Spirit Airlines Gives Away Free Flights in Minnesota

Spirit Airlines gave away free flights to Minnesotans. Some residents were able to pick up certificates at the Union Depot Tuesday good for 20,000 frequent flier miles. The airline will add three more flights from the Twin Cities starting in May.

Those who received a voucher have to register for the bonus on the airline's website by March 7, using a number on the voucher. After registering, the bonus miles will be deposited into a frequent flier account within 30 days and the customer will be able to use it towards a round trip flight on Spirit, KARE 11 reports.

Destinations that are within about 1200 miles qualify, including Atlanta, Atlantic City, Baltimore, Boston, Charleston, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Latrobe, Pa (near Pittsburg), Myrtle Beach, S.C., New Orleans, New York, Niagara Falls, Philadelphia, and Plattsburg, N.Y. Customers can also use the voucher towards a one-way flight to further destinations like Los Angeles and the Caribbean.

Doug Jennings, Spirit's Senior Manager of Sales, stated there will be no extra charges besides the usual amenities like food and luggage fees. "Just the regular charges that would apply for booking an award flight. There is no charge to set up or maintain the frequent flier account," he said, according to KARE 11.

Spirit plans to hand out 1,000 vouchers in Union Depot, which doesn't have a lot of traffic. "We are going to give away 2,000 tomorrow at Southdale Center and then on Thursday at Rosedale Center, another two thousand," said Jennings. "So, a total of 5,000 vouchers, each with a value of 20,000 miles, meaning a total of 100 million frequent flier miles."

Those who received vouchers were thrilled by the promotion. "I think it is great," Heidi Hoffman told KARE. "[A] new airline is coming in. [That's a] good way of promoting it -- getting people to look at it, at least."

Spirit Airlines started flying from Terminal 2 at Twin Cities in 2012 and has continuously added flights since.