Spirit Airlines is one of the most popular ultra low cost carriers (ULCCs) but with its low prices can come some very high baggage fees that cut into your savings.
This comprehensive article will give you the details for all of the Spirit Airlines baggage fees for carry-ons and checked bags and show you how you can avoid those fees or at least minimize them.
I’ll also get into some details about special rules for pets, military members, international flights, and special equipment.
Interested in finding out the hottest travel credit cards for this month? Click here to check them out!
What are the Spirit Airlines baggage fees?
Spirit Airlines allows one free personal item but charges different baggage fees for carry-on luggage and checked luggage based on: 1) when you pay for your luggage; 2) your flight route; and 3) your Saver$ Club membership (formerly known as $9 Fare Club).
Although prices vary, you can generally expect to pay around $55 for a carry-on and $50 for your first checked bag if you pay for your baggage fees at booking. If you fail to pay for your baggage fees at booking, those fees can be much higher. Keep reading below for more details on how to get the lowest fees!
Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!
How can I avoid the Spirit Airlines baggage fees?
If you want to avoid baggage fees or at least cut them down, there are a few different ways that you can avoid baggage fees with Spirit Airlines via credit cards.
Credit cards to consider
Chase Sapphire Reserve
The Chase Sapphire Reserve is one of the hottest travel rewards credit cards. It earns 3X the points on dining and travel and comes with a host of valuable benefits. One of these perks is a $300 travel credit that can be used on anything that codes as travel, including baggage fees for Spirit Airlines.
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
One of my favorite cards to use to cover miscellaneous travel purchases is the Capital One Venture card. It’s a popular credit card that comes with a bonus of 50,000 miles after you spend $3,000 in the first three months. Plus, earn an additional 50,000 Bonus Points after you spend $20,000 total on purchases within the first 12 months of account opening. It earns 2% cash back on all purchases toward travel and the points can be used to cover virtually any travel purchase like baggage fees.
American Express cards
Some American Express cards like the Platinum Card and the Gold Card come with airline credits that can be used on Spirit Airlines. You’ll need to choose Spirit as your airline before activating the credit but it doesn’t take very long to do and these can save you $100 to $200!
Unfortunately, you do not get to avoid baggage fees if you have the Spirit Airlines World Mastercard.
Saver$ Club
Spirit also has the Saver$ Club which is a membership club that will cost you $69.95 for the first year. That club will get you special discounts on fares and things like baggage fees. Read more about the Saver$ Club here.
What is the Spirit Airlines personal item policy?
Spirit Airlines allows all passengers one free personal item. This is usually a smaller bag like a purse, laptop bag, etc. The personal item must comply with the following measurements:
- 8” Depth
- 18” Width
- 14” Height
Any item that exceeds these dimensions is no longer considered a personal item and a carry-on or checked bag charge will apply. You should be able to bring a backpack as long as it fits within the above dimensions.
What are the Spirit Airlines carry-on fees?
Just like Frontier Airlines, Spirit Airlines charges you baggage fees based on when you add the baggage to your trip itinerary.
Bag prices also vary based on dates of travel, route, and channel of purchase. So to make things easier on you, Spirit has the “Bag-o-Tron” which allows you to view baggage fees for your prospective trip.
You can find the Bag-o-Tron here.
I used the Spirit “Bag-o-Tron” to show you some baggage fee prices for a flight from IAH to LAX. You can see how the prices increase as you get closer to departure.
During Spirit.com Booking
- Saver$ Club: $54
- Standard: $55
Before online check-in
- Saver$ Club: $56
- Standard: $57
During online check-in
- Saver$ Club: $64
- Standard: $65
Airport, group desk, reservation center
- $89
At gate
- $99
Other baggage fee prices
I also researched some prices for some other destinations so that you can get a better sense of how the prices might fluctuate a little bit. All of the following prices are based on prices when paying for baggage fees at booking.
Atlanta to Boston
- Carry-on: $55
Chicago to Los Angeles
- Carry-on: $55
Houston to Philadelphia
- Carry-on: $55
Orlando to Las Vegas
- Carry-on: $55
San Diego to Baltimore
- Carry-on: $59
So generally you will be paying around $55-$59 for a carry-on when you fly Spirit Airlines. Remember that unless you are flying a basic economy fare you will get a free carry-on bag for all of the major airlines such as United, American, and Delta.
Thus, if you need to fly with a carry-on you should subtract around $55-$59 from the airfare when comparing prices between legacy carriers and Spirit Airlines.
Spirit Airlines checked baggage fees
I did some research and looked at the prices for flights between Houston in Los Angeles and here are the prices that I found for Spirit Airlines checked baggage fees for one way flights.
During Sprit.com Booking
- 1st bag: $50
- Saver$ Club: $49
- 2nd bag: $70
- Saver$ Club: $69
- 3rd through 5th: $99
- Saver$ Club: $98
Before online check-in
- 1st bag: $52
- Saver$ Club: $51
- 2nd bag: $72
- Saver$ Club: $71
- 3rd through 5th: $99
- Saver$ Club: $98
During online check-in
- 1st bag: $60
- Saver$ Club: $59
- 2nd bag: $80
- Saver$ Club: $79
- 3rd through 5th: $99
- Saver$ Club: $98
Airport, group desk, reservation center
- 1st bag: $89
- 2nd bag: $99
- 3rd through 5th: $100
At gate
- 1st bag: $99
- 2nd bag: N/A
- 3rd through 5th: N/A
Other baggage fee prices
I also researched some prices for some other destinations so that you can get a better sense of how the prices might fluctuate a little bit. All of the following prices are based on prices when paying for baggage fees at booking.
Atlanta to Boston
- First checked bag: $50
Chicago to Los Angeles
- First checked bag: $50
Houston to Philadelphia
- First checked bag: $50
Orlando to Las Vegas
- First checked bag: $50
San Diego to Baltimore
- First checked bag: $54
So generally you will be looking to pay $50 for your first checked bag if you pay for your baggage fees at booking.
The prices for checked bags aren’t too far off what other airlines offer assuming you add those bags at booking. For example, take a look at United’s checked baggage fees:
- $35 for the first checked bag
- $45 for the second checked bag
- $150 to $200 for the third checked bag ($200 for some international flights)
Remember, airlines like Southwest Airlines offer two free checked bags so even if your Spirit airfare was cheaper, it still might be worth it to go with Southwest if you needed to check bags.
Spirit Airlines carry-on restrictions
Your carry-on bag can be a maximum of 22 x 18 x10 inches (56 x 46 x 25 cm) including handles and wheels. Pieces exceeding these dimensions must become checked baggage.
Unlike Frontier Airlines, Spirit Airlines does not publish a weight limit for their luggage.
Liquids
The same TSA standards apply to Spirit Airlines flights and you can review a list provided by the TSA of permitted and prohibited items which may be included in carry-on baggage including the 3-1-1 Liquids Rule.
Free carry-on items
The following items do not count towards a guest’s carry-on allowance.
These exempt articles include, but are not necessarily limited to the following:
- Assist pet carrier when traveling with assist/service animal
- Camera
- Crutches/Canes/Braces or other prosthetic device upon which the guest is dependent
- Guest assistive devices & service animals
- Food for consumption on board the flight
- Infant bag, when traveling with the infant
- Infant/Child Car Seats, when the child is carried in the seat
- One Duty Free box or bag containing Duty Free items
- Outer garments (coats/hats/wraps)
- Reading material for the flight
- Stroller, when the child is carried in the stroller
- Umbrella
Spirit Airlines checked bag restrictions
Spirit allows for a maximum of 62 linear inches (length + width + height; 158 cm) including handles and wheels and a maximum of 40 pounds in weight (18.1 kg).
Any bag that exceeds these dimensions or weight limit is considered oversized/overweight and has a corresponding charge (seen below).
Spirit will not accept bags that weigh more than 100 pounds (45 kg) or that measure more than 80 linear inches (203 cm) in overall dimensions.
Overweight
- If your bag is between 41 and 50 pounds you’ll be charged +$79 per bag
- If your bag is between 51 and 100 pounds you’ll be charged +$125 per bag
Oversized
- If your bag is between 63-80 linear inches you’ll be charged +$150 per bag.
- If your bag is over 80 linear inches you’ll be charged +$150 per bag (only special items allowed).
If you want all the tips on how to deal with checked baggage, be sure to check out the ultimate guide to checked luggage here.
When can you check-in bags for Spirit Airlines?
You usually will be able to check-in two to three hours prior to your flight.
For domestic flights, Spirit Airlines recommends that guests arrive at the airport at least two hours prior to the scheduled departure. For international flights, Spirit Airlines recommends that guests arrive at the airport at least three hours prior to scheduled departure.
Boarding pass fees — don’t get surprised!
One thing to watch out for when flying Spirit Airlines is that you can get charged for simply printing out your boarding pass.
The price is $10 per boarding pass printed out and you can see the fees below. If you would like to avoid these fees the best thing to do is to print your pass at home or pull up your boarding pass via email or through the app.
Boarding pass printed at home
- Free
Boarding pass printed by Airport Agent
- $25 per boarding pass printed
Spirit Airlines military baggage fees
For active duty military traveling on Spirit, they will provide two free checked bags and a free carry-on (in addition to the already free personal item).
The U.S. military member should arrive early enough to have their bags checked at the counter, and present their U.S. military ID.
This benefit does not extend to spouses of military members!
Read more about the Spirit Airlines military member luggage policy here.
Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!
Spirit International Baggage Rules
If you’re flying to certain international destinations you need to be aware of some of the special restrictions. Some of these restrictions are in effect all year while others only go into effect during the peak of winter.
Always, double check to see what the latest rules are because new routes are always popping up.
All year
The following rules are in effect when flying to South America (Lima, Peru (LIM)).
- A maximum of one checked item will be allowed per guest.
- Overweight items may not exceed the maximum weight limit of 100lbs (45kg) and are subject to overweight baggage charges.
- Oversized items may not exceed 80 linear inches (203cm) in overall dimensions and are subject to oversized baggage charges.
- Certain items (e.g. Sporting Equipment) may exceed 80 linear inches in overall dimensions; however, the item may not weight more than 100 lbs (45kg). This item counts towards the maximum of one checked item allowed per person. Separate charges may apply.
- From December 1st through January 10th, items that exceed 80 linear inches will not be accepted.
The following rules are in effect when flying to South America (Colombia (AXM, BAQ, BGA, CLO, CTG, MDE) and Ecuador (GYE)).
- A maximum of one paid checked item will be accepted per person.
- Additional checked items may be purchased on a first-come-first-serve basis.
December 1st – January 10th
The following rules are in effect when flying to all international destinations.
During this time you will be limited to the restrictions below when flying to the destinations listed below.
- One checked item will be accepted per person.
- Additional checked items may be purchased on a first-come first-serve basis.
- Overweight items are subject to overweight baggage charges beginning at 41 pounds (18 kg).
- Oversized items may not exceed 80 linear inches (203cm) in overall dimensions and are subject to oversized baggage charges beginning at 63 linear inches (158 cm).
Some of the international destinations may include the following:
Caribbean
- Aruba, Aruba (AUA)
- Kingston, Jamaica (KIN)
- Montego Bay, Jamaica (MBJ)
- Port au Prince, Haiti (PAP)
- Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (SDQ)
- Santiago, Dominican Republic (STI)
- St. Maarten, A.N. (SXM)
Mexico
- Cabo San Lucas/Los Cabos, Mexico (SJD)
- Cancun, Mexico (CUN)
Central America
- Guatemala City, Guatemala (GUA)
- Managua, Nicaragua (MGA)
- Panama City, Panama (PTY)
- San Pedro Sula, Honduras (SAP)
- San Salvador, El Salvador (SAL)
- San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO)
South America
- Armenia, Colombia (AXM)
- Bogota, Colombia (BOG)
- Cartagena, Colombia (CTG)
- Medellin, Colombia (MDE)
Sports equipment and special items
Spirit Airlines provides a a breakdown of how you can travel with different items like sporting equipment and special items in their contract of carriage.
That PDF will show you the regulations and prices for many random objects that you might be traveling with such as:
- Alcohol
- Antlers
- Archery Equipment
- Artistic Items
- Balls/ Balloons
- Baseball Equipment
- Bicycles
- Bowling Equipment
- Camping Gear (Items include but are not limited to: Backpacks, sleeping bags, and knapsacks)
- Ceramics/ Chinaware/ Glass
- Electric Skateboards & Hover Boards
- Electronic Cigarettes (e-cigarettes)
- Firearms & Ammunitions
- Fishing Equipment
- Golf Equipment
- Kayak, Boat, Canoes
- Lithium Ion Batteries
- Musical Instruments (e.g. violins, flutes, guitars, etc.)
