wizz air travel insurance review

Wizz it Worth It? An Honest Review of Flying with Wizz Air

Last Updated: April 13, 2021

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If you’ve clicked onto this honest Wizz Air review, odds are you’re looking for some assurance that this Hungarian budget airline will not, in fact, cheat you of your money, burst into flames or otherwise be a terrible life decision like frosted tips or a sixth shot of tequila.

Well, you’ve come to the right place! I’ve been writing this Wizz Air review for 2+ years, over countless flights and “fun” experiences with them.

As you’ll soon see, I have a many feelings  about this company.

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Now, first off, I must admit: scouring the Internet often yields a metric crapton of Wizz Air complaints, but don’t let these completely dissuade you from flying with them. Let THIS review dissuade you.

No – just kidding, I actually do like Wizz Air, I just think you need to be prepared to “handle them”.

Let’s be clear – Wizz Air has changed a LOT throughout the years and many of the reviews online are outdated.

Fun fact: did you know that back in 2014, Wizz Air didn’t even have assigned seats, so it was a free for all once you got on board? Like, how was that even legal?

But anyways, since I had trouble finding reviews that weren’t… 4 years old, I decided it was time to write an up-to-date review that takes into account all of Wizz Air’s new baggage allowances/policies.

I hope you enjoy this honest Wizz Air review (with a pinch of sass and realness).

FYI: I’m not sponsored or affiliated with Wizz Air in any way, so you can expect the realest of the real 😉

This Wizz Air review is based off of my experiences flying with them over the past two years, mostly in/out of Memmingen Airport and into various airports in the Balkans. If you have your own experiences to share, feel free to chime away in the comments!

TRAVEL TIP: If you are still doing research for your trip and are open to options other than Wizz Air, here are some recommendations. I always use Omio to compare/book transport options in Europe. It’s a free site that compares planes, trains and buses all at once and sorts them by price, convenience, etc. Also  HotelsCombined offers a similar price check for hotels if you’re still needing a place to stay 🙂

Quick Wizz Air Review: Pros and Cons

If you don’t want to sift through the 2000+ words of this detailed Wizz Air review, I’ll give you a quick Cliffnotes version.

This is what I think: Wizz Air is fine to fly with so long as you have your expectations in check.

Are there lots of hidden fees? Totally.

Will it be the comfiest flight in the world? Probably not…

But WILL it be absurdly affordable compared to regular airlines? Yes, yes, yes.

And therein lies the ultimate reason to fly with Wizz Air (and other budget airlines like RyanAir and easyJet ) – you pay so little for your ticket, it doesn’t even matter.

But of course, the Wizz Air experience isn’t for everyone (namely those who aren’t good at reading up on rules and rolling with the punches).

Before you commit to making a Wizz Air booking, read this section, or at least skim it! The following is a quick & abbreviated Wizz Air review featuring pros and cons.

Wizz Air Pros

The Wizz Air Booking Process:  I really enjoy how simple and straight forward the Wizz Air booking process is. Sure, they go hard on the upsells, but the website and app are both very user-friendly and easy to navigate.

The Wizz Air App:  I find it super handy that you can manage everything from within an app, and it’s surprisingly free of glitches as well. I’ve never had trouble using my boarding passes from the app, or checking info on it.

Wizz Air Priority: Buying Wizz Air Priority can be cheap (prices were once only 4 euros, but these days range from 4-40 euros). If you’re able to get it for a cheap price, Priority is super worth it, and definitely much better and more accessible than some other budget airlines.

Punctuality: In all my experiences (knock on wood), I’ve never experienced a Wizz Air cancellation or even flight delay. I’ve heard from others that this was NOT the case for them, but from my multiple experiences, flights have always been punctual. I think it’s like with any airline, there will be good days and bad, but just know that Wizz Air isn’t exceptionally terrible with lateness.

Nice enough planes: I mean, as a 5’3″ child masquerading as an adult, I don’t need much leg room personally, but I’ve always found the planes to be decently comfortable since most of the routes are quite short (1-2 hours) anyway. I mean, it’s not the Four Seasons but it’s fine.

Wizz Air Cons

Wizz Air Customer Service: If anything goes wrong, you’re pretty much on your own. While the in-person staff are actually pretty nice, trying to reach the company to amend bookings or anything via phone or email is a downright nightmare.

Airports at Wizz Air Destinations: Often Wizz Air flights will be flying into small, budget airports that are far away from main cities and lack solid airport amenities.

