Is Spirit's $9 Fare Club worth it?

[Carpediem]

DW and I are about to book a flight for May 2019 and Spirit not surprisingly has the lowest fare. I noticed I could save a few more bucks if I signed up for their $9 Fare Club ($59.95 for 1st year, $69.95 for subsequent years) but I was wondering what others' experiences have been with both Spirit as well as the $9 Fare Club.

Personally, I'd rather fly a different airline but the price difference is significant - $300 each - so we're willing to put up with some discomfort since it's a 2.5 hour non-stop flight.

 

[cathy63]

Can you save the full amount of the annual membership on the flight you're about to book? If yes, it's worth it, otherwise maybe not.

We flew Spirit from San Diego to Las Vegas once. It's less than an hour in the air, but it was so awful I can't imagine doing it again. Every airline employee was surly, and they were constantly haranguing us to make sure we wouldn't put anything in the overhead bin unless we'd paid for a carry-on bag. We couldn't sit together because we didn't pay $50/person to choose our own seats. They charge for a cup of water. They charge to print a boarding pass at the airport, so for the flight home we had to make sure we'd have access to a printer at the hotel. The effort to avoid extra fees just made the whole experience unpleasant. Now we either pay a little bit more to fly Southwest, or we drive.

 

[DFDubb]

I flew Spirit once to Vegas, not because it was cheap, but because I liked the departure time. Flight home was "delayed", mechanical problem, and rescheduled for 23 hours later. Being a holiday weekend, there were no other flights to get on. Got put up in a dumpy off strip "resort" for the night, we had to miss a day of work, etc.......If you're retired, no big deal I guess to take the risk. For us, we lost WAY more than $600 being stuck for a day and it very easily could've cost me my job. Just about any other non dip-stick airline would've sent another plane.

 

[ransil]

I joined it once but did not renew couldn't justfy the cost vs savings deals were spotty.

Tip go to the airport and buy tickets at the counter you do not pay the passenger fee about $25 +/- per person.

I subscribe to their offers and wait til i see a deal i want and go to the airport to buy the tickets, deals change daily .

They have free bags for active military.

 

[Carpediem]

... go to the airport and buy tickets at the counter you do not pay the passenger fee about $25 +/- per person.

And from what I understand, that 'passenger fee' is per person EACH WAY.

 

[davebarnes]

There are 2 airlines I wold never use: Spirit and Frontier.
Just read the reviews about them.

 

[MrsHaloFIRE]

I'm afraid of their awful reviews. No replacement planes available. Etc and so forth.

 

[misanman]

We flew Spirit DTW - LAX in September and it was very uncomfortable. Plus every conceivable thing is an up charge. We vowed never again.

 

[me228]

I have taken two round trips on spirit to Fl. First trip was delayed two hours. The second trip no problems. Joining the 9$ fare club probably not worth it.
Spirit is ok if you know what to expect. Spirit sat us together on both trips despite not buying assigned seats, but expect to be near the back of plane.
Also, if your flight is canceled there may not be another flight for days. What was great about Spirit was they had the only direct flight to our destination from our regional airport.

 

[Scuba]

I just flew Spirit round trip LAX/Houston and I had an awesome experience. I paid extra for a “Big Seat” which was very similar to a Business Class seat for legroom and width, and it only cost around $60 more. No delays on either side and crew was fine, actually nicer than recently experienced on American or Delta. I would definitely try them again, but I’d buy the Big Seat if available.

 

[ransil]

I fly them out of a regional airport with free parking and that airport is 30 minutes vs 60 minute drive.

The planes I have been on were almost new and not too bad for comfort, I have had worse on Allegiant and delta.

last time I flew to florida it was $105 total round trip for 2 of us, that was at least $200 less than anywhere else.