Spirit is known for its cheaper tickets and reference to being an “airbus” rather than a traditional airline.
If you’re looking to book a trip within the United States, there are some amazing deals on flights you can find through Spirit. On top of their already low prices, there are plenty of additional saving tips to book the cheapest flight possible.
1. Buy Your Ticket at the Airport
You’re probably thinking, “that’s so old-fashioned!” I know, but it can save you a ton with this airline. This is all broken down in the blog, One Mile at a Time. For a one-way ticket, you could save about $19 and for a round trip, you could save $38.
These savings could easily add up if you’re planning on taking a family trip, so it’s worth it to hold off buying until you get to the airport.
This is made possible because Spirit charges a “passenger usage fee” as a tax for buying through their site.
This fee is waived when you buy your ticket in person. If you live near the airport, consider driving up to buy your ticket or even wait until the day of your trip and buy as you arrive.
2. Bring a Personal Item Only
If you can, try and fit all of your travel clothes, toiletries, etc. into a personal item bag. This bag is completely free to take on the flight and can be the size of a large purse or small backpack at 18”x14”x8”.
If you check a bag larger than this, make sure to buy the cost of it at the same time as you buy the plane ticket. If you wait until you’re at the gate, you can be charged massive fees, up to $100. That fee will quickly cancel out your savings on the flight if you’re not careful.
3. Bring Your Own Food and Drink
Unlike other airlines, Spirit doesn’t give out complimentary snacks or drinks. Everything on the food and drink menu will cost you money. Save by bringing your own snacks into the airport and filling up a reusable water bottle before you board your flight.
Then when you’re on the flight, don’t even look at the menu. Avoid the temptation to buy entirely.
4. Join the Spirit Saver$ Club
The Spirit Saver membership is great to have if you’re an active flyer. The membership costs you an initial $60 upfront.
However, members save an average of $75 on flights, have exclusive deals, save 50% on checked baggage, and much more. This initial investment will save you a ton in the long run.
5. Check-in Online
Make sure to check-in for your flight online. If you decide to check-in at the airport and have an agent print your ticket, it will come with a $10 service fee. Self-serve check-in at the kiosks is also free and easy to use. Save that extra $10 by going virtual.
6. Find a Deal
Spirit constantly has great deals on its page if you’re flexible with dates or locations. At the top right-hand corner of their homepage is a “deals” tab. Click here for coupon codes that will help you save big. Stack this with the other tips from this article and you can get a cross-country trip for about the price of a bus ticket.
The deals page typically has promo codes that are active for certain dates or alerts about the cheapest one-way and round-trip locations and dates. Spirit does the hard work for you and allows you to easily rack up all the savings.
7. Sign Up for Emails
Another way to see constant savings is by signing up for emails from Spirit airlines. All of their various coupon codes will be sent directly to your inbox, where you can see what deals match your budget and timeline.
8. Fly out of Fort Lauderdale
Spirit’s home base is Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Constant flights operate in and out of this airport. If you plan to travel to Central or South America you can find the cheapest connecting flights by first flying to Fort Lauderdale.
Even consider flying with a different airline to Fort Lauderdale and then switch over to Spirit. This is a good idea if the airport near you doesn’t offer Spirit flights.
9. Check Flights Online and in the App
Spirit’s flights on their app for Apple and Google products and on a traditional web browser won’t always add up. Sometimes one or the other is cheaper. Check both before buying your ticket. You can end up getting the same flight using either purchasing method but save a bit more with one over the other.
10. Try Using Promo Codes After the End Date
Use our promo codes and deals page to find deals specific to Spirit Airlines. Some major promos, like Spirit’s 99% off code, will last only a few days or hours. It’s easy to miss out on if you’re away from your email when they send out these special deals. However, sometimes the website will allow you to still use these promo codes after the sale has technically ended.
This isn’t a guaranteed deal to happen. However, it’s worth a shot. Also, only do this from the Spirit website. The app and other third parties are guaranteed to not accept the promo code after the end date.
11. Snatch a Bundled Deal
Spirit has a deal called “Bundle it” on certain flight routes. If you plan to travel with luggage, these bundled deals can save you a pretty penny and give you some extra perks, like shortcut boarding, as well.
A good way to check for a bundled deal is to look up your flight through one-way trips to your destination and back. Since the bundled deals aren’t on every flight route, there’s a good chance one way will allow you to bundle, but the other won’t. This can end up saving you more than if you stuck with a round-trip ticket and no bundled deals.
12. Book Your Ticket Through Spirit’s Site
Many third-party sites, like Skyscanner, are great for finding which airline has the cheapest flight for your route of travel.
However, these sites also mark up the prices by a little to make a profit off of your purchase. It’s totally fine to check what flights are the cheapest through these third-party sites, but then transition over to the Spirit homepage.
Of course, we recommend buying at the airport for the best deal, as stated earlier. However, if you have to buy online, you’ll find the best deal on the airline’s flight if you directly purchase through the app or Spirit homepage. Avoid third-party sites for direct purchase.
13. Buy an Airline Specific Bag
Remember how we talked about being able to bring on a personal item for free on Spirit? To maximize the amount of luggage you can bring on, buy a bag that is specifically designed to meet the size requirements of the airline.
This also avoids guessing if your personal item is the correct size or not for the airline. This can land you with an extra cost of around $100 if you’re not careful.
This bag on Amazon is specifically designed for use as a personal item on Spirit and other airlines with similar size requirements. Because it’s designed to maximize space, you can fit more things in than with a traditional personal item. Personal item bags don’t have to be small!
14. Use Packing Cubes
Along with the tip above, use storage packing cubes to organize the contents of your bag neatly and make the most out of the space you have. You can even find packing cubes that collapse to half their size with a compression zipper. This means you can travel with all your essentials while still saving money on luggage. Plus, it’s easier to travel with a small backpack than a large suitcase.
15. Download Entertainment Ahead of Time
Some Spirit flights are beginning to offer Wi-Fi. However, this is a gamble as to if your particular flight will have this option. Also, it will come with a fee. To avoid this and not get too bored on the flight, download your movies, music, and games ahead of time or bring a book on the flight to entertain yourself.
Conclusion
Never break the bank on a flight with Spirit Airlines. Travelling and vacations should be a part of your life, and savings on your next trip always help with the push to take that trip.
Use any of these tips the next time you go to book a flight. Whether bundled together, or used separately, these tips can help you save big time!
Look up more discount tips on your other favorite stores and companies, through our site. Also, comment and share your opinion and unique savings tips in the comment section below!