- Photographic Equipment
- Ski Equipment (Water or Snow)
- Scuba Diving Equipment
- Skateboards
- Smart Bags / Battery powered Baggage
- Snowboards, Wakeboards, Boogie boards, Body boards, and Kiteboards
- Surfing Equipment
- And many other items
Spirit Airlines pet policy fee
Spirit Airlines will charge you $125 each way (compared to the $99 per way charged by Frontier).
On domestic flights, Spirit will only accept domestic dogs, cats, small domestic rabbits and in some cities small household birds including parrots, finches, canaries and parakeets.
Birds that are not considered household birds are farm poultry, waterfowl, game birds, birds of prey, or flightless birds.
Birds are not accepted to and from cities in Puerto Rico and St. Thomas U.S.V.I.
Small domestic rabbits are not accepted to and from cities in Puerto Rico and St. Thomas U.S.V.I.
Note that Spirit Airlines does NOT accept pets in cabin for travel on international flights except in the case of service animals, emotional support animals or psychiatric animals.
Also, Spirit Airlines does NOT accept animals as cargo or as checked baggage.
Read more about their pet policy here.
What if my bags are lost or damaged?
In the event your baggage does not arrive at your destination with you, Spirit asks that you file a report to immediately initiate a search for the mishandled luggage.
If a bag/item is delayed, lost, damaged or pilfered, a Spirit Airlines representative must be notified and a report must be filed in person, within four hours of arrival if traveling domestically.
That’s a big difference from Frontier who gives you 12 hours to file your claim.
But they do give you a much longer time frame for international travel. For international travel, you must notify Spirit in writing as soon as possible after discovery of the damage, and no later than seven days from receipt of checked baggage.
The Luggage Resolution office may be reached Monday to Friday from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm, Eastern Standard Time at 1- 877-888-5926, extension 7004.
Spirit Airlines coupons
You can search for Spirit Airlines coupons here and here. At times, I have seen special discounts for baggage fees, such as 50% off when joining the Saver$ Club.
Spirit seat selection fees
Spirit will assign you a seat for free but if you want to choose a specific seat, you’ll have to pay for that.
The prices vary for seat selection and below are the ranges you can expect to find:
- Spirit Assigned Seating at Check In: Free
- Customer-Requested Seat Assignments / Regular Seats: $1 to $200
- Big Front Seats (in advance): $12 to $750
- Big Front Seats (onboard upgrades—depending on flight length): $25 to $250
Final word
Overall, Spirit has stricter guidelines for baggage fees than Frontier so you need to be extra careful when flying with them when it comes to the weight of your checked baggage.
But if you are well-versed in all of their different rules and you frequently fly with them, you can actually save a decent amount of money with the Saver$ Club.
Cover photo by Prayitno via Flickr.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and creator of the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned full-time travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in major publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, US News, and Business Insider. Find his full bio here.
Frontier Airlines Boarding Policy Guide [2023]
Frontier Airlines has a pretty straightforward boarding process for the most part. What’s great is that there are a few opportunities that allow you to get priority boarding even if you do not have elite status and I will talk about some of those below.
In this article, I will break down everything you need to know about the Frontier Airlines boarding policy.
Frontier Airlines boarding groups order
- Special Services
- Zone 1 (Priority Boarding)
- Courtesy Boarding
- Zone 2
- Zone 3
- Zone 4
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Special Services
The very first group to board is “special services” which includes individuals in need of boarding assistance. This includes passengers who need a wheelchair or other similar type of equipment.
Remember, that when it comes to pre-boarding, you self identify as someone who needs assistance. You should not have to explain your full medical issue(s) to the gate agent and instead can just tell them that you identify as someone who needs extra time to board. By law, they are required to allow this.
Frontier Airlines does not make a special announcement for special needs boarding. So be sure to tell the gate agent that you need preboarding and then ask them what you need to do to ensure that you will be able to take advantage of that boarding.
This is also the time when unaccompanied minors were allowed to board but effective November 1, 2018, Frontier Airlines no longer accepts children traveling alone under the age of 15 years of age.
Related: Guide to Visiting Airports & Flying with Vision Impairments
Zone 1 Boarding (Priority Boarding)
If you purchase a carry-on bag you can get priority boarding. Remember, Frontier Airlines is a low-cost carrier which means that you have to pay for things like carry-on items.
Assuming you pay your baggage fees online during booking, a carry-on will be about $39 and your first checked bag will be about $34. To view the latest baggage fees read more here.
Passengers who purchased the Works or Perks can also take advantage of priority boarding. For those of you who don’t know, the Works is a special package that offers:
- Carry on bag
- Checked bag
- Seat selection
- Priority boarding
- Flight flexibility
- 100% refund ability
Meanwhile, the Perks offers:
- Carry on bag
- Checked bag
- Seat selection
- Priority boarding
You can read more about these packages here.
If you have elite status with myFRONTIER Miles, you can also get priority boarding.
There are three different levels of elite status with Frontier Airlines:
- Elite 20k: Earn 20,000 Qualifying Miles or 25 Segments
- Elite 50k: Earn 50,000 Qualifying Miles or 50 Segments
- Elite 100k: Earn 100,000 Qualifying Miles or 100 Segments
Unlike other airlines where it is common to have many elite members on virtually every flight, on Frontier Airlines, you may not see as many elite members which means you can board even quicker if you are elite.
Courtesy boarding
Courtesy boarding is available to families traveling with small children. On the main website it says children under three years old but on the Barclays website for the Frontier Airlines MasterCard it mentions children under the age of five. So you may need to clear this up with an agent at the gate.
This boarding group is also designated for passengers requiring additional time or assistance.
Related: How Early Should You Get to the Airport?
General Boarding (Zone 2 to Zone 4)
General boarding will be the last to board the plane. Within general boarding there may be smaller groups which will typically board from the back of the plane to the front.
You can get Zone 2 priority boarding by holding the Frontier Airlines World Mastercard.
Just make sure that if you have the card you are logged in when booking your flight or that you have your membership account added to your reservation.
Keep in mind that you can spend your way to elite status with the Frontier Airlines MasterCard.
The terms from the Frontier Airlines MasterCard state:
Cardmembers will receive boarding priority and “ZONE 2” will be displayed on the member’s boarding pass so long as they are logged into their Program Membership Account when booking their flight, or had their Membership Account number added to their reservation. All “ZONE 2” passengers board after military passengers, elite status members, “Meet and Assist”, passengers with disabilities, or passengers with children under the age of 5, who need extra time down the jet way and ZONE 1 passengers. Only the primary cardmember is eligible for this benefit.
A lot of people dread being in general boarding because they are the last to board and therefore often don’t have space in the overhead storage bin.
This can happen to you when flying Frontier Airlines but because there are fees for carry-ons and checked bags are cheaper, you often see that there is more space available in the overhead storage compartments on Frontier Airlines flights.
Discount Den?
The Discount Den does not offer you priority boarding but it does provide you with some other valuable perks which include:
- Special access to cheaper fares
- Cheaper fares available to up to six people on the reservation
- On valid Kids Fly Free flights, one kid under 15 can fly for free for every adult Discount Den fare purchased
- Be the first to hear about news
Related: Frontier Airlines Discount Den Review
Stretch seats
Stretch seats provide you with more legroom and are essentially the “economy plus” of Frontier Airlines. You can find the seats on different aircraft including: A319, A320, and A321 and they can be located in the front of the plane and also in the exit rows.
Sometimes you can receive a free upgrade to the seats but other times you will have to purchase them and the price can range pretty dramatically. I’ve seen prices range anywhere from $16 to $56.
It all depends on your route and when you purchase. If you purchase the seats during the booking process online you will likely get the cheapest price. However, if you wait until you arrive at the airport then you might see the price shoot way up.
Don’t get the stretch seat confused with the “big front seat.” The big front seats are essentially the business/first class of Frontier. The seats are a good deal wider than the stretch seats and also only sit in rows of two much like a traditional domestic first class.
Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!
Priority security
You can also get priority access in the form of priority security if you fall into one of the groups below:
- You have additional needs
- You are traveling as an Elite member of myFRONTIER Miles
- You have purchased a carry-on bag
- You have purchased the WORKS℠
In my experience, I prefer to just use TSA Pre-Check to gain access to an expedited security line. TSA Pre-Check is extremely convenient and also comes with the following benefits:
- Shoes can stay on
- Belt can stay on
- Light jackets can stay on
- Laptops allowed to stay in bag
- Liquids (3-1-1 Rule) can stay in bag
Showing up for boarding
Knowing what your boarding zone is, is just one part of getting to your destination. The other component is making sure that you arrive at the boarding gate in time for your flight.
Here are the guidelines that Frontier supplies for domestic boarding:
- 45 minutes prior to your departure, check in for your flight and for your bags will be closed.
- 30 minutes prior to departure the boarding process will begin.
- 20 minutes prior to departure, there will be a call for final boarding.
- 15 minutes prior to departure, the doors will officially close.
Note: The timing will be a little bit different for international flights. For example, you will need to be checked in with your luggage no later than 60 minutes prior to departure for an international flight.
You will be able to find your departure time and boarding time on your boarding pass.
Just be aware that these times can change after you check in so always keep an eye out for the latest times on the display panels found throughout the airport terminals.
Frontier Airlines World Mastercard
I mentioned the Frontier Airlines World Mastercard earlier and here is a look at more of the benefits.
- Welcome bonus (ranges)
- 5X on Frontier purchases
- 3X on restaurants
- 1X on all other purchases
- Earn toward Elite Status
- Earn a $100 Flight Voucher
- Unlock Family Pooling
- Priority boarding
- Award redemption fee waiver
- No foreign transaction fees
- $79 annual fee (not waived)
Frontier Airlines boarding FAQ
Where can I see my boarding group?Your boarding group should be visible on your boarding pass. Check the bottom right corner although it could appear in different areas.
How to get a window seat on Frontier?The best way to guarantee a window seat on Frontier Airlines is to select your seat at the time of booking.
Do you have assigned seating on Frontier?Frontier Airlines will allow you to select your seat at the time of booking. However, if you do not select a seat you will be randomly assigned a seat from whatever seats remain at check-in.
Does my group or family get to sit together?Frontier Airlines will try to keep your party together but the only way to guarantee it is by selecting your seats at the time of booking.
How much does it cost to select my seat on Frontier?The price to choose your seat for standard seating may range from $17 to $55.
When does boarding begin for Frontier Airlines?Boarding begins 30 minutes prior to departure on domestic flights.
Final word
As you can tell, the boarding process for Frontier Airlines is pretty straightforward. If you truly care about where you sit, my advice would be to select your seat beforehand, especially if you want to stay together as a group.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and creator of the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned full-time travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in major publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, US News, and Business Insider. Find his full bio here.
Spirit Airlines Unaccompanied Minor Policy Guide [2023]
Are you looking to fly a child on Spirit Airlines without an accompanying adult? If so, there are some special restrictions and rules that you need to know about and also some fees that you will have to pay. In this article, I will tell you everything you need to know about the Spirit Airlines unaccompanied minor policy.
What is the Spirit unaccompanied minor policy?
Spirit Airlines requires children ages five through fourteen traveling without an accompanying passenger aged 15 or older to travel as unaccompanied minors (UMs). This age limit is similar to other airlines like Delta, though it differs from Southwest.
(I’ll get into all of the specific details you need to know below.)
Note: Spirit Airlines’ competitor Frontier Airlines does not allow for unaccompanied minors. So if you are trying to go with a low-cost carrier, you won’t be able to fly with Frontier and will probably need to look at Spirit or other airlines like Southwest.
What are the Spirit Airlines unaccompanied minor fees?
The Spirit Airlines unaccompanied minor service fee is $150 each way. $150 is not as cheap as Southwest (which is only $50) but it is in line the legacy carriers (which all charge $150).
Because Spirit is known for tacking on so many fees, I was a bit surprised to find that their fees are very reasonable for unaccompanied minors.
While the fees for unaccompanied minors are very reasonable, you should also be aware of how the baggage fees work for Spirit Airlines since they are a bit different from the legacy carriers.
For example, they charge for carry-on items and the prices for both carry-on and checked baggage increases as you approach your departure date so you need to be mindful about how much baggage you will need when booking online. If you would like to find out more about how these baggage fees work click here.
Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!
Spirit unaccompanied minor rules
Age requirements
4 Years and Younger
Children 4 years old and younger may not travel alone. Another guest at least 15 years of age must accompany them. It is pretty standard for airlines to prevent children four years old and younger from traveling alone and for good reason. That’s just a little bit too young to be making your way through an airport by yourself.
