I fly Spirit Airlines more than any other US based airline including budget airlines such as Frontier Airlines and Allegiant Air. Their fares are cheap or cheaper than other fares in the competition, have decent service, and their flights are on-time at most times.

Spirit Airlines operates as a budget airline which means in exchange for cheaper fares, they charge for amenities commonly available for free in other airlines. I hear from certain people they they avoid taking this airline for reasons such as…

• charging for everything (bottled water, bags, chips)
• cramped seats (which is quite accurate)
• flight delays (it happens but not more than average)

Here are my responses to these statements…

• Amenities such as snacks and chips often come with a charge with any other airline. Southwest may provide a half can of orange juice and a bag of pretzels but that’s about it. I recommend anyone to eat before a flight or bring a meal, snacks, water bottles from outside the airport or purchased at a terminal.
• Seats in the general boarding area don’t recline. A lack of legroom adds to this inconvenience. I would recommend getting a Big Front Seat (Spirit Airline’s version of first class seats) if more legroom and front row seating is needed.
• Every airline experience delays. From my experience, I’ve been delayed more on other, non-budget airlines. There are various reasons flights have delays and a lot of times it has nothing to do with the airline.

I often compare savings if I take Spirit Airlines with another airline of the same route. If the savings are insignificant (less than $25) I would pay a little extra for that other airline. In summary, if you find a super discounted flight and having a free soda and bagged pretzels isn’t that important to you, taking this airline may be totally worth it.

Should I buy Spirit Airlines tickets?

This depends on a number of factors and there are two big ones: Baggage fee and assigned seating costs.

Add baggage costs

Spirit Airlines charge more for their carry-on luggage than their checked in luggage. I would often notice more empty space in an overhead compartment than bags on a typical Spirit Airlines flight. After adding baggage fees, the final price for the flight may cost more than a traditional airline that offers at least one free carry-on bag.

If you’re traveling for a few days or less and don’t need to bring much, I recommend bringing only a backpack as a personal item to store clothes, travel chargers and such. YouTube has videos on how to this effectively with limited amounts of space. I’ve noticed a lot of travelers filling their backpacks full. During cold weather season, sometimes I put small items in my coat before to lighten up my backpack.

If you are planning to pay for a carry-on bag or checked bags, I suggest checking the total price of the flight during checkout without completing the purchase. Typically luggage fees go up after purchasing tickets so I recommend paying these fees at time of checkout. According to their website, the luggage fees almost doubles at the airport during departure date.

What’s considered personal item size?

Spirit Airlines made changes on the dimensions for their personal size item which has taken effect after April 4, 2017. They are 18 x 14 x 8 inches.

I always carry a backpack when I travel and don’t bother measuring my backpack if it meets these dimensions. I haven’t encountered any issues passing through gate attendants while carrying a backpack. It seems they are more interested in looking for larger items such as a carry-on bag.

Add assigned seating costs

Spirit Airlines charge for each seat picked when purchasing tickets on their website. Declining to pick a seat during and after booking will result in an automatic seat assignment. From my experience, I was assigned a seat from the front, middle, and back of the airplane. The assigned seating costs can add up especially if you travel with multiple people and choose assigned seats on the return trip.

If you have the system choose random seats for a group and the system assigns separate seats from the group, there are options. First try contacting the staff including gate agents and flight attendants if seating together is possible. Second, it’s possible to switch seats with different passengers. I’ve had passengers request to trade seats with me and as a frequent solo traveler, I have no problems granting this request. Sometimes they may offer me a better seat that the one I get assigned to.

As mentioned with bringing luggage, I suggest checking the final price during checkout to ensure the flight stays cheap when choosing assigned seats.

Big Front Seat?

Spirit Airlines has a similar first class style option which is a larger seat at the front. Known as Big Front Seat, the upgrade price for a bigger seat doesn’t seem that high when compared to picking a seat in the rest of the cabin. I haven’t sat in these rows before before but I think this is upgrade may be worth it if you need to have a seat assigned.

Purchase one-way ticket if the return trip is expensive

There are times the airfare for a departing or return trip may be cheaper with another airline. Since Spirit Airline competes on many routes with other airlines, a competitor may sell a ticket that is priced evenly or lower than a Spirit Airlines ticket.

