Flight advice/questions

Spirit Air... any experiences?
I'm looking at the possibility of flying to Myrtle Beach.
Got an email from Spirit today stating I could fly RT for $40. But that only applies to Fare Club members, which costs $60 a year.
Plus there is a $18 charge for the flight. Plus, whatever they charge for luggage.

I figure if the whole deal is less than or equal to $250 (about what it costs in gas to drive there and back) I'll do it. I hate the drive home. Hate. It.
And I can be home in four hours as opposed to 12.

Also, any idea what it costs to ship golf clubs? I read somewhere it was cheaper to ship clubs to the course than to fly with them. Has anyone ever done this?

Thanks for the feedback.

 

Spirit is well-known for their creative use of fare prices and hiding fees. At one point they had an exorbitant charge for checking bags, and a charge for not checking bags. This link sums it up:

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2012/10/02/spirit-airlines-increases-fees-for-carry-on-and-checked-baggage/

Extra fees, such as for baggage, make up 40 percent of Spirit’s revenue.

They also get very low customer service marks and their CEO has also been downright hostile toward customers. In short, they suck donkey balls.

 

We used Spirit to fly to Cancun a couple years ago. As for the flight itself, it was fine. Seats were a bit cramped, but that's typically the case no matter the airline. No major issues. Flights were on time, and we didn't die. I rarely ask for much more than that.

Low prices, but they rape you in bag fees, including carry-on bags.

I was dumb enough to get a Spirit Mastercard. I've earned a shit load of points, but it takes an even bigger shitload to use them to fly anywhere outside Fort Lauderdale (its hub). And the blackout dates are all over the place. Just a miserable, miserable program. Don't be an idiot like I was.

Never messed with the $9 Fare Club.

 

I took Spirit to LA from Vegas for a day trip back in March. No bags, obviously, and it was fine. I think it was like $110 for a flight out and back the same day.