5-14 Years
Children 5-14 years old must travel as an unaccompanied minor when not traveling with an adult at least 15 years old. This is the typical age requirement for an unaccompanied minor.
15 Years and Older
Guests 15 years old and older are not required to have Unaccompanied Minor service, but they may be asked to present a picture ID or birth certificate to verify their age. This is important to note. If you have a child that is 15 years old or around that age and looks even younger they may be asked to supply a picture ID or birth certificate to verify their age.
It’s also worth noting that the unaccompanied minor service charge can be collected for guests that are 15 years or older if it is requested.
Acceptable routes
Minors are accepted only on direct flights which do not require a change of aircraft or flight number. So you cannot send an unaccompanied minor on a connecting flight.
Unaccompanied minors are also not allowed on international flights. Do note that domestic flights include Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Related: Spirit Airlines World Mastercard review
Spirit unaccompanied minor process
Booking reservations
When you book the reservation, make sure you select that a child is flying and supply the necessary birthday information. You can find out how to do that below.
Check-in
- Be sure to check in at the gate at least 60 minutes prior to departure.
- At check-in, an Unaccompanied Minor form must be completed at the airport by someone with photo identification before they can accept the child for travel.
- This form will be inserted into the lanyard they provide that the Unaccompanied Minor must wear throughout the entire flight, and is needed for Spirit Airlines employees to identify Unaccompanied Minors.
Spirit recommends that you check in at the gate at least 60 minutes prior to departure but to be honest I think that is a little bit late.
You have to factor in that it will take a little bit of time to process the unaccompanied minor form and get the lanyard printed out and then you also have to think about checked baggage, security, and any unexpected security checks like SSSS that could slow you down.
So my advice would be to get to the check-in area at least 90 minutes prior to departure to be on the safer side.
Getting to the gate
The person dropping off the child at the airport should request a gate pass at the reservation counter, escort the child to the gate, and remain in the gate area with the unaccompanied minor until after the flight takes off.
Gate passes will only be issued to non-traveling individuals who present a government issued photo ID. So don’t forget that ID!
If you are dropping off an unaccompanied minor, your job does not stop at check-in. You are expected to obtain a gate pass that will allow you to get through security and on to the gate where the boarding will take place.
Boarding
Like most other airlines, Spirit allows unaccompanied minors to enter the plane during pre-boarding. These are the first passengers to board and so the boarding process is a little bit less stressful.
If the unaccompanied minor arrives late and does not make it in time for pre-boarding, they will be the last to be boarded. This just underscores the need to get to the airport early, especially if your child is not necessarily super comfortable with flying alone.
Departure
The person dropping off the child must remain at the airport for 15 minutes after the flight takes off. It is a common requirement for the parent to remain at the gate for 15 minutes after departure just in case something happens and the plane has to return to the gate.
So if you are dropping off a child just give yourself enough time to escort them all the way through security to the gate and then an additional 15 minutes after departure. Keep in mind that delays can happen so try to be conservative with allocating yourself enough time for all of these steps.
Arrival
When the flight arrives at its final destination, the child will be escorted off the aircraft by a flight attendant and released to the person designated on the Unaccompanied Minor form or to a Spirit employee.
Remember that flights often arrive several minutes early so I would always advise you to arrive at the airport 30 to 60 minutes prior to the scheduled landing time.
You can use different types of apps to track the flights, and I always recommend people to use FlightAware so that you would know exactly when the flight will land.
Snack and drink
Spirit Airlines will offer your child a snack and drink on board. While the airline will offer them a snack and drink, you know your kids appetite best so it would probably be a good idea to send them flying with some sort of snack pack that you know they will like.
You also want to think about what types of entertainment they will need to keep them busy on a plane.
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How to book a Spirit unaccompanied minor reservation
To make a reservation for an unaccompanied minor simply make a reservation online as you normally would. Be sure to select that a child is traveling on the flight and that will prompt you to input their birthdate information. You can see where to select that a child is traveling in the image below.
How to add an unaccompanied minor. After you input your flight details and select to search flights you should see the following window pop up. Simply input the birthdate of the child in order to proceed.
Adding the age of an unaccompanied minor. The next screen will tell you if your child is eligible to fly as an unaccompanied minor and will also break down the fees for you. Simply click on “Accept” to proceed with the reservation.
You should note that the price of the airfare will include the $150 unaccompanied minor service fee. By the way, if you want to save on airfare tickets you should consider looking into the $9 Fare Club. That club will help you save on airfare and also on baggage fees.
Unlike some other airlines like JetBlue, there is not a reserved area for unaccompanied minors so if you do not purchase a seat, the child will be given a seat at random.
You should also be aware of the cancellation and change fees for Spirit. Unlike an airline like Southwest Airlines, where you can make changes for free, you will have to pay fees to make changes on Spirit Airlines. Here are the change fees:
- Regular tickets change fees are $90 for modifications made online or $100 for modifications made at the airport or over the phone. Same-day flight changes, aka standby for an earlier flight, will be $99.
- Flex Flight tickets have no change fees for the first modification made online, but after the first modification, you will have the standard change fee of $90 for modifications made online or $100 made at the airport or over the phone.
- Award ticket change fee is $110 for modifications. Modifications can only be done over the phone.
Spirit unaccompanied minor FAQ
What is the age requirement for the Spirit unaccompanied minor policy?Children ages five through 14 traveling without an accompanying passenger 15 years or older must travel as unaccompanied minors.
How much are the Spirit unaccompanied minor fees?The unaccompanied minor fee is $150 each way.
Is there a way to avoid the fees?You can avoid the unaccompanied minor fees by using a credit card with an airline credit such as the Amex Platinum Card.
Can unaccompanied minors fly on connecting flights?No, unaccompanied minors are accepted only on direct flights which do not require a change of aircraft or flight number.
Can unaccompanied minors fly on international flights?No, unaccompanied minors are not allowed on international flights.
Do I need to arrive at the airport early?When dealing with unaccompanied minors it’s always a good idea to arrive at the airport extra early.
Arrive to check-in at least 90 minutes prior to departure to give you plenty of time to obtain your escort pass and get through security in time for pre-boarding.
If you are picking up an unaccompanied minor you should arrive at the airport 30 to 60 minutes prior to the scheduled landing time.Will the unaccompanied minor be offered food or drink?Spirit Airlines will offer your child a snack and drink during the fight but will not provide a full meal.
Can you book an unaccompanied minor online?Yes, you can book an unaccompanied minor online with Spirit Airlines. Just be sure to select that a child is traveling and you will be prompted to input the birthdate if necessary.
Final word
Spirit has a pretty typical unaccompanied minor service fee and policy. The $150 fee is standard and the age requirements are roughly similar to other airlines.
One major thing to remember is that unaccompanied minors are not allowed on international flights and also not allowed on connecting flights. If you are trying to fly a young person by themselves to an international destination or need connecting flights, other airlines will allow you to do that.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and creator of the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned full-time travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in major publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, US News, and Business Insider. Find his full bio here.
Southwest Airlines vs Spirit Airlines (Prices, Routes, & Products) [2022]
When you think of flying and saving money, two airlines that may pop into your head are Spirit Airlines and Southwest Airlines.
These are two very different airlines but they both help millions of passengers save money every year.
But many people wonder what exactly are the differences between these two airlines? Is one cheaper than the other and does one offer a better product than the other?
In this article, I’ll take a detailed look at these two airlines and compare things like the routes, pricing, product, baggage policies, etc.
You’ll see that one of the airlines is a good degree cheaper than the other but that you’ll still have to factor in some hidden costs.
Overview of the two airlines
Spirit Airlines is an ultra-low-cost carrier, meaning that they have very low base fares but charge you for things typically included with your fare such as a carry-on bag.
They have a reputation of nickel-and-diming passengers and are known for having little legroom but do seem to serve a broad niche of budget-conscious passengers pretty well.
Southwest on the other hand is a low-cost carrier.
In fact, it is the world’s largest low-cost carrier and it truly competes with the legacy carriers in the US when it comes to volume of traffic and passengers.
As a whole, Southwest Airlines is taken more seriously than Spirit in terms of its status as a national carrier but for many it leaves some to be desired when compared to the legacy carriers.
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Routes
Domestically, you’ll find Southwest with more destinations, making it much easier to find a flight to any given destinations within the US. Southwest also has the advantage with flights going to Hawaii.
Spirit Airlines has a much more extensive international route network. You can find flights going to various countries in the Caribbean, Central America, and even South America. The international focus for Southwest is much more limited.
While Southwest does not cover as many international routes, Southwest is overall a much larger airline than Spirit Airlines.
In fact, Southwest Airlines is one of the largest airlines in the world by various metrics like revenue and passengers carried.
In 2019, Southwest Airlines was in the top three for passengers carried at right around 162 million. Meanwhile, the 2019 figures showed about 35 million passengers carried for Spirit Airlines.
Fleet size and make-up
As of March 2022, the Spirit Airlines fleet consists entirely of Airbus A320 and A320neo family aircraft. Here’s a look at the fleet as of the spring of 2022.
Aircraft In
serviceAirbus A319-100 31 Airbus A319neo — Airbus A320-200 64 Airbus A320neo 53 Airbus A321-200 30 Airbus A321neo — Table via Wikipedia. Meanwhile, Southwest is virtually synonymous with Boeing at this point with the fleet consisting of Boeing 737s.
They are introducing a lot of 737 MAXs as well. You can take a look at the size of the fleet below — it’s obviously a lot bigger than Spirit.
Aircraft In service Orders Boeing 737-700 453 — Boeing 737-800 207 — Boeing 737 MAX 7 — 238 Boeing 737 MAX 8 74 206 Table via Wikipedia. Product
Cabins and legroom
Southwest aircraft do not contain a first class cabin and so the entire airplane essentially consists of economy seats. Seat pitch is going to be 31 inches to 32 inches and the seats do recline.
Spirit Airlines refers to their Economy Class as “Deluxe Leather” seats and some aircraft are equipped with all economy class seats.
Economy seats with Spirit Airlines only have 28 inches of pitch and they do NOT recline. This is one of the biggest knocks against Spirit — it’s just a very uncomfortable riding experience being so cramped. The flip side is that the seats are slightly wider than Southwest by about .75 inches on some aircraft.
Some Spirit Airlines aircraft have the “Big Front” seats, which are essentially the first class seats of Spirit Airlines. On those seats, you can expect 36 inches of pitch and 20 inches of width but you still may not be able to recline.
These Big Front seats aren’t really a different class fare but instead more of an upgraded seat that you can select at the time of seat selection. The price to upgrade will vary but you could upgrade your tickets for about $25 to $50 in some cases.
Entertainment
You will not find seatback TVs on Southwest and you probably will not find outlets unless you are flying on one of the newer aircraft in the future. They do offer in-flight entertainment via their app, so you can watch movies and TV shows for free from your phone or other device.
Spirit Airlines will also not have power outlets or seatback TVs and they currently do NOT offer in-flight entertainment via an app.
Both airlines may have Wi-Fi available but they are not currently available on every aircraft.
Food and drink
Southwest offers free beverages and light and simple snacks on flights.
So you can get a little package of crackers on certain flights and order up a soda for free. They also have an alcoholic beverage menu. Beyond the little packs of snacks, they do not offer any food or snack menu for you to purchase items from.
There is no complimentary beverage or snack service on Spirit flights.
So you have to pay for all of your drinks including sodas and waters. The good news is that they do have a food menu with snacks and drinks including alcoholic beverages.
So you can order up little cheese trays, crackers, cookies, etc. You’ll be spending around $3.50 for sodas and $9 for a beer or liquor.
This expanded food/snack offering combined with the ability to upgrade to a front seat with more legroom means that Spirit actually can offer you a more premium experience than Southwest if you are willing to pay for it.
Seat selection and boarding
Southwest Airlines has a no seat assignment policy so you are never going to select your seats at the time of booking.
Instead, you are issued a boarding group and position at the time of check-in and the boarding position determines the order that you board the plane. You can then choose any seat that is open.
This is why it is really important to remember to check in 24 hours prior to departure or to purchase EarlyBird that will automatically check you in 36 hours prior to departure.
Alternatively, you can also purchase a Business Select ticket which is the most expensive fare offered by Southwest. Those fares come with the following benefits:
- Guaranteed A1-A15 boarding
- Fly By lane access
- Free premium drink
- 12 Rapid Rewards per dollar spent
- Fully refundable fare
- Standby
Spirit Airlines will assign you a seat randomly at check-in unless you pay to select your seat. This means that if you don’t pay to select your seats you likely will not be sitting together as a group.