Wizz Air Baggage Allowance:  You only get one bag for free, and this is a small carry-on bag. You don’t even get an additional purse or backpack, and you may be forced to put the bag in the hold unless you pay for priority, so you better learn to travel light and make use of every suitcase packing hack you can find!

Everything costs extra: Food, bags, even checking in at the airport – you name it, Wizz Air has found a way to charge you. Yay capitalism!

Must-Knows Before You Make a Wizz Air Booking

All that said, one of the biggest takeaways you should have from this review is that making a Wizz Air booking is fine so long as you have your expectations in check and know a few important things.

I mean, did you really expect a 10 euro ticket in a flying sky box to NOT have a catch? Come oooon.

Here are some super important must-knows to keep in mind:

1. If you’re not careful, you’re going to pay an absurd amount of additional fees

If you want a really good laugh, click here to read a full list of Wizz Air’s additional fees .

It’s practically longer than the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy.

It’s like: you want an SMS confirmation? 1 EURO. Want to change your name? 45 FREAKING EUROS. There’s even an ominous “Missed Departure Fee” that’s 70 euros and I have no idea what that’s even  for.

Truly, if you’re not careful, you will be paying fees that are 3 or 4x the cost of your actual flight.

Don’t fall for it!

This is how budget airlines fend off bankruptcy. I mean, selling 2 hours flights for ten euros ain’t enough to cover the bills, you know?

So here are a few things to keep in mind:

You will need to pay for bags.

To avoid paying for bags, you will need to pack light (i.e. one carry-on bag).

Unless you pay for Wizz Air priority, you don’t even get two bags (a carry-on + small purse or backpack), you need to have everything in ONE bag. They’re strict on this.

You will need to pay if you want to choose your own seat.

Otherwise, it’s randomly allocated and you might get separated from your travel companion.

Triple check everything before you make the booking.  

Any changes that you require will be practically impossible (or very expensive) to make. This includes things like your departure dates/times, names, etc.

You must check in before your departure.

This is probably the most common trap that people fall into.

If you don’t check in before you get to the airport, you’ll need to pay something silly like 30 euros to do it in-person. Check in in advance, get your boarding passes ready (printed or app) and relish in that dodged bullet.

Even customer service will cost you.

15 euros!  No joke. That’s the cost of their “Call Center Transaction Fee”, the cost of speaking to an actual human if you ever have a problem come up.

Otherwise, it’s email support that does (yes, I’ve tried this) take 3-4 weeks. I can only imagine it’s because their support team is one dude and a pack of seals they’re training to use computers.

They will upsell you like CRAZY.

Oh my gosh, trying to buy your flight without any extras is hilarious.

Before you get to the payment page, you are bombarded with a million aggressive upsells like “are you SURE you don’t want travel insurance? You might die” and “are you SURE you don’t want to book a car, hotel, dinner and some company for the night?” Okay, just kidding about that last one.

Buuuut yes, they are masters of the upsell. I’m surprised they don’t charge me for oxygen at this point.

2. Triple check the airport for your Wizz Air destinations

Like many budget airlines, Wizz Air typically flies into smaller airports that are a total pain to get to.

For instance, my friendly neighbourhood Wizz Air airport is Memmingen, sometimes referred to as “Munich West”.

What they don’t tell you is they mean REALLY west, like “64 miles away from actual Munich” west… or “need to ride a 1.5 hour shuttle bus for 15 euros” west.

So, keep these additional costs in mind before making that Wizz Air booking.

NOTE: They do offer a Wizz Air Airport transfer service though, so be sure to look into that.

Last but not least, I need to say the airports at Wizz Air destinations are often not the best either, at least from my experience. I

mean, they’re rarely huge international airports so the facilities are often lacking.

They’re like little shoeboxes with a parking lot for planes, so yeah, keep that in mind too.

WIZZ AIR REVIEW BONUS TIP: Before you commit to a cheap ticket and buy shuttle services, use Omio to compare prices and see if there are cheaper/better ways to get there. Alternatively, use Skyscanner to see if there are flights to/from more central and main airports.

3. Familiarize yourself with the (truly comical) Wizz Air Baggage Allowance

You should know that budget airlines often make their money through baggage fees and Wizz Air is no exception.

With the price of your ticket, the only bag that you get included is ONE carry-on bag that is not even guaranteed to be brought on board with you (they force you to check it for free if there’s no more space).

