Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye, hear ye! Now comes forth a bitter Spirit customer number 1,287,878,964
I flew Spirit for the first time en route to Carnival in Jamaica. I didn’t mind it (see Spirit: Thankfully Not Awful Like Frontier). Having to go back to the D, I flew Spirit direct from Puerto Rico for $100. Knowing Spirit charges bag fees, I used my new Amex Business Platinum to pay for a bag, Wi-Fi, and a seat near the front of the plane. That charge would be reimbursed thanks to the yearly $200 airline credit.
Things did not go according to plan. After leaving the Priority Pass SJU Lounge, I went to the gate. The agent scanned my ticket but said I couldn’t bring my carry-on. I told him that I paid for the ‘just for you’ bundle which included a bag. He said, step aside. His colleague took over and immediately went into Ryanair indifference mode (see 100 GBP Carry-On Bags? Scammed by Ryanair & Trips.com).
Jerk: You have no bag on your reservation.
Me: Yes, I do. See here.
Jerk: I have bad vision so I can’t read your phone. I can tell you what I see on my computer.
Me: What?
Jerk: You can either pay or not go on the plane. It will be $99.
Me: You’re a piece of shit bleepity bleepity bleep. Have you no decency! Have you no soul! . . . This is what I wanted to say.
Me: Here’s my Amex.
Easy fix to contact Spirit who can see if there was originally a bag or not. However, on the Just for You bundle, which bag did you select? The checked bag OR the carry-on bag? Depending on the itinerary, it’s the same total price (or the carry-on is a few dollars more). It gives you the option (defaults to checked bag) when booking. This may be the case because Spirit’s check-in system won’t let the same item be added twice to the same person on the same segment (the way it handles bags and all fees is adding an SSR to the reservation, much like one would add a wheelchair or note an unaccompanied minor). They are not technically interchangeable per the terms and conditions, but many agents at check-in would swap one for the other and collect any additional fee.
First three words of this post explains where you went wrong right off the bat.
I think Nedskid should be writing your blog, he seems to know more.