The cost to select your seat begins at five dollars but then goes up depending on the route/seat. You can take a look at the seat selection prices in the image below but remember they will be set different for each flight.
When it comes to boarding you can add on priority boarding to get on the plane quicker and ensure room for your carry-on.
Service
I don’t have enough experience flying with Spirit to comment on the service but I’ve flown Southwest many, many times over the years and will say that they are usually very on point with service.
Crew members are regularly very friendly and professional and I’ve had very few negative interactions with them.
Baggage policies
Southwest Airlines allows you to check two bags for free on every flight and you also get a free carry-on plus a personal item. They are one of the most generous airlines when it comes to baggage fees.
But things are very different on Spirit Airlines.
On Spirit Airlines, you will have to pay for your carry-on and checked baggage. Sometimes these prices can get a little crazy. For example, below it shows a $49 charge for a carry-on!
(Here’s a look at the Spirit Airlines baggage fees.)
The checked baggage limit for Spirit is 40 pounds while Southwest allows up to 50 pounds before you get hit with overweight charges.
As you go through the checkout process Spirit will offer you a package deal where you can add on things like a carry-on, checked bag, and priority boarding.
It’s at that point that the true cost of your travel becomes apparent and it’s a good time to compare the total cost with alternatives such as Southwest.
Loyalty programs
Both airlines have a loyalty program.
Southwest offers Rapid Rewards and has an elite system with two elite levels for A-List.
You can earn Southwest A-List if you meet the following requirements in a calendar year:
- 25 one-way qualifying flights OR
- 35,000 tier qualifying points (TQPs)
Here are the Southwest A-List benefits.
- Priority boarding
- Priority security and check-in lanes
- 25% bonus earning
- Free same day standby
- Dedicated A-List phone number
You can earn A-List Preferred if you meet the following requirements in a calendar year:
- 50 one-way qualifying flights OR
- 70,000 tier qualifying points
The benefits for A-list Preferred are extremely similar to the benefits for A-List and include:
- Priority boarding
- Priority security and check-in lanes
- 100% bonus earning
- Free same day standby
- Dedicated A-List phone number
- Free in-flight wifi
The 100% bonus earning means that you’ll earn tier qualifying points (TQPs) at the following rates:
- 12X per dollar for Wanna Get Away fares
- 20X per dollar for Anytime fares
- 24X per dollar for Business Select
Southwest also has a handful of credit cards issued from Chase Bank. These often come with generous bonuses and have cool perks like upgrades and EarlyBird credits.
You can also receive 1,500 TQPs for every $10,000 in purchases on your Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card, Rapid Rewards Premier Business Credit Card, Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card, or Rewards Performance Business Credit Card.
Plus, you can transfer out Chase Ultimate Rewards to Southwest at a 1:1 ratio, they can get extremely easy to earn a Rapid Rewards.
What makes Southwest Airlines really stand out is the option to earn the Southwest Companion Pass. That pass allows a companion to fly for free with you for up to two calendar years.
To earn the Southwest Companion Pass by flying you’ll need to:
- Complete 100 qualifying one-way flights in a calendar year
- Earn 125,000 Rapid Rewards points in one calendar year
Credit card welcome bonuses count towards the 125,000 points in a calendar year making this very attainable for a lot of people.
Together with the credit card bonuses you can earn and the easy transferability of points from Chase, the Companion Pass allows you to receive an enormous amount of value if you maximize it. To me, this makes the frequent flyer program for Southwest the most valuable program for the average traveler.
Spirit Airlines also has a loyalty program called Free Spirit rewards and flight redemptions start at 2,500 points.
They also have an elite program with two levels called Free Spirit Silver and Free Spirit Gold.
You earn Free Spirit Silver Status at 2,000 Status Qualifying Points (SQPs) and Free Spirit Gold Status at 5,000 SQPs.
Free Spirit members earn 6 times the points on every dollar spent.
Silver members earn 8 points for every dollar spent on fares and 16 points for dollars spent on options.
They also get free Shortcut Security and Boarding, same-day standby, and seat selection at check-in. Additional perks include: a dedicated Guest Care line, ability to create a Points Pool, and no redemption fees.
Gold members earn 10 points for every dollar spent on fares and 20 points for every dollar spent on options.
They get the silver benefits but also get free: Flight Flex, first checked and carry-on bag, seat selection at booking (including exit rows), as well as a free inflight beverage and snacks.
With the Free Spirit® Travel More World Elite Mastercard® you also earn 1 Status Qualifying Point for each $10 in Net Purchases during a calendar year.
Change fees
Southwest allows you to change your flight for free.
Spirit Airlines offers a sliding scale for change fees that is based on how many days before departure you request your change.
If you request your change 60 days before departure you can get the request done for free but after that you’ll have to start paying.
Here are the current change and cancellation charges:
Days from Departure Fee Amount 0-2 days from departure $99 3-6 days from departure $79 7-59 days from departure $49 60+ days from departure Free They also have the Flight Flex option, which allows you to modify your itinerary once, online, and up to 24 hours before departure with no modification charges. This option is often included in one of the bundles.
Additional fees
You have already seen how Spirit may require you to pay more fees with things like carry-on bags and changes to your itinerary.
But things can actually get worse when you don’t check in online.
If you don’t check in online and check in with a customer service agent at a check-in counter, there is a charge of $10 to print each boarding pass. (Kiosks should be available.)
Spirit also charges more ($150) for unaccompanied minors compared to Southwest ($50).
The pet fees for Spirit Airlines are $110 per pet container, each way. Southwest Airlines allows small vaccinated domestic cats and dogs to travel with you in-cabin under the seat in front of you for $95 per one-way.
Drama
Drama can happen anywhere and anytime when traveling and Southwest is certainly not immune to passenger fights and scuffles.
But based on videos surfacing on social media and elsewhere, it feels like Spirit Airlines passengers get involved in these scuffles more than Southwest passengers.
I’ve tried finding data on this type of thing but have yet to be successful so I don’t have any hard data to offer a conclusion. But if you’re not a fan of royal rumbles at the check-in counter, Southwest may be more your style.
Pricing
We were very curious about how the prices would compare on the exact same routes between Southwest Airlines and Spirit Airlines.
So we analyzed about 250 points, found the cheapest (non-membership) tickets offered by the airlines, and put them side-by-side.
We did not include the Spirit Saver$ Club prices which require you to pay for a membership but if you did pay the membership fee, your savings could be even better than shown below.
Because Spirit Airlines is an “ultra low-cost carrier” and Southwest Airlines is only a “low-cost carrier,” as expected Spirit Airlines had the cheaper prices on the vast majority of routes that we compared.
On average, Spirit Airlines was approximately 31% cheaper than Southwest Airlines.
However, some flights were considerably cheaper than that. For example, we found flights up to 60% cheaper.
At the same time, there were some instances where Southwest was cheaper than Spirit although they were definitely the minority. (Typically this was the product of the special ~$50 fares offered by Southwest.)
Of course, the cheaper price only really means something if you don’t check bags and don’t require a carry-on.
As soon as you begin to add on those costs the Spirit prices can become much more equivalent or even more expensive so you always have to keep that in mind.
Origin Destination Southwest Spirit Albuquerque, NM (ABQ) Las Vegas, NV (LAS) $109 $95.59 Atlanta, GA (ATL) Austin, TX (AUS) $149 $87.59 Baltimore/Washington, MD (BWI) $141 $90.59 Cleveland, OH (CLE) $141 $82.59 Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL) $99 $76.59 Las Vegas, NV (LAS) $195 $135.59 Los Angeles, CA (LAX) $178 $228.59 Miami, FL (MIA) $141 $76.59 New Orleans, LA (MSY) $109 $81.59 Orlando, FL (MCO) $109 $88.59 Philadelphia, PA (PHL) $141 $87.59 Tampa, FL (TPA) $109 $87.59 Austin, TX (AUS) Atlanta, GA (ATL) $149 $87.59 Cancun, Mexico (CUN) $384 $129.62 Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL) $139 $86.59 Las Vegas, NV (LAS) $173 $118.59 Los Angeles, CA (LAX) $173 $100.59 Orlando, FL (MCO) $163 $128.59 Baltimore/Washington, MD (BWI) Atlanta, GA (ATL) $141 $90.59 Boston, MA (BOS) $109 $86.59 Cancun, Mexico (CUN) $314 $277.62 Chicago (O’Hare), IL (ORD) $129 $103.59 Detroit, MI (DTW) $109 $82.59 Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL) $144 $111.59 Las Vegas, NV (LAS) $206 $171.59 Los Angeles, CA (LAX) $381 $219.59 Miami, FL (MIA) $152 $81.59 Montego Bay, Jamaica (MBJ) $382 $274.79 Myrtle Beach, SC (MYR) $99 $81.59 New Orleans, LA (MSY) $163 $87.59 Orlando, FL (MCO) $119 $88.59 San Juan, PR (SJU) $180 $101.79 Tampa, FL (TPA) $173 $122.59 Boise, ID (BOI) Las Vegas, NV (LAS) $104 $85.59 Boston (Logan), MA (BOS) Baltimore/Washington, MD (BWI) $109 $86.59 Burbank, CA (BUR) Las Vegas, NV (LAS) $44 $92.59 Cancun, Mexico (CUN) Austin, TX (AUS) $351 $145.78 Baltimore/Washington, MD (BWI) $297 $233.14 Chicago (O’Hare), IL (ORD) $217 $237.30 Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL) $241 $176.98 St. Louis, MO (STL) $358 $128.10 Chicago (O’Hare), IL (ORD) Baltimore/Washington, MD (BWI) $129 $82.59 Cancun, Mexico (CUN) $252 $267.62 Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL) $260 $96.59 Fort Myers, FL (RSW) $173 $121.59 Las Vegas, NV (LAS) $313 $126.59 Orlando, FL (MCO) $260 $148.59 Tampa, FL (TPA) $163 $114.59 Cleveland, OH (CLE) Atlanta, GA (ATL) $141 $82.59 Columbus, OH (CMH) Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL) $144 $98.59 Las Vegas, NV (LAS) $234 $140.59 Orlando, FL (MCO) $163 $87.59 Tampa, FL (TPA) $144 $104.59 Denver, CO (DEN) Houston (Bush-Intercontl), TX (IAH) $163 $138.59 Las Vegas, NV (LAS) $110 $82.59 Los Angeles, CA (LAX) $99 $89.59 Detroit, MI (DTW) Baltimore/Washington, MD (BWI) $109 $82.59 Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL) Atlanta, GA (ATL) $99 $64.59 Austin, TX (AUS) $139 $66.59 Baltimore/Washington, MD (BWI) $144 $81.59 Cancun, Mexico (CUN) $229 $159.62 Chicago (O’Hare), IL (ORD) $149 $96.59 Columbus, OH (CMH) $144 $98.59 Indianapolis, IN (IND) $139 $61.97 Nashville, TN (BNA) $109 $66.59 New Orleans, LA (MSY) $99 $115.59 Orlando, FL (MCO) $109 $65.59 Pittsburgh, PA (PIT) $139 $66.59 Punta Cana, DO (PUJ) $176 $182.09 San Juan, PR (SJU) $139 $107.79 St. Louis, MO (STL) $139 $92.59 Tampa, FL (TPA) $109 $61.97 Fort Myers, FL (RSW) Chicago (O’Hare), IL (ORD) $173 $91.59 Indianapolis, IN (IND) $163 $66.97 Hartford, CT (BDL) Orlando, FL (MCO) $216 $157.59 Houston (Bush-Intercontl), TX (IAH) Denver, CO (DEN) $163 $138.59 Las Vegas, NV (LAS) $173 $106.59 New Orleans, LA (MSY) $109 $82.59 Orlando, FL (MCO) $163 $138.59 Indianapolis, IN (IND) Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL) $139 $82.59 Fort Myers, FL (RSW) $163 $87.59 Las Vegas, NV (LAS) $195 $156.59 Orlando, FL (MCO) $163 $128.59 Kansas City, MO (MCI) Las Vegas, NV (LAS) $173 $116.59 Los Angeles, CA (LAX) $309 $129.59 Orlando, FL (MCO) $173 $189.59 Las Vegas, NV (LAS) Albuquerque, NM (ABQ) $109 $75.59 Atlanta, GA (ATL) $216 $135.59 Austin, TX (AUS) $173 $107.59 Baltimore/Washington, MD (BWI) $260 $151.59 Boise, ID (BOI) $154 $65.59 Burbank, CA (BUR) $44 $61.97 Chicago (O’Hare), IL (ORD) $281 $126.59 Columbus, OH (CMH) $234 $140.59 Denver, CO (DEN) $110 $61.97 Houston (Bush-Intercontl), TX (IAH) $173 $106.59 Indianapolis, IN (IND) $195 $156.59 Kansas City, MO (MCI) $173 $116.59 Los Angeles, CA (LAX) $49 $61.97 Milwaukee, WI (MKE) $206 $136.59 Nashville, TN (BNA) $195 $151.59 New Orleans, LA (MSY) $234 $126.59 Oakland, CA (OAK) $49 $61.97 Orange County/Santa Ana, CA (SNA) $44 $61.97 Phoenix, AZ (PHX) $39 $61.97 Pittsburgh, PA (PIT) $234 $195.59 Portland, OR (PDX) $163 $71.59 Reno/Tahoe, NV (RNO) $39 $65.59 Sacramento, CA (SMF) $79 $61.97 Salt Lake City, UT (SLC) $49 $61.97 San Diego, CA (SAN) $39 $61.97 Seattle/Tacoma, WA (SEA) $79 $71.97 St. Louis, MO (STL) $184 $122.59 Los Angeles, CA (LAX) Austin, TX (AUS) $173 $100.59 Baltimore/Washington, MD (BWI) $313 $219.59 Denver, CO (DEN) $99 $68.97 Kansas City, MO (MCI) $260 $129.59 Las Vegas, NV (LAS) $49 $87.59 Nashville, TN (BNA) $195 $198.59 New Orleans, LA (MSY) $159 $148.59 Oakland, CA (OAK) $84 $66.97 Salt Lake City, UT (SLC) $79 $68.59 St. Louis, MO (STL) $313 $198.59 Final word
As you can see, while both of these airlines can save you money they are very different.
