A: Founded in 1980, Spirit claims to be "the ultra low cost airline for the Americas." They're mostl

A: Founded oklahoma travel nursing jobs in 1980, Spirit claims to be “the ultra low cost airline for the Americas.” They’re mostly known for their flights down to Florida and the Caribbean. Personally, I used to fly them all the time because they offered direct flights to and from Detroit/Los Angeles.
I originally wrote a Spirit Airlines credit card review here several years ago. Back then it was issued/managed by Barclays and in short, the experience oklahoma travel nursing jobs my family had with it could be summed up in the excerpts from the old review, below.
The phone number on the back of the Spirit card to book a flight is big, but the number for customer service is so insanely small you can hardly see it. After dealing with them, I understand why they’re apparently not eager for you to talk to their customer service department.
I’ve dealt with many, many call centers and the Spirit credit card service department is by far the worst. They seemed to just read from a script. It doesn’t matter what you say or what your question is, these people didn t seem to understand your issue or how to fix it.
The only reason oklahoma travel nursing jobs I was interested in the Spirit Airlines MasterCard was the rewards. Unfortunately, this credit card definitely falls short. You only earned oklahoma travel nursing jobs 1 mile per $1 spent (and 3 miles per $1 spent on Spirit purchases, but that’s of little value since it only made up a tiny percentage of total annual spending).
To add insult to injury, the promotional sign-up “bonus” wasn t worth much. They claimed it was enough for free airfare (which technically is true) but afterward I saw fine print. They use language like “up to” and “off peak.” After we got the card, there wasn’t anywhere close to enough for the round trip ticket I wanted. In fact, a year and a half later – plus after it being the main credit card used during that time – there still were not enough accumulated miles!
Just to reiterate, those comments above were about the old Spirit MasterCard oklahoma travel nursing jobs and were written around the end of 2009 and early 2010. Since then the credit card program has changed. Here’s a look at the newer version:
You may have seen them advertise things like “15,000 bonus miles, enough for 3 round-trip off-peak tickets.” They reel you in with promises like that which are technically correct, but take a look at the complicated redemption maze and judge for yourself whether or not that’s oklahoma travel nursing jobs what you will be paying: Free Spirit redemption (PDF file) .
From my experience, when I would check for a round-trip domestic ticket for routes I typically fly (between the Midwest and the West coast) the required amount would often be 20,000, 25,000, or even 37,500 miles.
Sure, on short distances you may be able to snatch a low-mile deal but again, I urge you to take a close look at that PDF file and pay attention to all the date ranges they classify as “Peak” and “Standard” flights.
As mentioned I used to fly Spirit airlines all the time but now that they charge for both checked bags and carry-on bags and a slew of other fees , I have actually found it to be cheaper oklahoma travel nursing jobs to fly the “regular” airlines instead.
The bottom line is this: The Spirit Airlines credit card rewards are better than the past, but still aren’t competitive. For the same $59 annual oklahoma travel nursing jobs fee, you can also get 2 miles per dollar spent with the Capital One Venture and it charges no foreign transaction fees, plus you can use your rewards to pay for any travel purchase (including the purchase of Spirit oklahoma travel nursing jobs airline tickets).
----- Editorial Disclosure: The editorial content oklahoma travel nursing jobs on this page is not provided by any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, oklahoma travel nursing jobs and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of the bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
I just cancelled my card, just try and get an off peak fare and use your miles no matter how far out you try to book it is never available. I was told by airline crew that I could get 3 off peak fare tickets 15,000 miles by signing up, again what a load of crap. just try using them. I will only use them when forced to. They even charge you $25 for a carryon.
oklahoma travel nursing jobs Just cancelled this card !!! Was just informed that I lost my accumulated miles 12500 of them due to the fact that I did not make a single purchase oklahoma travel nursing jobs on the card for 3 straight months therefore I lose my miles after $10,000 dollars in purchases I have nothing to show for it! When I asked them to reinstate them they said no! When I told them I did not know or I would have used the card at least once a month they said well you can start all over again! Besides it is in the contract you signed somewhere in there! When I said why was I not informed by e-mail that I was about to lose my miles and all it would take is a purchase they had no response . I feel as if I have been ripped off ..mugged by this Piece of S_ _ _ company.
