Spirit Airlines Baggage Fees: Can You Avoid Them? [2024]

Spirit Airlines is a budget carrier, and its prices look amazing at first glance. Whenever I’ve booked a flight, I’ve been excited by the advertised base rate, only to discover fees that increased the price and limited my savings. These include fees for certain seats and for a checked bag, which are par for the course with flying these days. But, unlike legacy carriers like Delta, you have to pay for a carry-on.

Flying Spirit can definitely still be worth it, and there are ways to manage your baggage costs. Besides packing light, the best way to save on baggage fees is to achieve Free Spirit Gold Status. You also receive a free carry-on and two free checked bags if you’re active duty military.

Key takeaways

• Prices increase by about $30 if you wait to pay for your bags until you’re at the airport. Paying online when you book is the cheapest option.
• Free Spirit Gold Status includes a free carry-on and a free checked bag.
• The Spirit Saver$ Club only saved about $1 in fees on each bag, but it might still be worth getting for discounts on specific seats and early boarding.

How much does Spirit charge for baggage?

That’s a surprisingly difficult question to answer. The fee you’ll pay for your baggage on Spirit Airlines depends on several factors, such as the size and weight of your bags, when and how you pay for them, and your membership status.

Here’s what baggage fees looked like for a sample flight from Detroit to Burbank:

What I found especially interesting is that the baggage fees stayed the same for different itineraries and different dates. But prices are subject to change, so the best way to find bag prices for a flight you’re considering is to use Spirit’s baggage calculator.

It’s also notable that Saver$ Club doesn’t save much until you check three or more bags, which I would try not to do. Given the bag fees, I’d aim to travel as lightly as possible. If you need to travel with a lot of items, say for a longer trip or a semester at college, I’d compare the prices of checking three to five bags with the cost of shipping what you need or buying items at your destination.

With the prices above, you’d pay $375 each way to check five bags, for a total of $750 round trip.

Saver$ Club does give discounts on other fees, like picking your own seat, so it may still be worth the $69.95 annual fee.

What is Spirit Airlines' baggage policy?

Policy for carry-ons

Spirit Airlines baggage allowance provides you with one personal item on flights for free. That item, including handles and wheels, can't exceed 18 x 14 x 8 inches. Your personal item can be a small backpack, laptop bag, or purse.

Carry-ons can’t exceed 22 x 18 x 10 inches, including handles and wheels.

If you’re traveling with young children, you can check one car seat and one stroller per child for free. You can also bring a car seat on board, but only if you’ve purchased a seat for your child.

Generally, Spirit follows TSA (Transportation Security Administration) and FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) guidelines with regard to prohibited items, which means you won’t be able to carry on liquids greater than 3.4 ounces or any cutting instruments, among other restrictions.

In terms of the cost for carry-ons, it varies depending on when you pay. This is what I found during my research, but it could be different for your flight:

Policy for checked bags

Spirit guarantees that each guest will be able to check one bag, but if space permits, you may be able to bring up to five bags.

Your checked bag can weigh no more than 50 pounds and can’t exceed 62 linear inches total (length + width + height). This is a recent change for Spirit, as it used to only allow 40 pounds. 50 pounds brings it more in line with other airlines, and it's a higher allowance than budget competitor Frontier Airlines, which still only allows 40-pound bags.

This is what I found for the sample flights I looked at:

Overweight bags will incur an extra overweight baggage fee of $125, while oversized bags will incur an oversized baggage fee of $150. Spirit won’t allow any bags that are heavier than 100 pounds or greater than 80 linear inches total.

For some international flights, there are other restrictions as well.

Spirit also charges fees for checking items like musical instruments and sporting equipment such as surfboards, so if you need to check those items, be sure to budget accordingly. These items may be able to be checked even if they exceed the allowable size. Snowboards, skis, and golf clubs are the only sports equipment items that follow the standard checked baggage rates.

How does Spirit compare to other airlines?

Spirit actually collected the third-highest amount in baggage fees last year. It even beat legacy carrier Delta.

How to reduce or avoid bag fees on Spirit

Don’t panic if you can’t fit everything you need for your trip in one bag. There are some ways to reduce or eliminate the cost of baggage on Spirit Airlines, and if you plan ahead, you’ll be able to keep the total cost of your trip at a minimum.

Only pack a personal item

You can take one personal item that fits underneath the seat in front of you for free. I’ve taken trips up to a week long with nothing but a backpack on a Spirit flight, so I can confirm it’s possible.

One way to make the most of a smaller bag is to use compression bags. These also serve double duty in terms of keeping you organized.

Another slightly controversial way to work around the personal item issue is to use a neck pillow that you pack with items. I can’t vouch for this one personally, but I’ve had friends use it successfully as well as folks in online travel groups. They make neck pillows specifically for stuffing with clothes, but you can use any neck pillow with a removable cover.

You can find lots of tips on packing light in the r/onebag subreddit.

Overall, you’ll need to be strategic about packing, but this is the easiest way to avoid paying additional fees.

Qualify for Free Spirit Gold Status

Gold Status in the Spirit loyalty program includes a free carry-on bag and a free checked bag. The Spirit loyalty program bases its points on how much you pay, and it includes fees you pay for baggage and seat choices. To qualify for gold status, you need to earn 5,000 Spirit Status Qualifying Points in a calendar year. You earn one point per dollar spent on fares, seat choices, and bag fees. That’s a lot of flying on a discount airline, so that won’t be achievable for everyone.

Another downside to this program is that it only applies to the person who qualified for the program and not any companions. Frontier’s loyalty program includes a free carry-on bag and a free checked bag for everyone on the booking at its highest tiers.

Bundling

As you book your flight, Spirit will likely offer you a bundle. When I was looking at fares for a trip later this year, it offered me an “Economy Bundle,” which included a carry-on or a checked bag, the ability to pick a seat, and shortcut boarding. It also offered a “Big Front Seat Bundle,” Which included a carry-on, a Big Front Seat, and shortcut boarding.

Pay for baggage during booking

If you know you’ll need a bit more space for all your vacation gear, it’s best to pay for a checked bag at the time of booking. You’ll save about $30 when compared to checking your bag at the gate.

Bring your military documentation

Spirit Airlines offers one free carry-on and two free checked bags for all active-duty military members. To get the discount, you must add your bags to your reservation online, and you’ll need to use ID.ME, a third-party verification service, to confirm you’re eligible. Spirit has step-by-step instructions for how to add your bags.

Use a travel credit card

A number of cards offer impressive travel rewards, which can help cover the cost of your bag fees on almost any airline.

For example, several American Express cards provide an annual airline fee credit that could cover Spirit baggage fees. The Chase Sapphire Reserve^® offers a $300 annual travel credit, which could also be used to cover baggage fees.

If you frequently travel on Spirit, the Free Spirit^® Travel More World Elite Mastercard^® might be a good choice, as you earn 3X points on eligible Spirit purchases; 2X points on eligible dining and grocery store purchases; 1X points on all other eligible purchases. You receive 50,000 bonus points + a $100 companion flight voucher after making at least $1,000 in purchases within the first 90 days of account opening. 

And you receive a $100 companion flight voucher on your anniversary if you make at least $5,000 in purchases with the card in the previous year. The main downside to this card is the annual fee — $79 (waived first year). But that’s not an unusual feature for travel cards.

FAQ

Bottom line

Spirit’s baggage fees can add up, but you can soften the blow by packing lightly, paying for your bags when you book, working toward Spirit status, and bundling with other fees. And before you pay for your fare, compare the price, including all the fees, to flights with other carriers to make sure you’re getting the best price.

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