A Real-World Story of Buying — and Actually Using — the Frontier GoWild Pass

In early September, Frontier was selling the GoWild Pass for $299 per person, valid through April 2027.

There were plenty of catches:

• Flights can only be booked the day before travel
• You still pay taxes and fees, usually about $15.31 per flight segment
• There’s no guarantee the flights you want will be available

For many travelers, that’s an immediate no.

For us? It sounded like an opportunity.

We didn’t buy the pass for big, important trips, events we had to attend, or anything with hard deadlines.

We bought it for:

• Same-day trips
• One-night getaways
• “Why not?” weekends

That distinction matters. The GoWild Pass was never meant to replace our bigger travel planning. It was meant to give us another tool for flexible travel when the stakes were low and the backup options were reasonable.

Our very first GoWild booking was Phoenix to Reno, connecting through Las Vegas.

Because you can only book one day in advance, you need a realistic plan for getting home. You can see flight availability ahead of time — just not at the GoWild price — but nothing is guaranteed.

This is where having points across multiple airlines really matters.

We always make sure we have backup options.

Lounge first, chaos second

We arrived at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, spent some time in the Escape Lounge in Terminal 3 thanks to the Amex Platinum, and headed to the gate.

Just before boarding the Phoenix to Las Vegas segment, Frontier announced the flight was oversold and asked for volunteers.

Offer: $800 voucher per person

Quick look at each other. Quick decision.

We took it.

Because Frontier was upgrading their systems that day — and the app was down — we canceled instead of rebooking, avoiding a massive line at the ticket counter.

Disappointing? A little.

Worth it? Absolutely.

Now every GoWild booking fee gets offset by that voucher. It also gives us flexibility to occasionally buy a bundle for a carry-on or seat assignment.

It genuinely feels like traveling for free — and a little better than we originally planned.

Next up was a more ambitious plan:

• One night in Las Vegas, using credits we already had
• Then on to Cleveland to visit friends who had just had a baby

The Vegas portion worked perfectly.

But this was the same week flights were being cut due to a government shutdown, and Cleveland isn’t an easy city to route from — especially back to Phoenix.

We could get to Cleveland. Staying several days with limited fallback options felt risky.

The backup to the backup

There was no good GoWild option home, and we didn’t love the value of burning airline points.

So we pivoted.

We used a free night reward from National Car Rental for a one-way rental and drove home instead.

This is exactly why we save those free rental nights — especially for one-way situations where the value can be huge.

Could we have spent points? Yes — far more than we wanted to.

Were we glad we didn’t? Also yes.

One GoWild trip went exactly as planned.

The goal was simple:

• San Antonio
• River Walk time
• Friends
• Mexican food
• Live music

We used creative routing that included a connection through Las Vegas with an overnight layover, which gave us a bonus night on the Strip before continuing on to San Antonio.

Everything lined up.

We got there. We got back. No drama.

Those are the trips that make the pass feel magical.

And honestly? It’s not for us all the time either.

But we:

• Enjoy airports, especially with lounge access
• Like flying
• Don’t panic when plans change
• Always have a backup plan — and a backup to that

That’s the real key.

It is not a great fit for trips where you need to be somewhere at a specific time, have no easy alternative, or would be frustrated by last-minute changes. But for low-pressure trips where the backup plan is solid? That’s where it can get interesting.

After two Vegas trips in two weeks in late December, we started looking at January a little differently.

We also have a 10-day vacation coming up that includes a 7-night cruise, so this wasn’t about planning another big trip. It was about squeezing in something fun and spontaneous before that — without burning time, money, or points we’d rather save.

Could we pull off a true one-night trip?

Earlier this week, we discovered a travel show happening in Seattle.

• Saturday morning GoWild flight? Yes.
• Sunday GoWild flight home? No.

No problem — this is exactly where having multiple points options matters.

We found a great American Airlines flight home Sunday evening, but it wasn’t available using Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles.

Instead, we booked the American flight using British Airways Avios.

Yes, it cost more points than Alaska would have, but the tradeoff made sense:

• Alaska miles are more valuable to us, so we prefer to save them
• The American flight left around 6:00 pm, letting us maximize our day in Seattle
• It still got us home at a very reasonable time Sunday night

That tradeoff was absolutely worth it.

This is exactly how we use the GoWild Pass:

• GoWild when it works
• Points when it doesn’t
• Choosing the right points, not just the cheapest option on paper

Zero pressure. Zero forcing it. Just options.

We wouldn’t recommend the Frontier GoWild Pass blindly. But if you love traveling just to travel, have flexible schedules, have points flexibility across airlines or transferable programs, and don’t mind occasional chaos, it can unlock trips you wouldn’t otherwise take.

Not fancy.

Not predictable.

But absolutely worth it — for the right kind of traveler.