This means unless you pay for priority, you don’t even get a small purse or backpack (as is the norm with most airlines).

NOTE: Wizz Air Hand Luggage Size has changed recently so refer to the image below for a recent photo of their “fit your bag in this or PAY” box.

Anyways, yes, Wizzair baggage is pretty crazy.

If you intend to check a bag in any way, shape or form, just know that it’s pretty pricey. For an up-to-date list on Wizzair luggage price, visit the official Wizz Air site.

4. Know the Wizz Air cancellation policy

Wizz Air has a pretty strict cancellation policy. You can get the full scoop here on their official site .

At the time of writing this article, the cancellation fee is 60 euros.

If you pay this fee, then you get a full refund. Considering how cheap the flights are anyway, it might even be worth it.

This is why I need to stress that Wizz Air is definitely NOT for you if you need some flexibility in your booking.

5. Wizz Air priority boarding is 1000% worth it

4-40 euros for an extra carry-on bag and the ability to cut insane lines like these?

Totally, 1 million percent worth it if you’re able to score priority for a price on the lower end of this spectrum.

Once upon a time Priority was only 4 euros across the board, but this is no longer the case… which is a huge shame if you ask me!

Be mindful though that…

6. Wizz Air priority boarding will make you hilariously uncomfortable

So I will say this: while Wizz Air priority boarding is certainly worth the price tag, the systems in place for priority passengers are genuinely hilarious and terrible.

First off – there really isn’t a clear line for priority passengers because most people just gather around like a mob anyway.

This makes it very very awkward for you to slip in and board early because everyone will assume you’re cutting in line. I hope you enjoy judgey stares.

Once you get past the priority line, things get even weirder.

I’ve had two very different experiences.

At Memmingen Airport, priority passengers just awkwardly waited outside to board the plane, but there was no queuing system so eventually all the “regular” passengers came out mob-style and negated the priority privileges anyway.

I’m not sure what was worse – this or my more recent experience at Varna airport, where they had sectioned off the shuttle bus to the plane with a bit of yellow/black tape to segregate priority/non-priority passengers.

Us few priority passengers got to enjoy the luxury of enough space for cartwheels, while the regular passengers crammed like sardines into the other half.

It was awkward, and avoiding eye contact was a must.

7. Consider investing in the Wizz Air Discount Club

So sure, obviously the Wizz Air Discount Club is just another money trap so they can siphon as much dolla from you as possible, but in some cases, it’s actually really worth it (or so I tell myself so I can sleep at night).

Basically, you pay 30 euros a year for the Standard Membership which gets you and one travel companion a minimum 10 euros discount on each flight, plus 5 euro discounts on checked bags.

This means it’s already worth it if you buy one set of roundtrip flights for you and a friend with bags! Since I intend to do more Balkans travel this year, I bought it and I’m still happy with my decision.

They also have a group membership that lets you extend your benefits to 5 companions for 70 euros a year. I mean, I don’t have that many friends, but you can do that if you want.

They also offer a Privilege Pass for frequent travelers that I’m not fancy enough for. Read more about it here .

8. Wizz Air Customer Service is like a group project – THEY WILL ALWAYS LET YOU DOWN

I can’t sugarcoat it. Wizz Air customer service is horrible .

Like, it’s so bad I can’t even wrap my mind around it.

The Wizz Air call center is a straight up trap. Like I mentioned above, you need to pay 15 euros to even open up a case file with them.

Otherwise, you’re subject to their email support people, where they will tell you that “due to high volume”, requests will take weeks to process… which they do.

NOTE: This is mostly in reference to when things go wrong and you need to amend your booking in any way. The in-person staff (flight attendants, check-in staff, etc.) are quite nice actually… I’ve never had a bad experience.

In short though, if you anticipate that you’ll require any kind of customer service at any point, think twice before booking with Wizz Air.

Wizz Air Route Map

Okay, your reaction at this point of my Wizz Air review probably falls under one of two camps: either you’re like “HECK YES, LET ME THROW MONEY AT YOU, WIZZ AIR” or you’re backing away slowly, rushing to the comfort and convenience of more mainstream airlines.

Either way, you might be curious to know the different routes that they fly.

You can find a Wizz Air flight map here.

Wizz Air Review: The Final Word – Is It Worth It?

Well, I promised you an honest Wizz Air review, so I hope you enjoyed all that oversharing!