I often apply this strategy from LAX – SEA. I often fly to Seattle from LAX on Spirit Airlines, then return with another airline such as Jetblue or United Airlines. American Airlines and United Airlines usually have their own pricing structure when determining round trip costs that includes layovers and flying to smaller airports. Spirit Airlines usually have a fixed, separate cost for each flight that includes each stop and return trip.

Spirit Airlines miles expires in 3 months if there are no miles earned within that period. Doing a one-way trip would be an easy way to maintain miles except when signing up for their Spirit World Mastercard.

Not enough legroom

Legroom space isn’t typically an issue for me but I can imagine this may be an issue for some travelers. None of their planes have much legroom on their seats. If a backpack is stowed underneath the seat, there will be even less room for legs to stretch out.

Taking frequent breaks to use the restroom to stretch the legs is suggested. I would also suggest putting the personal item in an overhead bin to get more legroom.

Infrequent service on some routes

There are a number of Spirit Airlines routes that may serve one airport to another airport once or twice a day. If a flight is missed or cancelled, the next flight may be on the next day. For those that have to catch a flight on the same day, buying airfare that’s hours away with another airline may be very costly.

I personally experienced a flight that was cancelled on a route they serve once a day. After sometime waiting in line to talk the gate agents, they told me they would book me a flight for the following day. Since I had work the next day, I asked if I can fly to another airport close to the airport that was on my original itinerary and they were able to change my flight.

How should I buy a ticket?

Use Google Flights to find tickets

My first step to finding any flights in the US is using Google Flights which will give me a quick preview of prices and departure times for any given route. If Spirit Airlines happen to serve the airport on my search, their airfare would usually be listed on top of the list since their fares are at most times cheaper than their competitors. The prices displayed on the search results does not reflect any baggage fees or assigned seating costs.

Airports where Spirit Airlines can be found are usually major US cities unlike Frontier Airlines and Allegiant Air where they can be found at smaller airports. In my home state of Southern California, I tend not to include smaller airports in my search such as Ontario International Airport and Long Beach Airport if I’m looking for a Spirit Airlines flight.

Google Flights does not display discounted fares such as tickets with $9 fare club prices. This will require one to search for flights on their website to find out if they offer these deals which I would recommend if they are a $9 fare club member.

Spend extra time buying tickets on their website

If you find a Spirit Airlines flight using a flight finder, it’s best to check out the price they are selling the same ticket. There are times the prices between the flight finder an website may be different.

Purchasing a ticket on their website is a lengthy process. There are a series of pages that will try to upsell before getting to the payment page. Although I haven’t rented a car or booked a hotel through their website, I suggest not paying for any unnecessary add-ons. Ensure if buying add-ons that the price at the payment page is what you’re expecting to pay with costs such as assigned seating included.

Shop for their best prices

Spirit Airline’s airfares are very inconsistent and fluctuates rapidly within days or hours. When I’m searching for a ticket on their website, I expect ticket prices to change several times throughout the day especially when demand increases. They are quick to reduce their price or raise them.

From my many bookings with Spirit Airlines, I recommend buying tickets at least 2-3 weeks in advance to get the best prices for non-peak demand flights. I often notice there are sharp increases in price two weeks before the flight as it gets close to the flying date. On slow flying periods such as middle of January, they may offer $9 fare club prices on flights on empty flights to increase passenger count.

The time of flight departure will affect price. Typically flying Saturday nights are cheaper than flying Saturday mornings and Sunday nights are more expensive to fly than Sunday mornings.

They post deals on their website which often times they post discounts on Tuesdays and Wednesdays but if you’re off on the weekdays, take advantage of them!

Buy tickets at their airport counters

This is where people can save the most money using this method. When buying in person at one of their counters at the airport, there is a price savings of almost $19 dollars with each flight segment. You can save much money this way especially on round trip flights and trips with layovers. I recommend using this method for folks living or working close to a Spirit Airlines terminal.

Here’s an example of a route I take often. On one route, I travel to SEA from LAX with a layover in LAS which is a total of two segments. There is about $38 in cost savings since there are two segments in that route.

