Originally Posted by
SRQ Guy
I've booked two tickets on F9 TPA-DEN-TPA in January. $49 each way, $196 for two RT (plus $100 for a checked bag for each of us, round trip). No connections to worry about in January. Can't beat it.
My primary concern is that a lot of the endless series of 1* reviews on Yelp (almost all of which seem to be from people who didn't read what they were buying when the bought the ticket) mention extremely long lines for checking bags at DEN. We have a 6:30 AM flight from DEN-TPA. How early do I need to get there to check bags and still make the 45 minute cut off?
Given the isolation and inefficiency of the DEN airport, that's going to be an early morning. What time does their ticket counter open? I would think you'd have to be there at 5 am.
As far as "beating" the fare, I personally would prefer going to Staples and collecting enough UR points for the nonstop flights on UA. Even without Staples promos (like the one this week), the 25,000 points would cost about $150 each (and your time -- which I guess you can spend at the DEN airport at 5 am or at a Staples/Walmart store at the time you choose). You could also apply for a new Chase card and save that trouble.
Indeed, I almost always "replace" a possible cheap Spirit or Frontier flight with an Avios or United MP redemption.