At the end of the day, here’s what I think: Wizz Air, like any budget airline, has a lot of flaws. Or… let’s call them quirks.

Objectively, these quirks are pretty awful (inconvenient airports, poor customer service, many additional fees, etc.) BUT what totally makes them tolerable is the fact that the flights are SO CHEAP.

I mean, if you book early enough, you can go to some of the coolest places in Europe for 20 euros roundtrip… sometimes even less!

With prices like these, I honestly don’t get why people have such high expectations. For 20 euros, I’m pretty stoked so long as my plane doesn’t catch fire. You know?

So, if you’re a budget traveler, backpacking Europe or otherwise just want to travel Europe as cheap as possible , Wizz Air is a fine option so long as you’re familiar with the additional costs and you have your expectations in check.

If you have a little extra money to spend and hate any forms of inconvenience, more mainstream airlines might be a better fit for you.

Anyways, I hope you found this honest Wizz Air review helpful! Feel free to share your own experiences/questions in the comments below (the good, the bad AND the ugly).

My Go-To Travel Favourites:

🧳 Eagle Creek: My favourite packing cubes

💳 Wise: For FREE travel friendly credit cards

🍯 Airalo: My go-to eSIM

🏨 Booking.com: For searching hotels

📷 Sony A7IV: My (amazing) camera

✈️ Google Flights : For finding flight deals

🌎 WorldNomads: For travel insurance

🎉 GetYourGuide: For booking activities

56 thoughts on “Wizz it Worth It? An Honest Review of Flying with Wizz Air”

I laughed, I cried, I now know a whole heck of a lot about Whizz air!

I flew with them in the past years and totally agree with your review. I have the same feeling about Wizz. I got the discount membership as well and it is easy to earn that back.

To be honest, Wizz Air sounds like every other budget airline in existence. Reading this review is like reading about Ryanair and easyJet. I guess they are fine if you know what to expect. I always fly budget cuz I’m cheap. haha!

I agree with everything you’ve written in this post but I LOVE WIZZ AIR! Living in Rotterdam, we use it to fly from Eindhoven, which is an hour and a half away (!), and yes the train costs more than most flights. But as someone who travels with a medical device, I’ve never had an issue flying with them and that’s saying a lot for any airline let alone a budget airline. Their special assistance people have always gotten back to me in a reasonable amount of time and helped out as needed. I personally don’t understand people who don’t read all the fine print and then complain about something. Yes, you have to know what you’re getting into and any fees you may face. But every time I’ve been waiting to get on the plane, I see the ticket checkers asking such people with two bags to try to fit everything into one. They’re not just automatically charging people, they’re relatively understanding. Oh and last – if you live in Europe close to a Wizz hub, the discount club is absolutely worth it. When I booked my first flight (with my husband) buying the club membership was cheaper than it would have been without it. It’s a nobrainer because not only do you save money on every flight, but you’re offered even more insane discounts on the regular. So anyway, that’s my love letter to Wizz Air. Even though you have to walk an endlessly long distance outside to get to the plane in Eindhoven, I’m still a convert!

I’ve flown Wizz Air once and had no issues but this review was hilarious can definitely apply to Ryanair!! Fab post – so refreshing!

Ohhhh dear, this is so good to know! I’m flying to Iceland with them in September – feel a little more prepare now that I’ve read this!

THE TRUTH. Nothing more. Loved the post.

Always a good laugh with you. I only flew them once from Malta to Cluj and I think I slept the whole time because I have blocked that memory out somehow. The name kind of cracks me up and I can totally handle judgey stares. I would definitely fly them again with those prices!

This was hilarious and also quite terrifying the extent they seem to be pressuring you into paying for extras and not to mention the anxiety you would feel not wanting to make a basic human error in the entire process!

Thanks for making my day 😉 what a refreshingly honest review. And I feel you. I only used Whizzair once or twice, but I feel pretty much the same about Ryanair. I am a frequent flyer (mainly work trips) and my go to airline is British Airways. But as long as you know what you let yourself into, using any of the budget airlines is fine (and sometimes just can’t be avoided, depending on your destination)

As someone who flies Ryanair all the time, I was used to the upsell while booking… I flew with them to Sofia from the UK and I think I preferred wizz! They descended really quickly though and my ears hurt more than usual, which happened on both flights but I’m not sure that’s their policy haha! Their free bag used to be handbag sized, is that still the case? This made me laugh, I’m also 5ft so leg room is never a problem ! Great post

I love using the liner,it is good,it is cheap,it is worth it.whenever I can I am tavelling with Wizz.new planes,nice crew.