Recently at LAX, I noticed they have a separate line for customer service and baggage drops. The line to purchase tickets which is the same line for customer service is much shorter than the baggage drop line. This makes buying tickets much more convenient which before there was one line for everyone.

One case to not use this method when buying tickets is when there is already a very cheap ticket quoted on their website. I made a mistake of not buying a ticket online, heading to the airport, then finding out the price of the ticket went from $58 to almost $300. That being said…

Head to the airport counter as soon as you decide to buy a ticket

Their prices posted online changes frequently and the price may change within a few days to a few hours. Take note of prices and times of flight on website and make sure to communicate that information well to the agent at the airport. Provide them with an email to get notifications for gate changes and such.

Don’t expect flights to be connected to your account

During the purchase process, the agent will ask for an ID and a credit card. I asked before if they can somehow link the purchase to my online Spirit Airlines account but I’ve been told I need to call them. Since calling them and talking to a Spirit Airlines representative is a challenge in itself, I don’t think adding miles through counter purchases is possible.

Not recently but some time ago, there are times when I check-in with the confirmation number on the receipt, there would be an odd pre-filled address during the check-in process. I would then have to correct my email and home address

Keep your receipt

The paper receipt that has the confirmation number printed may be the only form you receive if not receiving email updates.

Seat selection and luggage may or not be optional

I haven’t been asked by a customer service representative if I like to purchase bags or pick seats when I buy tickets at the counter. I’m not sure if I can add them to my purchase at the time or later during the check-in process.

What’s the actual flying experience like?

Don’t expect much on flights

During a typical Spirit Airlines flight, flight attendants will walk down the aisle with a cart, offering any food or beverages at a charge. They won’t offer a free snack and drink as a typical airline does.

I recommend bringing food and water on before boarding. Most food can be taken past TSA security which are specifically listed on TSA’s website. For water, I recommend bringing an empty water bottle to the airport and filling it at a water fountain or dispenser.

Their typical seats don’t recline and the seat trays are about half the size of typical seat trays

Don’t expect entertainment options

Spirit Airlines flight offers no entertainment amenities such as displays on seats. WiFi isn’t available but according to their website, they are working on providing this service sometime.

They are like any other airline operationally

I haven’t experienced much flight delays when flying with them. A typical budget airline has their planes minimally on the ground. I’ve experienced  delays and had a flight cancelled and Spirit Airlines is no different from another airline when it comes to this.

Their flight attendants are friendly and quite humorous at times. Compared to other airlines, I think they do well in customer service. I haven’t had much issues when dealing with gate agents, customer service.

Spirit Airlines have an Airbus fleet in their inventory. Their inventory of  planes are not too old and are typically kept clean. Newer planes are often times more fuel efficient which fits a budget airline model for decreased fuel consumption costs.

Account management

Join their $9 fare club only if it makes sense

Spirit Airlines has a paid membership to access discounted luggage fees and certain discounted airfare. Known as their $9 fare club, the fee to join is  $59.95. The renewal fee is $69.95 each year after.

Their annual renewal fee starts the year after day 1 so join their discount program the day when using the discount. If deciding to cancel, make sure to cancel on the date one year from registration. Canceling early will not result in a refund for the remainder of the year and access to discounts will stop.

Should you join?

If savings for a flight easily exceeds membership cost, I can’t think of a reason not to join. If you fly Spirit Airlines regularly, it’s not a bad idea to join as chances are you’ll probably get the full fee back in discounts.

I often notice discounted airfare on non-peak days such as Tuesday and Wednesdays. This may benefit some people with non 9-5 work schedules.

If you live or work close to an airport that Spirit Airlines serves, it may be more cost-effective to purchase the tickets in person than to join their discount program.

Purchase restrictions

Members cannot buy tickets at a reduced price for another person if the member is not traveling with them. I’ve learned this by speaking to one of their phone agents as I was trying to buy a reduced price ticket for another person. I couldn’t find a way to change the traveler information during the ticket buying process.

Spirit Airlines frequent flyer program – How it works

Frequent flyer? Consider getting their credit card

For a long time, I haven’t thoroughly understood how their frequent flyer program worked. It was until several years after when I obtained the Spirit Airlines Mastercard that I discovered that is when the miles really started to get racked up faster.