Southwest is a much larger airline that serves many more passengers and flies to more destinations.
It offers a more comfortable experience for standard economy passengers with more legroom and seats that recline. They also offer free movies and TV for in-flight entertainment and are more generous with free baggage and change fees.
I also feel like Southwest stands out in a major way from Spirit with the Companion Pass and the different credit card options available, to mention being a Chase partner.
Meanwhile, Spirit can offer you cheaper fares in the majority of cases.
You just need to be mindful of the fees that you may have to pay for carry-on bags, checked bags, and seat selection. If you don’t need to spend extra on those things, the savings can beat out Southwest easily in a lot of cases.
Also, if you’re willing to spend a little bit extra, Spirit can offer you more legroom and allow you to enjoy a wider selection of snacks on your flights than Southwest. So oddly enough, you can get a more premium experience with Spirit.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and creator of the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned full-time travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in major publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, US News, and Business Insider. Find his full bio here.
Spirit Airlines Pet Policy Guide [2022]
Are you thinking about bringing your pet with you to your next destination when flying on Spirit Airlines?
If so, make sure that you are familiar with all of the different rules and fees of the Spirit Airlines pet policy.
In this article, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about the pet policy and answer a lot of frequently asked questions.
What is the Spirit Airlines pet policy?
You can travel with your pet as a carry-on as long as you provide adequate carriers for your pets, supply any needed documentation, and pay the fees below.
Spirit Airlines pet fees
The pet fees for Spirit Airlines are $110 per pet container, each way. So for one round trip you would pay $220.
These fees only pertain to carry-on pets as Spirit Airlines does not allow pets to be transported in checked baggage.
Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!
How to avoid Spirit Airlines pet fees
One of the easiest ways to avoid pet fees is to use the right credit card. The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is a good card for general travel expenses and its points can be used to offset airline pet fees since they will often code as travel.
You can also use an incidental credit attached to a travel credit card. For example, the Platinum Card has a $200 incidental credit.
Other cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve have a $300 travel credit that could be used on virtually any type of travel purchase including pet fees.
Need tips for bringing pets to a hotel? Click here to read more.
Adding a pet to your reservation
If you would like to add a pet to your reservation, simply contact the reservations center at the following phone number: 1.800.728.3555
It’s highly recommended to make your reservations for your pet in advance because there is limited capacity for pets on each flight.
Spirit Airlines will only allow a maximum of 4 pet containers on each flight.
Once you show up to the airport, you will need to check in at the ticket counter. As someone flying with a pet, you cannot use the self-service check-in kiosks.
Spirit Airlines also recommends that you arrive at the airport extra early to give yourself enough time to process everything for your pets.
Related: Spirit Airlines World Mastercard review
Spirit Airlines pet rules
Pets allowed
Only certain type of pets or allowed to be flown on Spirit Airlines. These pets include the following:
- Domestic dogs
- Domestic cats
- Small household birds (except to / from Puerto Rico and the U.S.V.I. )
- Small domestic rabbits (except to/from Puerto Rico and U.S.V.I)
The pet should be at least eight weeks old and fully weaned. Spirit Airlines, just like other airlines, also have rules on the temperament and condition of your pet.
For example, your pet must be harmless, not offensive, odorless, and not require any attention during the flight.
It’s a good idea to give your pet a bath or take them to the groomers a couple of days before your flight so that they are fresh and clean.
If your pet becomes offensive or causes disturbances prior to leaving the gate, it will be removed.
So basically, if your pet is the type that goes crazy sometimes with nonstop barking and things of that nature, you run the risk of your pet not being allowed.
And finally, if the pet becomes ill, violent or gets in physical distress it will not be allowed to fly.
You as the pet owner know your pet’s temperament the best, so you need to exercise good judgment when deciding if your pet is fit for travel.
Birds have special restrictions. For example, household birds do not include: farm poultry, waterfowl, game bird, birds of prey, and flightless birds.
Birds are not allowed to and from cities in Puerto Rico or the U.S.V.I.
Requirements for pet carriers
Dimensions of your pet carrier cannot exceed 18 x 14 x 9 inches (45.72cm x 35.56 cm x 22.86cm) in total dimensions (L x W x H) and it must be able to fit under the seat.
The combined weight of the pet and carrier may not exceed 40 pounds (18.14KG).
Only one container is allowed per guest but you can keep up to a maximum of two pets in the container.
Something important to note is that the pet must always remain inside the container and be able to stand upright and turn around in the container.
So make sure that your pet or pets are not cramped inside the container.
Spirit Airlines will have to approve your container before it is allowed on the plane.
Only soft containers will be allowed in the cabin but they prohibit containers that allow pets’ heads to remain outside.
The pet will count as one-plus-one carry-on luggage.
International flights
Pets are not allowed to be transported on international flights with Spirit Airlines. You can, however transport them to territories like Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands (and St. Thomas).
The exception to this is that service animals are allowed.
You should always keep in mind that some international destinations may require specific documentation regarding service animals.
Your best bet is to first contact Spirit Guest Service at 1.855.728.3555 to verify any possible regulations that might apply to your itinerary.
Checked baggage
Unlike some other airlines, Spirit Airlines does not allow your pet to fly in the checked baggage area. Therefore, they must accompany you in the cabin.
Health certificates
Spirit Airlines does not require a health certificate if the pet is traveling in the aircraft cabin except for guests traveling to the Virgin Islands.
Rabies vaccination
If you are traveling with your pet to Puerto Rico, you must have a rabies vaccination certificate with you.
Exotic pets
If you are trying to transport an exotic pet, they will not be excepted. Exotic pets include animals like snakes, spiders, rodents, lizards, etc.
Seating restrictions
If you were traveling with a pet, you can choose to sit in any seat except for the first row of seats and the emergency exit rows.
Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!
Advance notice
As stated above, it is recommended but not required that you give advance notice regarding your pet traveling. The biggest reason is that there are limits on how many pets can fly on each flight so you want to make sure that you are guaranteed a spot for your pet before arriving at the airport.
You can read up more on the pet policy rules here.
Note: As of January 11th, 2021, emotional support animals (ESAN) will be required to travel as pets per updated Department of Transportation requirements
Spirit Airlines pet policy FAQ
What is the Spirit Airlines pet policy fee?The pet policy fee is $110 per flight, per container.
How can I avoid the Spirit Airlines pet fee?You can use airline credits to avoid the fee with some credit cards such as the Amex Platinum Card.
Does Spirit Airlines allow pets to fly in checked baggage?No, Spirit Airlines only allows pets to fly as carry-ons.
How can I add a pet to my reservation?You can add a pet to your reservation by calling the customer service phone number: 1(855) 728-3555.
What type of pets are allowed?Domestic dogs
Domestic cats
Small household birds (except to / from Puerto Rico and the U.S.V.I. )
Small domestic rabbits (except to/from Puerto Rico and U.S.V.I)Can I bring multiple pets with me?Yes, you can bring multiple (two) pets but they must fit in the same container as you are only allowed one container per passenger.
Will my pet have to go through security?Yes, your pet will have to go through airport security.
Does Spirit Airlines allow pets to fly on international flights?No, pets are not allowed to be transported on international flights.
Does my pet need a health certificate?No, your pet will not need a health certificate unless you are traveling to specific destinations like the Virgin Islands.
Where can I sit with my pet?You can choose a seat anywhere except for the emergency exit rows and the first row of seats.
Final word
Overall, the Spirit Airlines pet policy is pretty straightforward. It’s simple because pets are not allowed to fly in checked baggage or on international flights to most destinations. You just have to remember to make a reservation in advance and remember to account for the fee.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and creator of the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned full-time travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in major publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, US News, and Business Insider. Find his full bio here.
The Spirit Airlines $9 Fare Club Benefits Review: Worth It? [2021]
Anytime you’re a frequent (or even semi-frequent) traveler with a certain airline or hotel chain, you should always be looking into ways to save with that program. With Spirit Airlines, the $9 Fare Club offers you a route to those savings.
In this article, I’ll explain what the $9 Fare Club is and what kind of benefits you can get from it. I’ll also discuss whether or not it is worth it to enroll in this club based on the potential savings.
What is the $9 Fare Club?
The $9 Fare Club is a special membership that allows you to save money on select fares with Spirit Airlines and also save on baggage fees for yourself and up to eight additional passengers.
Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!
How much does the $9 Fare Club cost?
The $9 Fare Club will cost you $59.95 for enrolling but they do try to pull a bit of a fast one on you.
That’s because one year after annual enrollment in the Club, and on each anniversary thereafter, members will be automatically charged an annual fee of $69.95 for membership in the Club. So the price goes up $10 for the second year.
You can get a 60 day trial membership for a fee of $19.95 but after that trial membership you’ll have to pay the full price of $69.95. So this trial would end up costing you a total of about $90 for 14 months versus the $60 for 12 months that you would pay with the standard membership.
$90 for 14 months comes out to $6.4 per month and $60 for 12 months comes out to $5 per month so you can see that the trial leads to less efficient pricing, although it does allow you to test out the waters for what it’s worth.
Honestly, I think it is kind of difficult to try out something like this for two months.
The first reason is that two months just isn’t really that long. Most people probably already know their travel plans for the next two months so they should know what the savings should be for their carry-ons, checked baggage, and airfare.
It’s not like you’re purchasing a software that has and experiential factor to it that you may or may not like. We are just talking about predictable savings here within a short 60 day window. Therefore, I’m not a huge fan of the trial version.
Cancellation policy
You should be aware that Spirit Airlines has a pretty strict cancellation policy that is nonrefundable.
Here are the terms for cancellation:
A Member will not be entitled to any refund of any membership fees upon cancellation of membership in the Club
Spirit states that “we don’t refund or pro-rate the membership in the event you decide to cancel.” So this is a situation where you need to really think about your future flying plans to see if the program would offer you savings.
The easiest way to cancel your membership is by logging in to spirit.com and going to your My Account page. If you fail to cancel before the renewal date, your membership will be automatically renewed and you will be charged for the next year.
I did find a couple of interesting terms in the terms and conditions. Take a look at the following.
Spirit may, without prior notice, update guests’ credit card information via automatic account or billing updater programs offered by authorized third parties. Spirit may attempt to, but is not obligated to, notify current Members at the email address provided in the Member’s profile, prior to charging annual fees on any of Member’s credit card on file.
It is interesting to me that they can update your credit card information via automatic billing updated programs and that they are not obligated to notify you via your email when charging you annual fees.
So this just means that you need to be a little vigilant when canceling your membership and making sure you don’t get charged for a service that you are not using.
How do I join the $9 Fare Club?
You can join the Club by filling out the form at this webpage. The form will ask you to enter some basic information such as:
- Your name
- Date of birth
- Email address
You will then need to create a password and then enter in your contact information. You will need to enter your nearest airport and if you need help locating your home airport you can click here.