Thank you for this exhaustive analysis. I flew Tallinn to Kiev and back a week ago – it was my first experience with WizzAir – and I have exactly the same impression about the company. I am very careful in any online activities, always double re-checking and by-passing the possible traps, and had no problems bying the return ticket and checking in for both legs (I used the fact that the return check-in starts 15 days in advance and printed boarding passes for both flights at home before leaving to my aunt in Kiev). I preferred to pay extra 46 euros for 20 kg check-in luggage just to avoid any anxiety about some excessive grams or kilograms in my bag. Anyway, even with that extra my trip was 100 euros cheaper than with standard airlines. And I booked my flight 5 days prior to departure. But, taking into account your review, in the future I will include in my travel insurance the “Travel Disruption” item. Just in case. On my back trip to Tallinn I had the same experience as Amber – on of my ears hurt. I didn’t know it was due to the rate of descending. I slightly opened my mouth to equalise the pressure and that helped to some extent.

My flight from Roma Ciampino to Chisinau started with problems and ended with even more problems regarding the return flight.

Firstly, I wasn’t able to complete the check-in online due to the following statement “CHECK-IN IS NOT AVAILABLE DUE TO PAYMENT ISSUES (UNDER- OR OVERPAYMENT). The assistant at the counter in Ciampino, after a phone call to Wizz confirmed that I didn’t have to pay the extra charge of Euro 30 and that I would get a reimbursement of Euro 5 for the company’s mistake what never happened though.

Again, in Chisinau I couldn’t complete the check-in online. At the airport the handling was considerably more difficult. The assistant wouldn’t complete the check-in without my previous payment of Lei 700. When finally the check-in was supposed to be completed and I was handed over my passport I realized that the boarding pass was missing. I had to go back to the counter and ask for it.

After the boarding procedure, sitting on the bus to take me to the plane, the lady from the check-in appeared again. Still another mistake…she had kept the original check-in payment receipt which instead was for me and therefore was bringing it back. I’m thankful that the flight was ok and I have returned to Rome although having to pay for the return ticket to Termini that had been paid online along with my booking.

I’m extremely disappointed by this treatment and the unsatisfactory service. I’ve been a Wizz Club Member since October 2017. For each flight I purchased Wizz Priority and the bus transfer tickets from Roma Termini to Ciampino and return. However, the return ticket hadn’t been issued.

In case you would need it I can provide any proof. The cost of my flight amounts to Euro 169,98 + Wizz Priority Euro 10 + bus transfer ticket Euro 10 for a total of Euro 189,98. My statement of account on May 15, 2018 is showing this exact amount.

Please look into this matter as soon as possible. I’m confident that you will repay these unjustified expenses.

On Wizzair’s request I’ve sent all available proof but they continue to reject any responsability when it’s clear as day that’s all due to irregularities on their system.

This is my worst experience in many years.

Hi Elvi, I don’t work for Wizz Air (as I’m sure you can tell by this scathing review) but I’m sorry to hear you’ve had this experience. I hope you’re properly compensated soon!

ELVI I completely understand you. I somehow can’t see my post but I try to paste it here one more time hi All my honest review of these airways is. low budget. nice stewardess. small seats. you have to pay for all water,meal- understeable. my trip to tenerife was good but the return messed up my good mood completely. wizz air app notified me 48 hours back that I should check in which I did and seat was successfully assigned to me no error message about boarding pass not generated. it was generated from vienna to tenerife so I expected the same on return. well imagine my surprise when on airport they requested me to pay 35 euros. I was really mad about this tried to call wizzair hotline -no response- evening flight. when I wanted wizzair to refund this they said it was everything ok on their side and they will not refund. where I come from someone who provides service should make sure that his systems work properly. I haven’t received either error message on their app that boarding pass was not generated. if yes I would make sure I will have this generated. they also claim that tenerife does not support electronic passes which is not true as I saw people also for my flight scanning their phones. This simply ruined my experience with WIZZAIR. at the moment I have strongly negative feelings about these airways. cheers.

We have also written a review of Wizzair and got feedback that the review was too positive. Wizzair is a good airline to fly as long as you understand its low-cost model. But to be honest, 2 things have got much worse: baggage policy and seat assignment policy. But still we could fly with them.