Plan well in advance, and use the off peak miles for a one way and use another program for your return Southwest or another that gives you a free bag w/card like United. If you have Fed Ex ground account ship your stuff to your hotel/destination so it arrives on time and you don t have to pay for a carry on or risk losing your bag. That s how you dooze it!
I too admit that it can be challenging getting the value out of this card, but it DEFINITELY oklahoma travel nursing jobs can be done. The most important consideration is that it only really works for discretionary travel that can be based around the limitations of the offpeak schedule. However, that being said, I have flown to Cancun from New York multiple times for 10,000 miles and about $80 in fees. No other airline (that I m aware of) can come close to that. Add to that the two miles per dollar earned and it s the only card I really oklahoma travel nursing jobs use. Occasionally its promotions are outstanding, like last year s that returned your reward miles to you (for four people in my case).
A few things I have learned: it s 15000 miles (offpeak) to Colombia and Costa Rica from New York but only 5000 from New York to Fort Lauderdale and then another 5000 to those destinations. Sure it s more hassle to book the flights separately but it saves 5000 miles per ticket. I fly with my two kids so save 15000 each trip with that alone.
Most annoyingly for me, when you book online (currently the way to do it) the accuracy is spotty oklahoma travel nursing jobs and inconsistent. It may not show a low mile reward but clicking on different days often reveals one for at least one flight that day. Or checking for a few days may find a low mile flight that wasn t previously available. Sometimes I have to book a one-way to my destination, then the return in two parts.
If you book out of the country one-way, you need to purchase a return also and you cannot check in online. You will have to go to the counter and show that you have a return ticket to the US. Often there s a dedicated oklahoma travel nursing jobs line for this but not always.
I never buy bags. I have an underseat carryon that meets Spirit s requirements and have never had an issue. I also carry a tote bag (that can fold) with food because food doesn t count as luggage (per Spirit s website) and it s always handy to have on my trip. I put jackets in it for going through security, for example. oklahoma travel nursing jobs And for what it s worth, you can fit a bag under all Spirit s seats including the aisles, which is not true of many other carriers. But if you do buy bags, booking multiple flights oklahoma travel nursing jobs becomes way less worthwhile (have to pay per flight).
As far as service, Spirit has been perfectly adequate for me. The last time I flew American I was stuck in the airport for two days coming home due to mechanical problems that somehow kept repeating.
Travel is a drag. I fully understand that many if not most travelers can t or aren t willing to add to that by dealing with these considerations. In addition, oklahoma travel nursing jobs Fort Lauderdale immigration/customs can be nightmarishly long and Spirit s short layovers don t always allow time to navigate them and still make the connecting flight. But I don t work and I want to travel. Now that I have the hang of it, it s totally worth it to me. Next month I m flying to Orlando for 5000 miles and $25 per ticket. Obviously a direct flight would have been immensely preferable. But otherwise it would have been over $250/ticket. So to me, it s a good return for the extra hours spent, not to mention that it enables me to go at all.
Also, while I agree that Spirit s regular fares often aren t low enough to make up for the restrictions, oklahoma travel nursing jobs sometimes the $9 fare club can pay off. I flew from New York to Myrtle Beach for $40/ticket roundtrip. And on short notice it s often the only carrier oklahoma travel nursing jobs I can find whose fares haven t skyrocketed.
I appreciate your absolutely mature and seasoned oklahoma travel nursing jobs traveler s perspective many folks don t realize that you need to plan well in advance in order to avail of the cheapest fares out there, not only on Spirit, but on all airlines!
I too applied for this card on a flight from DFW to New Orleans. At first I found the card to be a disappointment. As others mentioned, it was difficult to find any trips that I had an interest in for the bargain air miles. Furthermore, my personal flight experience with Spirit has ranged from perfect trips to non-existent when flights were cancelled a few weeks before trips, and I had to start all over finding last minute, high priced flights to my destinations with other carriers. That said, after researching on how to use Spirit and not get burned I have had more success in flying with them. I have even identified those elusive flights to use our air miles on. Most recently, I booked DFW to Cancun for family of four with 2,500 miles per person (not 25,000)and no extra booking fees, etc. I did it online, and had absolutely no difficulty in doing so. I have also purchased so amazingly cheap tickets at the Spirit counter at DFW airport. The comment oklahoma travel nursing jobs regarding lower fares are typically available at the airport is true. If you are in close