Fourteen years after the first airline, Northwest Airlines, introduced online award booking for members, Spirit Airlines has finally announced that FREE SPIRIT members can search for and book award tickets online.

Until now, members had to rely on reservations agents to book flights using miles. With the new online booking tool, members can view award options for a month at a time and redeem miles for flights to over 50 domestic and international locations.

You must log in to your account to search for flight availability and click the Purchase flight with FREE SPIRIT miles box. From the flight availability award calendar screen, you can toggle back and forth between miles and cash to compare the price between miles and cash. For those who prefer to call, you can continue to book an award through reservations and pay the $25 phone booking fee.

Bottom line: It took Spirit Airlines over a decade to adopt an online award booking engine and we wonder if the airline dragged its feet so that members would be required to pay the $25 booking fee.