After that, input your billing information and you will be enrolled as a member.
You can also join when making your booking. Basically after you input your contact information for a booking, you should see a pop up for the $9 Fare club with an option to enroll.
Technically, you should already be a member of the FREE SPIRIT frequent flier program when you go to enroll. However, if you have not created an account, an account will be automatically created for you when you enroll in the $9 Fare club.
Is the $9 Fare Club worth it?
Whether or not the club is worth it is going to depend entirely on your travel patterns. In my opinion, it comes down to how often you are able to take advantage of the savings with baggage fees and also how often you can take advantage of the savings with airfare.
The savings with baggage fees are going to be more consistent since the airfare savings can be hit or miss. In the sections below, I’ll show you exactly how much you can expect to save and give you some points of comparison to help you decide whether or not the club would be worth it for yourself.
Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!
Baggage fees benefits
With the $9 Fare Club, you can often save $9 on baggage fees. I’ve listed price estimates for baggage fees below so you can see exactly how much you can potentially save with a membership to the $9 Fare Club. For more on Spirit baggage fees, click here.
Bag-o-Tron
Spirit has the Spirit “Bag-o-Tron” which allows you to view baggage fees for your prospective trip since the rate could fluctuate depending on your route.
But to save you some work, I’ve already pulled up an example of the fees for a flight from IAH to LAX. For other domestic flights your prices should be somewhere close to what is found below.
These prices below are for carry-on luggage. And you’ll notice that the price of the carry-on can change depending on when you pay for your luggage. If you think you’ll need a carry-on with Spirit you should absolutely make the effort to pay for it when booking. If you wait until longer, the prices will go up.
As an aside, airlines like United, Delta, and American, all allow you to bring in a carry-on for free with a standard economy ticket, so that’s just something to keep in mind when price shopping.
During Sprit.com Booking
- $9 Fare Club: $26
- Standard: $35
Before online check-in
- $9 Fare Club: $36
- Standard: $45
During online check-in
- $9 Fare Club: $36
- Standard: $45
Airport, group desk, reservation center
- $55
At gate
- $65
If you fly Spirit frequently, then you’re looking at $18 savings on roundtrips on a consistent basis. That is not bad but again consider that most airlines allows you to bring a carry-on bag onboard for free.
Checked baggage benefits
You can also save money on checked baggage fees with the $9 Fare Club. Just like with carry-ons, the savings are going to be $9, so again you’re looking at $18 in savings per roundtrip per bag that you check.
So for one carry-on and one checked bag, that’s $36 per flight that you’ll save. That means that with two roundtrip flights, you could potentially offset the entire cost of the $9 Fare Club with baggage savings alone.
I do think that the $9 Fare Club marketing is a little disingenuous when the claimant 50% discount, however.
That’s because they compare the price of purchasing your luggage during booking to the astronomical prices you would pay at the airport. For example, they state:
55% discount based on first checked bag at $9 Fare Club rate bought online before check-in compared with airport pricing.
Nevertheless, it does highlight the need to pay for your luggage as soon as possible.
Below are the price comparisons for the different rates for checked baggage fees.
During Sprit.com Booking
- 1st bag: $30
- $9 Fare Club: $21
- 2nd bag: $40
- $9 Fare Club: $31
- 3rd through 5th: $85
- $9 Fare Club: $76
Before online check-in
- 1st bag: $40
- $9 Fare Club: $31
- 2nd bag: $50
- $9 Fare Club: $41
- 3rd through 5th: $95
- $9 Fare Club: $86
During online check-in
- 1st bag: $40
- $9 Fare Club: $31
- 2nd bag: $50
- $9 Fare Club: $41
- 3rd through 5th: $95
- $9 Fare Club: $86
Airport, group desk, reservation center
- 1st bag: $50
- 2nd bag: $60
- 3rd through 5th: $100
At gate
- 1st bag: $65
- 2nd bag: N/A
- 3rd through 5th: N/A
As you can see, all across-the-board your savings will be $9.
Airfare savings
As a member of the $9 Fare Club, you’ll be able to save about $9 on special airfare rates (though sometimes even more like the $34 savings seen below).
Whenever you search for flights, you can spot the $9 Fare Club routes on either the weekly or monthly calendar view. Here’s a look at the weekly view — when you see the “9FC” yellow icon you know there’s a special rate. In this case, it was just under $9 worth of savings.
You can also utilize the monthly view. Take a look at the view below and you’ll notice that there’s only one eligible fare for the entire month.
My biggest issue with these savings is that they don’t always seem to be widely available, as shown above. That can make things difficult if you’re trying to get most of your value from the cheaper fares. So flexibility is definitely a big factor you want to consider when choosing to enroll.
If you are someone who has a lot of flexibility with choosing your flight dates then your odds of taking advantage of savings will be higher. But if your schedule tends to be less flexible than I’m not sure this will offer you savings when it comes to airfare.
Save with up to nine passengers!?
The savings can apply for you and up to eight additional passengers on the same itinerary. This is where some real value and savings can be had. If you’re traveling with a large family or just a large group you could potentially save a couple of hundred dollars depending on the airfare and all the baggage fees.
If everybody was saving on one carry on and one checked bag for a round trip flight, that’s $36 in savings per roundtrip. For nine people, that’s $324 in savings, so you could see how the savings could add up pretty quickly.
Therefore, if you are a family or someone who travels with large groups there is some serious value to be had with this program.
Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!
Spirit Airlines $9 Fare Club FAQ
Can I get a refund for the $9 Fare Club?No, members are not entitled to refunds.
How can I join the $9 Fare Club?
You can join the $9 Fare Club by filling out the form at this webpage.
The form will ask you to enter some basic information such as:
– Your name
– Date of birth
– Email addressHow much do you save with the $9 Fare Club?With the $9 Fare Club, you can often save $9 on baggage fees. In addition, you can save $9 or more on special airfare rates. I’ve seen special rates with savings of over $30 in some cases.
How many passengers can save with the $9 Fare Club?The savings can apply for you and up to eight additional passengers on the same itinerary.
If you’re traveling with a large family or just a large group you could potentially save a couple of hundred dollars depending on the airfare and all the baggage fees.Final word
So overall is it worth it? Well, if you plan on frequently flying with Spirit and taking carry-on items and checked bags with you, it can certainly be worth it. I think that the bulk of the value is in the baggage fee savings considering that those are offered on a far more consistent basis.
Cover photo by Prayitno via Flickr.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and creator of the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned full-time travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in major publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, US News, and Business Insider. Find his full bio here.
Is Spirit Airlines Safe? [2021]
Spirit Airlines is an ultra low-cost carrier and because of that they often find themselves to be the butt of many jokes. But aside from getting roasted on occasion, are there any real, data-supported concerns about flying Spirit Airlines?
In this article, I take a deep dive into the statistics and see what they tell us about Spirit Airlines. Some of the data might actually surprise you depending on where you stand with Spirit. But other data points might fall just where you would expect them to.
So keep reading below to find out if Spirit Airlines is a safe airline and how different safety factors compare that you might care about.
Is Spirit Airlines safe?
Yes, Spirit Airlines is certified by the FAA and generally a safe airline to fly on. However, there are multiple factors to consider when deciding how “safe” an airline actually is. Below, I’ll go over some of these factors including the statistics for fatal crashes, fleet overview, and pilot certification.
Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!
Fatal crashes
The number one safety factor usually on a travelers mind when flying a new airline is whether or not that airline has had any history of crashes.
You’ll be happy to find out that Spirit Airlines has had zero crashes since they started operating in 1992 (although technically Spirit Airlines has been around much longer than that).
Quick aside: You could date Spirit Airlines all the way back to 1964 when they started off as Clippert Trucking Company. They eventually pivoted in the 70s and 80s and became Charter One Airlines, which offered services to entertainment destinations such as Atlantic City and Las Vegas.
Charter One then changed its name to Spirit Airlines in 1992.
So Spirit has actually been around longer than you might have initially thought.
But back to fatal crashes….
Something to keep in mind is that fatal accidents are actually very rare on US airlines.
Looking at the data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), here are the number of fatal accidents recorded:
- 2010: 1
- 2011: 0
- 2012: 0
- 2013: 2
- 2014: 0
- 2015: 0
- 2016: 0
- 2017: 0
- 2018: 1
- 2019: 2
So as you can see according to the BTS, sometimes as many as four years will go by without a single fatal accident.
This is much lower than what we saw in the 90s where you would have a handful of fatal accidents almost every year. Because fatal accidents are extremely rare they are not really the best measurement for overall safety.
Instead, you might want to also consider other factors like the overall state of the fleet, pilot requirements, and on-time statistics. I will jump into each of these below.
Fleet
If you’re wondering about the fleet most likely if you fly Spirit Airlines you’ll be flying on one of the following:
- Airbus A319-100
- Airbus A320-200
- Airbus A320neo
- Airbus A321-200
You’ll be happy to know that the Airbus A320 has a great reputation for being a safe aircraft. The A319 also has a spotless flight record in terms of safety. So you can rest assured that Spirit Airlines is, for the most part, operating aircraft with proven records of passenger safety.
And to make matters better, Spirit Airlines has one of the younger fleets, meaning that they are not relying on outdated aircraft to transport passengers. So from a fleet perspective, Spirit Airlines looks pretty darn good.
(Spirit Airlines no longer operates the McDonnell Douglas MD or DCs, which we are all completely retired as of 2010.)
Pilots
Some of the minimum requirements to become a Spirit Airlines pilot include:
- 3,000 hours total time in fixed wing aircraft
- 1,000 hours in multi-engine aircraft
- Current FAA First Class Medical Certificate
- Current Unrestricted Airline Transport Pilot License
- FCC Radio Telephone Operator Permit
The average pay of a pilot for Spirit Airlines is not on par with other airlines like United and American. For example, in or around 2018 the average pay of a pilot for United Airlines was reportedly $272.41 but for Spirit it was $149.85. That’s a pretty big difference and some would say it’s an obvious indicator of the skill-level of the pilots.
Considering that according to the above linked source almost every other US airline paid their pilots more than Spirit, one could reasonably question if Spirit pilots are on the same level as those employed by the legacy carriers.
That brings up questions like whether or not Spirit pilots could handle an in-flight emergency as well as pilots from other airlines like Southwest or Delta. After all, would you offer the same level of trust to a physician that gets paid half the amount as another? Or would you not consider their pay to be an indicator of their skill level and experience?
Some would but others maybe wouldn’t since some skilled pilots might forgo higher pay for more desirable positions based on their personal needs.
Just something to think about.
On-time
When you are thinking about whether or not it is safe to book an airline, you’ll probably want to know how often they are on time.
Because while arriving in a safe fashion is expected, you also want to be able to make connections or get to where you need to be in a reasonable time. In 2020 Spirit Airlines ranked in the top 3 for on-time arrival percentage among major US carriers. That’s pretty impressive considering they beat out Airlines like Southwest, United, and Alaska.
That finding might make you really excited about flying Spirit Airlines. But you might want to curb your enthusiasm just a little bit after you check out the next section on cancellations.
Related: Free Spirit Travel More Companion Flight Voucher Guide
Cancellations
One of the recent issues with Spirit Airlines is that they experienced a huge wave of cancellations in the late summer of 2021. Things were so bad that in a single day 56% of operations were canceled. This disaster was compounded by the lack of interline agreements which would normally make it easier to book passengers on other airlines.
This could have been an isolated incident caused by the quick rebound in post-pandemic flight traffic since Spirit projected a much higher rebound than other airlines.
Or a problem like this could be indicative of logistical issues that could arise again so it’s definitely something to consider before booking a flight on Spirit Airlines.
Complaints and fines
Spirit Airlines has had its share of controversy in the past.
For example, they were fined $50,000 by the DOT for violating federal aviation laws and the Department’s rules prohibiting deceptive price advertising in air travel.
While the conduct was certainly not consumer friendly it wasn’t that bad. Essentially, Spirit Airlines used billboards and posters to advertise rates but relied on a small asterisk to convey that additional taxes, fees and conditions would apply.
There was also an issue with announcing nine dollar fares on Twitter and not being fully transparent on the amount of additional restrictions, taxes, and fees.
Incidents more closely related to safety involve fines for maintenance-related issues. For example, in 1999 Spirit Airlines was fined $86,000 for failing to inspect a jet within a required timeframe. And the next year they got hit with a $67,000 fine after the FAA found eight Spirit planes had signs that did not accurately reflect that seat cushions couldn’t float.
Spirit Airlines ran into some trouble from 2013 to 2015 with passenger complaints. In 2013, and again in 2015, the DOT received more passenger complaints about Spirit than any other airline.