The prices are unbeatable – that’s for sure! Nice to hear you had a positive experience with them. I do think thats possible, but you just need to be prepared haha. Hopefully this post will help a lot of people with that!

Came here to say: this is just such a great review. Thank you. I laughed loads.

I flew with Wizz Air once, and I forgot to check in online, it was my first flight with them, so they charged me around 38 Euros for printing a boarding card. That is soooo old fashioned!! This was in 2016, are they still chargeing that?? Anyway, flying with Norwegian, you always have a boarding pass in your phone, and usually free wifi (except for some long-haul flights). Yes they are more expensive than Wizz, but usually cheaper than regular airlines.

Fraud company, very unfriendly service, very dangerous flights with stupid stuff

I had the displeasure of flying from Budapest to Lisbon by Wizz Air. I bought the ticket through an agency and was never informed of the need to check in online. The interesting thing is that the company sent me an e-mail asking me to arrive at the airport early, but made no mention of the need to check in online. When I went on board I was obliged to pay 200 euros for the check in. I swear: 200 euros for check in. I complained, but very rude staff did not explain anything to me. Run away from this company.

200?!?!?! That is UNHEARD of. I’m so angry for you. I’m really sorry that happened. I’ve heard of 40-60 euros, but never 200. Thanks for sharing your experience!

Totally agree for the most part, no issues with Wizz just understand low cost model, no customer service if something goes wrong. A tip for people if you use Wizz Flex book each flight separately (their and back, you may have a medical issue or not be able to return but you already there). I booked Wizz Flex, 2 individual fees for each leg of my journey but have to cancel both legs because it is a return trip. I only need to cancel 1 leg but cannot do it, the price of the flights have gone up to make it not worth it cancelling both, not flexible at all. Aggressive in terms of business practice, know the rules and play them at their own game. Their trick is to suck you in at a low price and then pile on the extras and not support you if things go wrong.

Dear Christina! Thank you very much for this awesome review on wizzair. I have read so many negative comments on this airline and got very disappointed and started to look with fear into my upcoming trip. However you raised my spirit (at least a little bit). 🙂 I would like to ask you a few question about wizzair, maybe you know some of the answer from you travelling experience with them. I tried to find an e-mail address to ask them, but did not find any. 🙁 Do you know where to find it? We (my husband and I) will be travelling for the first time with them (also first time flying), so we are a little nervous. We bought wizz plus tickets and will fly without interruptions. We have to take with us a few bottles of wine as present, so can put them in the checked-in bag or they will be confiscated? I heard that you can bring with you only sealed toothbrush and toothpaste, deodorant, and preferably in the carry-on bag; is this true? Can you bring some food with you on the plane? Also, our ticket allow us to bring freely in the cabin area a trolley bag, but it must be a trolley bag or can be any kind of bag with the same dimensions? I apologize for this quite long comment and thank you for your help! :)))

Priority boarding on Wizz is definitely a scam. It just means you board the transit bus ahead of everyone else. It still means you have to wait until the gate is closed and everyone is aboard the buses. It states on their website that when the bus arrives you will be first on the plane, news flash probably not. Once the bus doors open it is a free for all.

What a wonderful review. Wizz sounds like Jetstar or Tiger here in Australia. I was looking at Tallinn to London and stumbled across this airline and searched for reviews. Yours was by the best. I’m still undecided by the way. It’s either Wizz or Ryanair for a direct flight and I’m not sure whether that’s much of a choice at all. I might do the long way and go Finnair with a connection.

I wanna book a flight with Wizz Air but all this reviews gave me a strange feeling about the airline. Thanks for your review. I will think about it twice now. The prices are really good but the hidden fees make me worry. I think its better to book a flight with this airline if you just want to make a short trip with hand luggage.

seriously, you have some fair points and have obviously travelled with wizz often, however i do not agree with your bottom line. wizz is not worth any of our money. they are cheating, lying, freaking cons and the service they offer is just plane pathetic misery. this is a pathetic excuse for an airline. and i say this after decades of shitty shitty experience using (because THERE IS JUST NO OTHER OPTION to travel to hungary from where i live). anyone NOT FORCED to choose them, Do OPT FOR ANOTHER. you really should.

