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Spirit Airlines has never been a byword for luxury. Or comfort. Or…any additional perks, really. That said, the airline that’s famous for rock-bottom prices and copious ancillary fees has been making in-roads towards more traditional operations of late is it recently announced the addition of premium seating and fare bundles that loosely-approximate to most carriers basic economy, main cabin and premium fare classes.
Now the airline is adding some additional bennies for members of its Free Spirit rewards program: Gold members now receive free internet on all wifi-enabled flights and, just as noteworthy, Spirit is removing its irritating close-in award redemption fee for all Free Spirit members. Previously, award redemptions that were within 28 days of departure had a $50 fee added to them – sometimes almost equivalent to the cash fare of the flight. Up ’til now, only elites and cardholders had that fee waived; now it’s being removed for everyone.
In addition to those changes, Spirit is also giving double points to all members who book Go Big or Go Comfy premium tickets by 12/31/24 and flown through the end of 2025.
What’s Happened
- Free Spirit Gold members now get free internet on all wifi-enabled Spirit flights.
- The close-in redemption fee of $50 has been removed for all Free Spirit members.
- In addition, for flights booked by 12/31/24 and flown by 12/31/25, Free Spirit members will receive double points on the airlines’ Go Big and Go Comfy premium seating classes.
Quick Thoughts
What’s the world coming to, anyway? Southwest is assigning seats, JetBlue is opening business class lounges and now Spirit is selling first class tickets and giving free WiFi to all of its Gold members. And it’s actually removing a fee?
It’s good to see Spirit ditching that the $50 close-in booking fee, as it sometimes made it silly to redeem points for flights within the 28-day window since the difference between the cash fare and the $50 fee wouldn’t be worth spending the points. Although it takes away a key benefit from Spirit credit card holders, it makes Free Spirit points much more attractive in my opinion.
Go Big and Go Comfy roughly correspond to domestic first and domestic premium. Go Big gets you the Big Front Seat, free wifi, free drinks and snacks and bags; while Go Comfy gives you an aisle or window seat with the middle blocked for more space – and you can only indulge in one free non-alcoholic drink and one free snack. Go Big pricing can be very competitive in some instances, making it tempting as a cash fare…I recently booked one from Indianapolis to Las Vegas and the Go Big price was only about $20 more than what other airlines were charging for regular economy. Earning double points will make them just a little more tempting.
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Last year when Spirit ran the paid status match promo to Gold (matched to even hotel status) P2 and I reluctantly bought it – when it worked it was great value, but also ended up having our flight delayed or cancelled 2 out of the 6 times we flew and they refused to compensate, we lost a paid hotel night, wrench in our plans. Still, Gold meant I could book a $40 fare, pick exit row seats, check a bag AND take a carry-on – which is good value.
If I’d fly Spirit at least 4 times a year, paying for the status match or their credit card (and burning a 5/24) might look enticing, but I’m questioning myself, if I would pick Spirit for my family trip next time.
Also, considering the combination of their low fares and rate-based earning of miles and them being infamous for their service, are there people who fly Spirit enough to earn Gold by flying?
I avoided spirit for about a decade after being stuck in IAH for about eight hours on flying from SFO to SJO. However my most recent experience from OAK to SAN was quite nice. The go big package was half the price of Southwest and included free drinks, a snack and checked bag.
I’ll definitely consider Spirit in the future but still hesitant to use them on an itinerary with a connection. Glad I gave them a second chance.
the close-in redemption fee was removed 8/14/24. pleasant surprise.
now they need to make the points expiry longer than 18 months. preferably never expire like other US carriers
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