Specifically in 2015, data from the DOT showed that 11.73 out of every 100,000 customers who flew Spirit complained about “some aspect of their experience.”
The industry’s overall rate was at 1.9 per 100,000 fliers so that was drastically above the industry average.
Another relevant factor here is conduct among passengers.
I struggled to find official data on passenger fights and disputes but Spirit Airlines is one of the airlines that has recently become infamous for passengers scuffles. Some of these have occurred at the check-in desk while others have took place in the terminals and even in-flight.
From a safety perspective you certainly might be better off avoiding minor confrontations with other passengers that could potentially escalate into something bigger when flying Spirit Airlines. But in some cases, such as in the plane, you may not really have anywhere to go to get away.
Coronavirus safety
Since we are still dealing with the reality of a pandemic a lot of people also wonder if Spirit Airlines is a safe airline to fly during coronavirus. According to one review, Spirit ranked near the bottom but it wasn’t focused purely on safety.
Spirit reports that they use two EPA-registered fogging treatments to disinfect their aircraft and high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters that “capture 99.97% of particles and filters the air for contaminants every 2-3 minutes.” Pretty standard practices for airlines these days. You can find out more about the coronavirus protocols they are taking here.
Why do people fly Spirit Airlines?
Now that you have heard the good and the bad, you might be asking why do people fly Spirit Airlines?
Spirit Airlines appeals to a lot of travelers because they offer a traveling experience on a budget.
You can find very cheap fares to destinations all around the US and even to places like the Caribbean. This is especially true if you are a member of the $9 Fare Club.
The drawback to flying with Spirit Airlines is that you will have to pay extra for things like carry-on items, seat assignments, and baggage fees can also be expensive.
The trick is to try to pay for these things as soon as possible such as whenever you make your booking online. If you wait until you arrive at the airport you could be spending a substantial amount more on these things. So just know what you are signing up for when you fly with Spirit.
Related: Spirit Airlines Pet Policy Guide
Final word
Overall, Spirit Airlines is a safe airline just like any other major US carrier. If you are worried about crashing, chances are your worries are over blown. Spirit has had some issues with customer complaints and cancellations but things have calmed down overtime.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and creator of the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned full-time travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in major publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, US News, and Business Insider. Find his full bio here.
Free Spirit Travel More Companion Flight Voucher Guide [2021]
Many different credit cards offer special companion fares that allow a companion to fly for free or at a discount. Some of these are issued automatically and others require a certain amount of spend to earn.
The Free Spirit MasterCard is one of these that offers you a discounted companion fare every year so long as you meet the minimum spend requirement. In this article, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about the companion voucher.
What is the Free Spirit Travel More companion voucher?
The companion voucher is a recurring benefit offered to Free Spirit Travel More World Elite Mastercard holders who spend at least $5,000 in an anniversary year. This allows you to receive a $100 discount on a companion ticket every year.
Note that this works very different from the Alaska Airlines Visa Credit Card — another type of companion fare issued by Bank of America.
That companion ticket will cover the cost of a companion ticket so long as you pay the $99 fee and cover the additional fees and taxes. (Sometimes the $99 fee requirement is waived.)
This is a major difference because with a companion fare like the one attached to the Alaska card, you can get several hundred dollars in value.
But this companion benefit is limited to a $100 discount. It almost works in the opposite fashion so don’t get confused by that.
Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!
Is the companion voucher worth it?
In order to receive the benefit, you’ll have to spend $5,000 in your anniversary year.
$5,000 is a pretty low spend requirement for an annual bonus as they typically require much higher spend, often starting around $15,000 to $20,000 a year. Some even go as high as $75,000 plus!
So the spend requirement for this perk is very low.
The value of this benefit maxes out at $100 since it does not offer you a free fare, so it makes calculating your value proposition very easy.
The annual fee for the Free Spirit MasterCard is $79 so a single use of this discount allows you to come out on top in terms of value which can make this credit card a keeper.
And that is without factoring in the use of other card benefits like the priority boarding, 25% rebate on in-flight purchases, etc.
The big thing to keep in mind is the opportunity cost here, though.
You could always put $5,000 worth of spend to a welcome bonus requirement for a much more lucrative reward.
For example, if you were to spend $4,000 to earn something like a 60,000 point bonus of Chase Ultimate Rewards, that could easily net you over $700 in travel.
So you could spend less and receive much more in value (like 7X or more). However, that would require opening up a new credit card account and not everybody is always in the market for doing that.
So, if you regularly spend over $5,000 on this card then getting a $100 discount is a nice perk, especially if you have plans to regularly fly with Spirit every year.
Related: The Spirit Airlines $9 Fare Club Benefits Review: Worth It?
Arrival time
If your account is open with active charging privileges on your account anniversary date, you will receive the companion voucher code via email within the first billing cycle after the anniversary each year.
Because this is such a new benefit, we don’t have data on exactly how long this benefit takes to arrive.
Restrictions
Eligible credit card
In order to receive the benefit, your primary fare and the companion fare must be purchased with your Free Spirit MasterCard.
(You’ll also receive 3X the points on your airfare so there is an extra incentive to use your card for your ticket.)
The traveling guest must be on the same itinerary and the booking must take place at the same time directly on Spirit.com.
Expiration
You must use your companion flight voucher code within 12 months of the date of issue.
The great thing about this benefit is that the travel may be completed after the expiration date of the voucher code.
Unfortunately, your expiration date cannot be extended and once the voucher code has expired, it cannot be exchanged.
If for some reason your credit card is closed or you cancel your credit card, you will no longer be eligible to receive the benefit.
You also can not use this code on award to travel, vacation packages, or tours nor can you combine it with other airfare discounts.
Once you have met the minimum spend requirement for the benefit and after your anniversary date passes, you will receive your voucher code via email to the email address associated with the primary card holder’s account.
If for some reason you do not receive it, simply call the customer service number on the back of your credit card to get it re-sent.
It is possible that the terms may have more restrictions such as blackout dates or routing rules.
However, as I mentioned this is such a new benefit that we will have to wait until we get more data on the terms and how those terms are applied.
Final word
Overall, this is a somewhat mediocre benefit but it’s a great way to offset your entire annual fee if you hold his card. For someone who regularly flies with Spirit, I think it makes sense to take advantage of this benefit.
Cover Photo: Wikipedia
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and creator of the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned full-time travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in major publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, US News, and Business Insider. Find his full bio here.
Spirit Airlines Flight Change and Cancellation Guide [2020]
Spirit Airlines is known as the Ryanair of all the US carriers. It is very à la carte, and that comes in handy when you just want or need something basic. But it also means you’ll be dealing with fees, and the fees might be a little different than other airlines like Southwest or Alaska.
In this article, I will go over the 24 hour free refund and change policy, Flex Flight, and fees for changing or canceling a Spirit flight. I also cover the new coronavirus policy.
Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!
Spirit Airlines flight change policy
It’s common to have change fees as not every airline is like Southwest Airlines that has no change fees. Most airlines are like Delta Airlines that typically have expensive change fees. Spirit, on the other hand, has change fees that aren’t too expensive compared to other airlines.
Time period Regular ticket Flight Flex Award ticket Within 24 hours after initial purchase (made 7 or more days before departure) Free Free Free After 24 hours of initial purchase (made 7 or more days before departure) $90 online ($100 phone or airport modifications) Free once online $110 Within 24 hours after initial purchase (made less than 7 or more days before departure) $90 online ($100 phone or airport modifications) Free once online $110 After 24 hours of initial purchase (made less than 7 or more days before departure) $90 online ($100 phone or airport modifications) Free once online $110 Within 24 hours of departure $99 for standby earlier flight $99 for standby earlier flight N/A Do note, Flex Flight tickets are regular tickets but with the extra perk called Flex Flight which you can add on for $35 to $45 at the time of booking as an extra for a free one time change made online. However, the Flex Flight extra doesn’t mean it’s a refundable ticket making Flex Flight tickets subject to cancellation fees.
24-Hour risk-free Cancellation/Change
Tickets purchased 7 days (168 hours) or more before the scheduled departure date are eligible for free changes and cancellations within 24 hours of the flight purchase date. Spirit holds the ticket for 24 hours and then charges you once the 24 hours are up. Therefore, your purchase will post to your credit card statement with a 24-hour delay. However, Spirit will hold the funds on your credit card.
Tickets purchased less than 7 days (168 hours) before the scheduled departure date aren’t eligible for free changes or cancellations.
This could give you a little more than 24 hours to change or cancel your ticket made directly through Spirit, only if you booked your flight 7 days or more before the departure date. Tickets made through travel agencies like Expedia, Priceline, Orbits, etc. will have to go through the travel agency’s 24 hour change and cancellation policy.
Prices
Fees will be per passenger for the whole itinerary unless noted.
Regular tickets change fees are $90 for modifications made online or $100 for modifications made at the airport or over the phone. Same-day flight changes, aka standby for an earlier flight, will be $99.
Flex Flight tickets have no change fees for the first modification made online, but after the first modification, you will have the standard change fee of $90 for modifications made online or $100 made at the airport or over the phone.
Award ticket change fee is $110 for modifications. Modifications can only be done over the phone.
Deadline
Regular ticket changes must be made within 24 hours of the initial purchase date to be free, but that only applies to tickets purchased greater than 7 days (168 hours) or more before the scheduled departure date. If the ticket is purchased less than 7 days (168 hours) of the scheduled departure or 24 hours or more passed from the time of purchase, you will be subject to change fees. Changes made within 24 hours of departure will be subject to standby fees.
For Flex Flight tickets, the one-time free change made online can be made until 24 hours before the time of departure. Changes made within 24 hours will be subject to standby fees.
Award ticket changes must be made within 24 hours from the initial purchase date to be free, but that only applies to tickets purchased greater than 7 days (168 hours) or more before the scheduled departure date. If the ticket is purchased less than 7 days (168 hours) from the scheduled departure or 24 hours or more passed from the time of purchase, you will be subject to change fees.
Price changes
Flight changes will be subjected to price differences if the value of the new ticket is higher than the original. No matter if you have a refundable or non-refundable ticket, you will have to pay the difference in ticket value. For ticket values that are less in price than the original ticket value, you will receive a credit for a future flight called Future Travel Credit.
For example, if you hold a Flex Flight ticket that originally cost $500 and change the flight to one that now costs $400, you will be refunded $100. However, if you change the flight that costs $600, you will be charged $100 since the value of the new ticket is higher. (The same concept applies to regular tickets, but you have to take into account the change fees.)
Related: Spirit Airlines World Mastercard review
Spirit Airlines cancellation and refund policy
Spirit Airlines cancellation fees are the same price as their change fees. However, Spirit doesn’t sell any refundable tickets making all tickets non-refundable outside of their 24-hour cancellation policy.
Time period Regular ticket Flight Flex Award ticket Within 24 hours after initial purchase (made 7 or more days before departure) Free Free Free After 24 hours of initial purchase (made 7 or more days before departure) $90 online ($100 phone or airport cancellations) $90 online ($100 phone or airport cancellations) $110 Within 24 hours after initial purchase (made less than 7 or more days before departure) $90 online ($100 phone or airport cancellations) $90 online ($100 phone or airport cancellations) $110 After 24 hours of initial purchase (made less than 7 or more days before departure) $90 online ($100 phone or airport cancellations) $90 online ($100 phone or airport cancellations) $110 24-Hour risk-free Cancellation/Change
Tickets purchased 7 days (168 hours) or more before the scheduled departure date are eligible for free changes and cancellations within 24 hours of the flight purchase date. Spirit holds the ticket for 24 hours and then charges you once the 24 hours are up. Therefore, your purchase will post to your credit card statement with a 24-hour delay. However, Spirit will hold the funds on your credit card.
Tickets purchased less than 7 days (168 hours) before scheduled departure date aren’t eligible for free changes or cancellations.
This could give you a little more than 24 hours to change or cancel your ticket made directly through Spirit, only if you booked your flight 7 days or more before the departure date. Tickets made through travel agencies like Expedia, Priceline, Orbits, etc. will have to go through the travel agency’s 24 hours change and cancellation policy.
Prices
Fees will be per passenger for the whole itinerary unless noted.
Regular ticket cancellation fees are $90 for cancellations made online or $100 for cancellations made at the airport or over the phone.
Flex Flight ticket cancellation fees are $90 for cancellations made online or $100 made at the airport or over the phone.
Award ticket cancellation fees are $110 for cancellations. Cancellations can only be done over the phone.