I’m flying with this company several times a year and I must admit I have mixed feelings about them. Most of the time everything is fine but over the course of the last 3 years I had many different experineces from cancelled flight without giving any reason (fare refunded in full) to arriving earlier (45 mins!) at my destination. As for the upselling part, of course, it’s a budget airline and if someone doesn’t like this business model they should fly with somebody else. And a note for those who are complaining about high fees, everything is transparent and you know about the fees beforehand, in fact, they ask you multiple times before paying for anything whether you’re sure you’d like to continue with the purchase! Not paying attention and not reading all the available information is not an excuse!

The priority boarding in my opinion is a total waste of money (even if it costs just a few euros) at least at the airport which I’m usually flying to/from. Since they introduced plus one piece of carry-on with priority guaranteed on board the priority line is like tree times the size of the non-priority line. The airport even had to reorganize the gate area. 😀

I read a lot of stuff in advance, so I was able to avoid all the extra charges. However, when i booked the flights for a group of 11 people, the total sum was 1608€. I paid with a credit card and noticed a few days later, that ~1800€ was charged from my card. I checked everything a dozen times and the sum was 1608€ in all the confirmations and booking details.

After contacting the customer support via email, they told me that a third party company handles the payments and the extra cost is due to currency conversion charged by them. When booking, I had an option to choose to pay in EUR or PLN. Since I use EUR and all the prices at the site were in EUR, that’s what I chose. Appararently, it was a mistake and I should have chosen PLN to avoid the conversion made by the 3rd party company. It goes without saying, that this was not mentioned anywhere. Somewhere in their terms they mention something like “additional conversion fees may apply”. And in reality the company handling the payment is the same corporation group as wizzair.

I had to just take the hit and everyone paid 17-18€ extra each. I asked them for an actual receipt for the sum that was charged from me, but they couldn’t deliver one.

“Regarding your request to include the converted amount in your invoice, unfortunately we cannot comply with your request, as we have not received the difference between the conversion, nor is it reflected on our system.”

Thank you very much for this review! You saved me and my husband a surprise 50 euro fee at the airport for our carry-on bags.

The priority in wizz air is actually the price of bigger luggage that used to be free. Many people buy the option so you will find out at the gate that”priority” lane is as long as the standard one. I have also expierienced many delayed flights. The boarding is on time but start is delayed due to “airport congestion”. If the pilot says 45mins then it us over an hour. No customer service.

Worst airline and rudest service. Avoid at all cost!!!

hi All my honest review of these airways is. low budget. nice stewardess. small seats. you have to pay for all water,meal- understeable. my trip to tenerife was good but the return messed up my good mood completely. wizz air app notified me 48 hours back that I should check in which I did and seat was successfully assigned to me no error message about boarding pass not generated. it was generated from vienna to tenerife so I expected the same on return. well imagine my surprise when on airport they requested me to pay 35 euros. I was really mad about this tried to call wizzair hotline -no response- evening flight. when I wanted wizzair to refund this they said it was everything ok on their side and they will not refund. where I come from someone who provides service should make sure that his systems work properly. I haven’t received either error message on their app that boarding pass was not generated. if yes I would make sure I will have this generated. they also claim that tenerife does not support electronic passes which is not true as I saw people also for my flight scanning their phones. This simply ruined my experience with WIZZAIR. at the moment I have strongly negative feelings about these airways. cheers.

I’ve booked a holiday and found out that I’ve been booked with Wizzair, much to my dismay. You fail to mention that the ONE carry-on bag they allow you has to be smaller than 40x30x20cm!! You can bearly get anything in it so you are forced to pay for priority just to get a normal 55x40x23cm size hand luggage case on. I was told priority boarding is £41 each and then they would only allow two out of our party of three to have it because apparently THAT’S a discounted rate! So I tried to check in a bag instead, £116 for ONE 20kg bag between us, again extortionate! Cant afford that. Tried to get seat allocation – £123!! The list goes on, I dont know where people get priority for less than a tenner, a hold bag for under twenty etc. it’s not true, everything with this con company is massively expensive. I’ve been left now worried sick, I fly in a few days and I dont know what I’m going to do, we cant go a whole week without any clothes, it seems we are going to have to waddle onboard WEARING about 5 layers! And btw, the flights themselves were not that cheap either, dearer than other budget airlines that allow u a hand luggage case for free, let u sit together and only charge a small amount for priority boarding (which you dont need anyway since you already have your bag!) Oh and they SAY they allow you to take some food onboard if bought at the airport but only if that also fits in that tiny 20cm bag, so again they know you cant actually do it. They’ve got you every-which- way. Horrible. Nasty. Con-artists. Already spoiling my holiday and I havent even gone yet.