There are two status types a customer belongs to: Somebody and Elite. A passenger having a “somebody” status gets only half the eligible miles on a flight while an “elite” status gets the full miles eligible on a flight.

I was a “somebody” for a number of years, having traveled on Spirit Airlines many times. Then I was upgraded to Elite when I received their credit card.

The miles on a Spirit Airlines expire three months after a transaction. Getting a Spirit Airlines MasterCard and making a purchase on the card at least once a month bypasses this requirement.

Using miles on a flight

Spirit Airlines MasterCard holders have reduced requirements for an award flight on non-peak days.

There are added fees for booking an award flight based on the departure date upon booking. According to this chart which shows list of award fees, I try booking my award flight at least 21 days before departure for $15. I haven’t booked any flights recently at least 181 days before departure to not having to pay a fee.

When searching for an award flight, the first column shows miles requirements for Spirit Airlines MasterCard holders which can be significantly lower then the column for ones not having the card. The miles requirements for Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Saturdays can also be significantly lower than Fridays, Sundays.

When paying for a discounted MasterCard award flight, a message will show to pay the remaining fees with the MasterCard.

What kind of issues can I expect?

Verify barcode on boarding pass appears on phone or print boarding passes before arriving at airport

Getting the barcode on boarding pass to appear on the Gmail app on my Android phone can be cumbersome. Showing up with a printed boarding pass has worked for me every time.

Make sure the barcode on boarding pass appears on phone before going to the airport. If encountering issues, I suggest printing the boarding passes at a local place with a printer when returning back from a trip.

Use vouchers if issued carefully

I was offered some vouchers from a cancelled flight only to find out that the total value amount of the voucher was more than their base fare, not covering the total price of the ticket. Avoid using vouchers when buying an inexpensive ticket as the total amount of the voucher may not be fully used for the flight. If using vouchers, make sure the voucher covers at least the base fare. Restrictions are listed here.

Getting the Spirit Airlines app is optional

Spirit Airlines has the worst mobile app I’ve used for an airline. The app crashes when I’ve tried to check-in prior to my flight. Once checked-in, the app has no issues displaying boarding pass.

The app shows very limited profile information. I don’t know why the app shows a random person on my profile.

Calling customer support

Finding a way to contact a customer representative outside of an airport can be pretty frustrating. Attempting to email customer service requires navigating their frequently asked questions section and finding a section where it is possible to send them a message.

Spirit Airlines has a customer support line listed on their website which is 801-401-2222. Their main autoattendant menu offers no options to speak with a representative.

The only method I found to reaching a human representative is to choose the option to buy a ticket. Their automated system will ask for details of the trip. Once I inputted where I want to go, I was finally presented an option for help and eventually get to a real live person!

Using credit cards to maximize benefits

For those with American Express Platinum Card

Picking Spirit Airlines to utilize the $200 airline travel credit is an excellent pick. This credit had covered my assigned seating costs and any luggage costs. They also covered the $69.95 annual fee for being a $9 fare club member!

Some airports Spirit Airlines serve may not have Centurion lounges and other ones do. An example is choosing between which airport to go to in the San Francisco Bay Area. Spirit Airlines serves Oakland International Airport but they do not serve San Francisco International Airport which has a Centurion Lounge. Another example is the Miami area which they serve Fort Lauderdale airport but Miami International Airport has a Centurion lounge.

My thoughts

I probably fly this airline more than any other airline. The only other reason I would choose another airline is either if I bring luggage or if seat selection mattered to me. Also if another airline has a price competitive to Spirit Airlines, I would choose the other airline since I’ll probably be in a seat that reclines, be offered complimentary drinks, and have the option to bring luggage.

Often times people would tell me they would avoid taking this airline. It makes sense as they offer much less in terms of comfort and service. For someone that doesn’t travel much, the cost savings aren’t going to be as a much as someone who travels more often and gets to save that much money for more travel.

My recommendation is to try it it out, travel light, and don’t pick a seat. By knowing how they work, the experience would probably be not as bad as some people may think. Occasionally I would find a few travelers bring carry-on luggage to the gate, just to be told they would need to pay for the luggage they just brought.