What Is Spirit Shortcut Security & Is It Worth The Money?
I have to say I am becoming more and more a Spirit fan boy. Most people thumb their nose at Spirit but if you know how to play their game it can be an enjoyable experience. The prices can’t be beat, especially if you go to the airport to buy your ticket. One thing I had never tried was the Spirit shortcut security add-on. I tried searching online but there wasn’t a ton of information on it so I decided to give it a try and see if it is worth the money. If you have TSA Precheck then you will not need to use this, at least 99% of the time.
Spirit Shortcut Security
When you are purchasing a Spirit flight or checking in for your upcoming flight you are bombarded with add-on options. Things like seat selection, checked bags, and early boarding (which you will never need and is one of the things I love about Spirit). One of those options is the Spirit shortcut security add on.
When I was flying back from Denver the option presented itself to give it a try and review it. The cost was a mere $6 and I was curious to see what it entailed. 
So I selected the option when checking in to get my boarding pass. I entered my credit card info and shortcut security was notated on my boarding pass.
Spirit shortcut security essentially allows you to enter the priority/first class security lane. This allowed me to skip around 100 people in the regular TSA line. It was also around 10-15 people shorter than the TSA Precheck line. The shortcut security add on probably saved me around 30 minutes of wait time. My flight was later in the evening on a Monday night so not exactly the busy time, this could save people close to an hour during busy flight times.
Is Spirit Shortcut Security Worth the Cost?
At $6 I don’t think you can wrong at airports like Denver or Orlando where TSA is usually a mess. I don’t know if the prices change depending on the airport or time of day etc. If the cost stays around $6 then I think it can be useful. But at airports like Detroit, my home airport, the lines are never very long and it doesn’t make sense. If you are ever running late and just want to be sure you will make it in time then this is a good back up plan to have. If you have a credit card like the Amex Platinum or Chase Sapphire Reserve that has a $100 Global Entry credit (which comes with TSA Precheck) then that is the way to go.
Spirit shortcut security will not be useful for anyone who has TSA Precheck most of the time. There are occasions, like Denver early in the morning, when the precheck line is backed up quite a bit. If that is the case and you are on a tight schedule it could make sense to pay the extra money. You can also show you have Precheck once you get through security so you can keep your shoes on etc.
Final Thoughts
Overall using Spirit shortcut security was a positive experience. I got to stroll through security like a baller while flying on a paupers budget. It does make sense if you are tight on time or you are flying through a busy airport. But if you have TSA Precheck, have plenty of time to spare, or are going through an airport with lighter traffic then I would give it a pass. I would keep it in the back of your mind because it could be a life saver in certain circumstances.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the old king of travel rewards cards. Right now
bonus_miles_full
Learn more about this card and its features!
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Very helpful review, thank you!
Definitely worth it for airport like lga. I was going to miss my flight if i did not had shortcut security.
thank you.
I agree we got a message from the airline in ATL about passenger being held up and we went to the kiosk and purchase the shortcut security, it was such a time saver and we was ahead of at least 200 people. Definitely worth the $6.
Great review!