Should You Fly Spirit Airlines? (5 Things to Know)

Thinking about flying Spirit? I just got back from my first ever Spirit Airlines flight and had a really positive experience! Here's my full Spirit Airlines Review with 5 things I learned that you should know before booking your flight. Click “Show More” to see Ad Disclosure.Show more

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With all the ‘Spirit Airlines Be Like’ videos and negative press that the airline gets, I thought I’d write about my positive experience flying the airline for the first time!

I initially had a round-trip flight booked from OAK airport to SNA airport on Southwest Airlines. However, the major operational meltdown during the week of December 26-30 caused my flight to get canceled.

So, since Spirit Airlines also offers nonstop flights from OAK to SNA, I decided to give it a go! Here are 5 things I learned about Spirit:

1. Spirit Airlines is an ultra-low-cost carrier. That means you’re paying for airfare and THAT’S IT! Everything else costs extra and prices usually go up the longer you wait (and the heavier the bag). For that reason, set your expectations, plan what you need, and pay for all the incidental charges you want upfront during the booking process (or you’ll pay more at the airport).

2. Spirit Airlines has an 8-step booking process. Each step along the way allows you to add additional items to customize your itinerary. Here are the steps:

a. Search For a Flight. You’ll see 2 prices, Standard and Savers Club. The Spirit Savers Club is an annual membership offering discounts on flights, bags, seats, and more. Furthermore, you can pay for your flight in dollars (i.e. cash), points, or a combination of points and cash.

b. Pick a Bundle. This is where you can save money by grouping perks together like: picking your seat, purchasing shortcut boarding, adding a checked bag and/or a carry-on bag, and adding Spirit Flight Flex, which allows you to modify your flight once for free (minus fare differences).

c. Enter Passenger Info. This is a standard flow that you’ll experience with other airlines.

d. Select Bag Options. 1 personal item is always included. If you purchase a carry-on bag, you’ll also receive Zone 1 boarding. Be sure to comply with the carry-on and checked bag size and weight restrictions.

e. Choose Seats. The Spirit Airlines Big Front Seat is kind of like a first class seat but without first class amenities / service. It offers more leg room, a wider seat, more comfortable padding, and a location at the front of the plane. The Premium Seats are located in the emergency exit row and offer more leg room. The Standard seats are located throughout the cabin.

f. Choose Options. This step includes adding things like inflight wi-fi, Spirit Flight Flex, Skip Through Security, and Get On Board Faster with Zone 2 boarding.

g-h. Pay & Confirm. You can also add insurance at this step (and PayPal is a payment method).

3. The Spirit Airlines Mobile App Is AWESOME! It’s got all the essential functions you’ll need to manage your trips, book new flights, and manage your account. Get it!

4. The Spirit Airlines loyalty program is called Free Spirit. There are 2 Tiers (Silver Members and Gold Members, each of which can help you waive a lot of the fees you’d normally pay. There’s also the Spirit Airlines credit card (Free Spirit Travel More World Elite Mastercard) issued by Bank of America to help you earn even faster.

5. It’s Not All Perfect :D The seatback pocket isn’t really a pocket (and there's no seat-back entertainment), the standard seat comfort is just ok, bag check in lines can get very long (so arrive early), and there are no free snacks or beverage service.

Disclosure: This site is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. The content in this video is accurate as of the posting date. Some of the offers mentioned may no longer be available. Mark Reese is not a financial advisor.

#spiritairlines #howtotravel #budgettravel