The Starwood Preferred Guest credit card, issued by American Express, has long been the darling of the miles-and-points set. But with the pending merger of Starwood with Marriott, the card’s future is in doubt.
27.07.2023 - 18:20 / smartertravel.com / Tim Winship
Spirit, the airline everyone love to hate, is tightening up its rules on carry-on bags, which were already among the industry’s most restrictive.
As has become standard practice in the industry, Spirit charges extra for checked bags. Where Spirit differs from most other airlines is in also charging fees to carry one’s own bag on board. That’s right: You’re charged for checking your bag, and you’re charged for carrying it on. The only exception is for a so-called personal item, which flyers may carry on board for free.
Beginning on April 4, that personal item must not exceed 18 x 14 x 8 inches, down from the current 16 x 14 x 12 inches.
Related:Allergic to Nuts? It Could Get You Kicked Off the PlaneSpirit is known for its customer-unfriendly ways, so it’s hardly a surprise that the airline is making it even harder for flyers to avoid the niggling fees that make its published ultra-low fares look a lot like the bait in bait-and-switch. What is surprising is the likely motive for the Spirit’s rule change.
Earlier this month, when American announced its new Basic Economy fares—cheap coach fares with few perks and plenty of restrictions and fees, to directly compete with Spirit, Frontier, and other ultra-low-cost carriers—one of the new fares’ most notably harsh restrictions was the limit on free carry-ons to one personal item. Just like Spirit’s rule, except that American imposed an even stricter size limit on personal items, of 18 x 14 x 8 inches. Which is exactly the new size limit Spirit will impose from April 4.
So, American copies Spirit’s no-frills fares, making them even less generous. Spirit responds by copying the stricter feature of American’s new fares, in the process establishing what’s likely to be a new (and newly harsher) industry standard for basic economy fares.
Sure, matching prices and features is in the nature of competition. But in this case, rather than the invisible hand of the marketplace nudging companies to better serve consumers, we have a race to the bottom.
Reader Reality Check
How low can they go?
More from SmarterTravel: Trump Blames Travel-Ban Chaos on Delta, Protesters The Days of Seatback TVs May Be Numbered Feds Call Out United on Latest IT MeltdownAfter 20 years working in the travel industry, and 15 years writing about it, Tim Winship knows a thing or two about travel. Follow him on Twitter @twinship.
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The Starwood Preferred Guest credit card, issued by American Express, has long been the darling of the miles-and-points set. But with the pending merger of Starwood with Marriott, the card’s future is in doubt.
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Following is our regular summary of the latest travel news and best frequent traveler promotions reviewed during the past week.
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