates and bundle availability vary by route and date, and miles can only be applied to a bundle at the time of original booking.
For anyone redeeming points on Frontier, the practical takeaway is simple: match the bundle to your luggage, not your aspirations. Pay up for Premium or Business only when the bags or the legroom genuinely matter — otherwise Economy is the better-value sweet spot.