Deadline
Regular tickets and Flex Flight tickets cancellations must be made within 24 hours of the initial purchase date to be free, but that only applies to tickets purchased greater than 7 days (168 hours) or more before the scheduled departure date. If the ticket is purchased less than 7 days (168 hours) of the scheduled departure or 24 hours or more passed of the time of purchase, you will be subject to cancellation fees.
Award ticket cancellations must be made within 24 hours of the initial purchase date to be free, but that only applies to tickets purchased greater than 7 days (168 hours) or more before the scheduled departure date. If the ticket is purchased less than 7 days (168 hours) of the scheduled departure or 24 hours or more passed of the time of purchase, you will be subject to cancellation fees.
Refunds
Regular tickets and Flex Flight tickets refunds are issued as a credit, or also known as Future Travel Credit. Therefore, you can only use it with Spirit Airlines, and for the passenger the credit was issued for.
Award ticket miles would be re-deposited back into your account and any fees charged at booking will be refunded if you’re eligible.
No show and missed flights
Spirit doesn’t have an official no show policy, which means if you don’t show up for your flight, your ticket is gone and cannot be used ever again. You will not get any credit back from the ticket, or you will not get another ticket for a later flight.
Coronavirus 2020 update
Spirit is currently waiving all change and cancellation fees for Guests who book travel by December 31, 2020. All Guests will receive a full purchase price reservation credit to be used on future travel.
Spirit will allow customers to make a one-time free modification (fare difference applies) by contacting Spirit Guest Care at 1 855 SAVE-555 (1 855 728-3555).
Alternatively, Guests who must alter their travel plans due to COVID-19 have the option to receive a reservation credit for the full value of their reservation.
This reservation credit can be used for up to 6 months to book any flight currently available (including beyond the 6-month time-frame), and it can be used toward flights as well as other options (excluding 3rd party products).
To cancel your reservation and claim your 6 month Reservation Credit, please fill out the form here.
Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!
Spirit Airlines standby for earlier flight
If you arrive early at the airport and want to catch an earlier Spirit flight, you can pay $99 to go on standby for the earlier flight. You won’t have to pay the fee unless you clear standby and get a seat on the earlier flight.
This applies to all tickets, besides award tickets using miles.
Same-day changes are subject to availability for seats in the same cabin. Doing same-day changes won’t always work.
For example, changing to earlier flights aren’t possible all the time as there might not be an earlier flight or no seats available. However, if there are multiple flights from the airport and you want to change to an earlier flight, the chances are better, especially on less business traveled days.
I recommend checking how many seats are available on earlier flights.
The good thing about same-day changes is the fact that you will only be charged the fee if you get a seat. If there is no availability, you won’t be charged for being on same-day standby.
How to change a Spirit flight online
Select “my trips” from the top or on the homepage.
Once it shows “manage travel”, you will fill in the boxes labeled “traveler’s last name” and “confirmation code”. After that, select “continue” to be brought to your flight’s itinerary.
On the reservation summary page, you will find “make changes” allowing you to make modifications to your reservation. Select “make changes” to continue.
A popup will appear on your webpage. Select “edit”, and it will allow you to customize the departure airport, arrival airport, and date. Select “continue” to see flight results for your new itinerary.
It will then sort the flights from least to most expensive in fare difference. If there is a fare that is less than your current one, it will show as a negative price difference.
Once you select your fare and extras, you will be directed to the purchase page. It will show all information regarding fees, total due, or total refunded/credited.
Since I am changing my flight within 24 hours of my purchase and greater than 7 days before departure, I am eligible for no change fees.
You will instantly receive an email confirming the changes, and the changes will also show up in your reservation summary.
How to cancel a Spirit flight online
Select “my trips” from the top or on the homepage.
Once it shows “manage travel”, you will fill in the boxes labeled “traveler’s last name” and “confirmation code”. After that, select “continue” to be brought to your flight’s itinerary.
On the reservation summary page, you will find “cancel reservation” allowing you to cancel your itinerary and get a Future Travel Credit or refund. Select “cancel reservation” to continue.
On the “cancel reservation” page, you will find out how much money you are refunded along with any fees associated with canceling.
Since I am canceling my flight within 24 hours of my purchase and greater than 7 days before departure, I am eligible for no cancellation fees.
You will instantly receive an email with the cancellation confirmation.
Canceling or changing a Spirit flight on the phone
You can make changes or cancel a flight over the phone with Spirit Airlines for an extra fee of $10.
- Reservations phone number: +1 801-401-2222
- Assistance for the hearing impaired: 711
- Spirit Vacations Mon-Fri 8:00am – 10:00pm, Sat-Sun 9am – 5:30pm EST: +1 954-698-0125
How to get Spirit fees waived
Spirit waiving fees are as rare as getting a steak cooked correctly in economy class on a plane. Meaning, it’s not so common to get fees waived on Spirit. Even if an immediate family member died, Spirit does not issue a fee waiver.
Spirit does have Flex Flight as an extra for your ticket.
Flex Flight
Flex Flight converts a regular ticket on Spirit into a one-time free change. Flex Flight costs anywhere between $35 to $45 to add-on to one ticket. It allows you to change the ticket, not cancel, up to 24 hours before departure.
Of course, $45 is harder to swallow than $0, but it’s less than $90 if you didn’t add-on this extra. So, if you know that you need some flexibility in terms of being able to change your itinerary, this might be ideal. (Do note, you are still liable to pay in the difference in fare.)
Third-party ticket change or cancel
If you bought your flight through a travel agency like Expedia and want to change/cancel the ticket. Then, additional fees may apply. The third-party ticketer might charge an extra fee. I recommend always booking with the airline directly unless a third-party agency has a better price with no added fees.
Additional Spirit Airlines tips
For those who travel Spirit frequently, you might be aware of Spirit’s $9 Fare Club. It is a program that allows you to save on baggage regularly and sometimes save tons on fares with Spirit. Daniel wrote an excellent article investigating how worthwhile Spirit Airlines $9 Fare Club could be.
To learn more about baggage, read our article here.
Final word
Spirit fares can be cheap, but the fees can be a little too pricy in retrospect to their fares. I hope this article helped you understand the fee structure behind Spirit Airlines change and cancellation policy.
This article was originally published by Steve Smith.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and creator of the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned full-time travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in major publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, US News, and Business Insider. Find his full bio here.
Spirit Airlines World Mastercard Review [2020]
If you are interested in flying on low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines, you might also be interested in learning more about the Spirit Airlines World Mastercard.
It’s an interesting card with its unique bonus earning category but it doesn’t offer a wide range of benefits that you typically expect to see on a co-branded airline card.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Spirit Airlines World Mastercard.
Spirit Airlines World Mastercard overview
- 2X on everything
- 5,000 point anniversary bonus
- Priority boarding
- Reduced redemption prices
Welcome bonus
The bonus for the Spirit Airlines World Mastercard may come in different forms depending on when you apply.
A common offer is for 15,000 bonus miles after you use your card to make just one purchase and then the option to earn 15,000 additional miles if you make $500 worth of purchases within the first 90 days of opening up your account.
Since you only have to make one purchase and spend an additional $500 for the whole bonus, this is a very easy to obtain welcome bonus.
Spirit Airlines has a region based award chart that also changes based on the timing of your booking.
There are four different regions and three different rates of awards which include off-peak, standard, and peak.
The great thing about this card is that off-peak awards are available exclusively to cardholders who book the redemption flights using their Spirit Airlines World Mastercard.
You can find off-peak awards for region one starting at only 2,500 miles.
If you are wondering what you can do with 30,000 miles, take a look at the chart below which breaks down some of the redemption prices for Spirit Airlines.
Route Miles Price Cash Price CPP Atlanta, GA (ATL) to Aruba (AUA) 27,500 (+ $15.60) $196.58 .66 Los Angeles, CA (LAX) to Baltimore, MD (BWI) 37,500 (+ $5.60) $87.09 .22 Denver, CO (DEN) to Detroit, MI (DTW) 25,000 (+ $5.60) $51.39 .18 Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL) to Lima, Peru (LIM) 45,000 (+ $35.60) $196.09 .36 Orlando, FL (MCO) to Guatemala City, Guatemala (GUA) 25,000 (+ $5.60) $81.14 .30 New Orleans, LA (MSY) to Las Vegas, NV (LAS) 27,500 (+ $5.60) $91.09 .31 Oakland, CA (OAK) to Houston, TX (IAH) 27,500 (+ $5.60) $115.88 .40 Tip: If you want to save on Spirit Airlines tickets, consider signing up for the $9 Fare Club.
Bank of America application rules
Below are the application rules you need to consider.
You can’t get approved for more than:
- Two new BOA cards in a 30 day period
- Three new BOA cards in a 12 month period
- Four new BOA cards in a 24 month period
Here are more rules:
- Applicants with a BOA deposit account will not be approved if they have opened seven or more credit cards in the past 12 months.
- Applicants without a BOA deposit account will not be approved if they have opened three or more credit cards in the past 12 months
So there are a lot of rules to keep in mind when going for this card. I just suggest for you to use the free app WalletFlo so that you can automate your eligibility for credit cards and boost your approval odds!
Bonus categories
- 2X on everything
Earning 2X on a co-branded airline credit card for airline purchases is the standard.
However, with this card you can earn 2X on all of your every day purchases.
So that is a significant upgrade compared to most other airline cards but the problem is that Spirit miles are not worth as much as other as other airlines.
Many people value Spirit Airline miles around .4 cents per point, though as you can tell by the chart below that value can change.
At a valuation of .4 cents per mile, 2X comes out to about .8% back which just is not competitive.
You would be much better off using a card like the Chase Freedom Unlimited for every day purchases which earns 1.5X on all purchases.
And you will definitely be better off with other cards when it comes to bonus category spend.
I would much rather put my airline purchases on a card like the Platinum Card that earns 5X on airfare which comes out to a much more valuable earning great.
Tip: Check out the free app WalletFlo so that you can optimize your credit card spend by seeing the best card to use! You can also track credits, annual fees, and get notifications when you’re eligible for the best cards!
Spirit Airlines travel benefits
One of the major drawbacks to this card is that it does not offer many benefits at all.
5,000 anniversary bonus miles
Whenever you spend $10,000 in purchases in a year, you’ll be given 5,000 anniversary bonus Spirit miles.
This perk is not that attractive because it requires a hefty amount of spend at $10,000.
Again, if you value the miles at .4 cents per point then getting 5,000 bonus miles would amount to under $25 in value.
Consider that you could put $15,000 worth of spend on a card like the Hilton Surpass and get issued a free weekend night that could be worth over $1,000.
It quickly becomes clear that this bonus perk is just not that special.
Something else to consider is that some other airline credit cards simply give you an automatic bonus each year, regardless of how much you spend.
ZONE 2 Priority Boarding
Cardholders will receive zone two priority boarding whenever they use their Spirit Airlines MasterCard to purchase tickets or by simply showing their MasterCard at the gate upon boarding.
This really is the only true airline perk offered by this card so it’s nice to have something.
Getting to board in zone two should make it much easier to secure overhead storage bin space so there is some value in this perk.
Free Spirit Dining Rewards
Your card will be automatically enrolled in the Free Spirit Dining Rewards.
This is a program that allows you to earn at least 1 mile for every two dollars spent at participating restaurants. You can check here for a full list of participating restaurants and how to increase your earning rates.
It’s nice that they automatically enroll you but this perk is available to people who don’t have the Spirit Airlines MasterCard so it’s really not that special.
Reduced award flight redemption levels
As stated above, you can get access to reduced award flight redemption levels which can be as low as 2,500 miles for off-peak awards.
If you can regularly take advantage of these low rates, you might be able to extract a lot more value from this card than others.
Spirit Airlines World Mastercard FAQ
Does the Spirit Airlines World Mastercard offer elite status?No, you will not be granted elite status with this credit card.
Do you get free checked baggage with the Spirit Airlines World Mastercard?No, you will not be offered free checked baggage as a cardmember. To find out more about the Spirit Airlines baggage policy click here.
What is the annual fee?The annual fee is $59 and it is often waived the first year.
Does the Spirit Airlines World Mastercard have foreign transaction fees?No, the Spirit Airlines World Mastercard does not have any foreign transaction fees.
Final word
Overall, the Spirit Airlines World Mastercard is not the most impressive airline credit card. I like that it earns 2X miles on all purchases but those miles are just not very valuable which hurts the value proposition.
It’s nice that you have access to cheap or awards but there are other perks that seem to be missing like Free checked baggage.
Cover photo by Prayitno via Flickr.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and creator of the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned full-time travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in major publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, US News, and Business Insider. Find his full bio here.
