Spirit Airlines has shut down: what to do with your tickets and points

Your flight is canceled. All of them are.

Spirit canceled every flight on May 2 and told customers not to come to the airport. Spirit Aviation Holdings announced early Saturday morning that it was ceasing operations, saying it had "started an orderly wind-down of operations, effective immediately."

This isn't a weather delay or a Chapter 11 pause you can wait out.

Spirit is the first major U.S. airline in 25 years to go out of business because of financial problems. About 14,000 Spirit employees and roughly 3,000 contractors lost their jobs overnight.

The bright yellow planes are done. Here's exactly what to do — right now, in order.

Step One: Don't Go to the Airport Spirit's statement was clear: "All Spirit flights have been cancelled, and Spirit Guests should not go to the airport."

There won't be customer service agents to help — Spirit's workforce is gone. Showing up gets you nothing except a long walk back to the parking garage.

If you're already mid-trip and stranded at a destination, you're a different case.

If you're already mid-itinerary, you're rebooking yourself onto another carrier — and same-day fares are the worst-case wallet hit. Spirit isn't covering hotels, rebookings, or any other costs you eat to get home. Travelers who purchased travel insurance may be covered.

Step Two: Get Your Refund (If You're Eligible) How you paid determines what happens next.

Paid by credit or debit card directly through Spirit:

Spirit said it will automatically refund tickets purchased through the airline with a credit or debit card.

You don't need to call anyone. Watch your statement.

Booked through a travel agency or third party:

Passengers who booked flights via a travel agent "should contact the travel agent directly to request a refund."

Do that today — don't wait for someone to contact you.

Booked using Free Spirit points, a voucher, or a Spirit credit: Here's the hard truth.

Spirit said any reimbursement "will be determined at a later date through the bankruptcy process." Atmosphere Research Group's Henry Harteveldt put the odds of getting compensated for loyalty redemptions at "slim to none" (per CNBC) — Spirit's bankruptcy estate has bigger creditors in line ahead of you.

When an airline shuts down, the loyalty currency goes with it — vouchers, coupons, and points usually stop being honored the moment the doors close. You can monitor developments at SpiritRestructuring.com, but manage your expectations accordingly.

One other avenue worth trying regardless of how you paid: If you charged the original ticket to a credit card, file a chargeback. It's your fastest potential path to recovery if the automatic refund doesn't materialize quickly.

Step Three: Rebook — Before the Rescue Fares Expire Several carriers stepped up with capped fares for Spirit passengers, but the windows are short. Move on these today.

JetBlue:

JetBlue is capping fares for affected travelers at $99 for one-way tickets through May 6. You'll need to show proof of a Spirit itinerary and call 1-800-JETBLUE.

It's also capping Blue Basic fares between Fort Lauderdale and San Juan, Puerto Rico, at $299 for new purchases made through May 8 (for travel May 2–8).

JetBlue is also adding 11 new destinations from Fort Lauderdale to backfill Spirit's network — including Austin, Aguadilla, Dallas/Fort Worth, Raleigh-Durham, Santo Domingo, and Santiago de los Caballeros in the Dominican Republic.

United:

United is offering capped fares for Spirit customers with tickets scheduled between May 2 and May 16. The airline is limiting prices on most one-way flights along routes previously served by Spirit.

United said most fares are priced at $199, with a cap of $299. Book at united.com/specialfares with your Spirit confirmation number, proof of purchase, and a MileagePlus number.

Southwest:

Southwest is capping domestic fares at $200 for one-way trips up to 500 miles, $300 for up to 1,000 miles, and $400 for trips over 1,000 miles.

Spirit customers can access these fares at airport ticket counters through 11:59 p.m. CDT on May 6. Southwest is also offering an A-List status match to Spirit Silver and Gold members.

American:

American serves 70 of the 72 airports Spirit operated and 67 of Spirit's specific routes. The airline has introduced rescue fares on those overlapping routes and is evaluating adding capacity, including larger aircraft and additional flights.

Book directly through aa.com or the American Airlines app.

Frontier:

Frontier announced systemwide rescue fare discounts: 50% off travel on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays with 21-day advance purchase, or 10% off any day with no advance requirement.

It's also offering a $199 GoWild All-You-Can-Fly Summer Pass — five-plus months of unlimited flights, with immediate access rather than a delayed start.

Tickets for the rescue fares and the pass must be purchased by 11:59 PM Eastern on May 10, 2026.

If your route was through Fort Lauderdale — Spirit's main hub — JetBlue is probably your best first call. JetBlue's pulling in for the assist — Fort Lauderdale will see 130 daily departures this summer, the carrier's biggest operation there ever, up from roughly 75 last year.

Your Free Spirit Points: The Honest Picture There's no way to sugarcoat this. Free Spirit miles have no transfer partners, no conversion path, and no program to land in. The loyalty program is gone with the airline.

For anyone whose ticket was booked via voucher, credit, or Free Spirit points, any compensation "will be determined at a later date through the bankruptcy process." Affected passengers can visit SpiritRestructuring.com for more information.

The practical read: unsecured creditors — which loyalty members typically are in airline bankruptcies — sit at the back of the line. Check SpiritRestructuring.com for any claims process that opens, but don't book a replacement trip counting on those miles being made whole.

If you held a co-branded Free Spirit credit card:

Spirit had already lost its co-branded credit card partner, with the Free Spirit Points Mastercard issued through Mercury Financial losing benefits after March 31, 2026. Points that hadn't been used were already in limbo before today.

The Bigger Picture Spirit's collapse came after a sustained spike in jet fuel prices — driven by the Iran war — that added an estimated $10–15 million in weekly expenses Spirit's low-margin model couldn't absorb. In March 2026, Spirit reached an agreement with bondholders on a restructuring plan; the fuel surge in the weeks since blew it up. The airline attempted an 11th-hour rescue deal with the Trump administration; creditors balked at the terms.

Per aviation analytics firm Cirium, Spirit had about 9,000 flights scheduled from May 2 through the end of the month — 1.8 million seats, averaging about 300 flights and 60,000 potential passengers per day.

That's a lot of plans that just got scrambled overnight.

Removing the 2% of domestic U.S. flights Spirit was scheduled to fly this summer will push fares higher across the entire industry. Not catastrophically — Spirit had been shrinking for months — but if you have upcoming travel on any carrier this summer, booking sooner is smarter than waiting.

The rescue fare windows close fast: JetBlue and Southwest cap out May 6. United runs through May 16. Frontier's discounts and pass require purchase by May 10. Pick your route, book today, and sort the refund paperwork after.

For the latest on the bankruptcy claims process, check SpiritRestructuring.com. For credit card chargebacks, contact your card issuer directly — most allow 60–120 days from the original charge date.