Deals, Guides

How to Buy Discount Tickets with Spirit Airlines

Did you know you can save $22.99 for each one-way flight you book with Spirit without using discount codes, promo codes, or applying points?

Passenger Usage Fee

When booking your Spirit Airlines tickets, you’ll see a breakdown of fees and charges at the end of the booking process which outlines the individual charges that make up the fare.

Most of these are mandatory costs imposed by regulatory agencies or the airline to cover operating expenses. A “Passenger Usage Fee” is not one of those charges…

What Does the Fee Cost?

For each one-way segment you book through Spirit, you’ll pay a $22.99 fee if you book the flight over the phone using an agent, or online through their website. This fee is non-negotiable, and you must pay if you book your ticket using one of those two methods. If you book a simple nonstop round-trip flight, you’ll end up paying $22.99 x 2 = (let’s see, add the 7, carry the 1, divide by pi, square root the inverse….) $45.98 just for the privilege of booking online.

I guess this should be called something like a convenience fee, if anything.

How to Get this Fee Waived

The answer to this question is easy, but getting the process done takes time: To get the fee waived, you’ll need to purchase your ticket in-person at the airport.

Maybe for a lot of people this doesn’t seem like a great trade-off. If you live an hour away from the airport, need to find somewhere to park, take time away from work, home, kids, family, whatever it is…this is the tough part and the reason why most people just end up paying an extra ~$45 on their tickets.

But if you want to maximize your savings for that upcoming trip, stopping in at the Spirit check-in counter at the airport will end up saving you a decent chunk of that ticket cost.

The Steps to Saving

The step by step process to make this a quick, easy, and seamless process for you:

Write or type out your itinerary information with dates, times, and flight numbers on a sheet of paper so the Spirit agent can quickly find your flight.
Include all the passenger info on that same piece of paper: name, DOB, sex, and frequent flier number.
Have a credit card with travel insurance ready to pay (I recommend the Chase Sapphire Preferred, or the Capital One Venture X).
Maybe bring a small token of appreciation for the ticket agent as a way of saying thank you. Maybe a small box of chocolates, or $5 Starbucks gift card – spoiler: they don’t love spending the time booking tickets for passengers this way.

With all of these to-do’s checked off, all you need to do is approach a ticketing agent at the check-in counter at the airport to buy your ticket. It’s that easy.

Potential Issues

This process isn’t without risk, sometimes.

In rare circumstances the ticketing agent simply won’t want to help you buy your ticket, and you’ll be told they only issue tickets one day a week during a 2-hour window (or similar). Well, that’s where the chocolates or Starbucks GC comes into play. Use your best judgement on how to handle that situation.

Another difficulty I’ve run into when doing this is if I try to buy tickets when passengers are lined up waiting to check their bags for a flight. Even though the ticketing desk is supposed to be offering services for all customers, they absolutely prioritize helping passengers who are getting ready to board their flight and who need to check their bags. Keep that in mind when planning on how much time you’ll need to commit for your airport run.

Getting to the Point

The Passenger Usage fee is a small price to pay for convenience, but absolutely something you don’t have to pay.

If you’re trying to get maximum value out of your local Ultra Low Cost Carrier (ahem, Spirit Airlines) and fly for as close to fee as possible, the ~$45 savings for your round trip will get closer to that goal with very minimal effort.