I bought the city express transfer together with the wizzair flight ticket, I didn‘t get any email or infos about the transfer. The link on the wizzair website about transfer doesn‘t work: blank page. I asked the flight attendants for infos: they didn‘t know about anything, so did everyone else in the airport. The only wizzair tel. numb. I could find (on the invoice) wasn‘t active anymore. Finally we found the wizzair bus meeting point, a wizzair transfer conductor was there but didn‘t take us on his bus, as it was a PR one. He checked and confirmed our reservations, then told us to wait for his colleague who was coming.

We waited 25 minutes, under the sun, alone in the parking, then we left and payed another transfer. That‘s a shame, the worst first impression of wizzair services ever!

We could neither use the return transfer ’cause we wouldn‘t even now where and when would be the meeting point.

The transfer company answered to my complaint at first with a standard mail (“you will get a transfer confirmation”.. but it was already over!) and they never answered to my new complaint!

I wrote to wizzair and they basically said that they don’t give a thing about it because the contract was with the transfer company. So they’re really non interested in the quality of they additional services neither in clients feedbacks. Nice.

Luckily enough the public transports from the airport to the center are really good: 3 € per ride, easy to find, punctual, air con… so why, why, WHY buy the wizzair express transfer??

I have traveled with Wizz a couple of times. Not the best air travel choice, but always got me from a to b. Since the pandemic, these MONSTERS, because i can’t find a nicer word, are SCAMMING people out of their money. They promise flights will go through, but they never do. They reschedule flights automaticly for you, without your former consent, and then they tell you that you already accepted the changes. IT Is over 1 year that i HAVE TO fly, and they just push it out so long that the reason why i had to fly became the reason i couldn’t fly no more(paperwork expired). The Customer service is HORRENDOUS! they never were friendly, but for them to tell me: ” we can’t help you” after it’s their fault and they didn’t even try!!!!!! And don’t even get me started on the refund policy. In what universe is 120% credit half than what you payed in? And after paying extra for the freaking rescheduling, 2 or 3 times!!! I recommend, if you still want or have to to fly with these SCAM ARTISTS , get yourself directly a lawyer !

This was really helpful. I was tempted by the cheap flights, but I am a wheelchair user and the thought of using something that doesn’t have good customer service is daunting. Don’t suppose you know anything about how they treat disabled passengers (and the wheelchairs that end up in the hold…?)

This airline is a total rip off!! Just had to pay €50 for “2 extra bags” – including my handbag as that counted as extra!! No body said anything on way to Budapest from Luton!!!! First & last time traveling with this awful airline, never on time either … I am a frequent traveller but never been treated as such….. daylight robbery!

I would have saved money if I would not use Wizzair. There is NO customer service. I would not advice anyone to book with them. Their system is full of bugs and they find excuses to charge you additional fees – if you don’t pay – you won’t fly.

Priority for 4€ ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I booked a flight to London and when I wanted to choose priority just to have a trolley included, it costs 20€!!! in one way, so it’s 40€!!! for both ways!!!! What in the hell

This post is for 2018. Since then the carry on is now 40x30x20. Just a small bag is allowed. And if you want priority it is around 20€. A total rip off. And they are cancelling routes and changing destinations on existing bookings without emailing you about it. Sucks.

I like to think of low cost airlines not as relentless moneymakers, but as airlines which give me the opportunity to strip the things I don’t need off my ticket. If I don’t need the free bag and the airplane food which are “complimentary” (read: included in the ticket price) with other airlines, it’s great to be able to opt out of paying for them. In my experience, Wizzair is better than many low cost airlines – in fact the only low cost thing about them is the pricing policy. Their staff are usually impeccably trained, polite and helpful, their aircraft are new, and their safety record is so far impeccable, so they are usually my first choice for flying anywhere. I agree with most of what the post says – but would like to make just three comments in Wizzair’s defense: (1) many of the folks who get charged for various services out of the blue are people who haven’t flown low cost before and don’t know that you should read through the rules; there’s nothing hidden in their fees, they’re posted clearly on the web, so I don’t see this as the airline’s problem; and I don’t think it makes sense for them to send you an email of what the airline does NOT offer 🙂 (2) some of the airports they use are the smaller ones – but in many places they do fly into the main airport (e.g. Barcelona, Oslo, or anything in Eastern Europe); and (3) the way in which things are organised in the airports is often up to the airport, not wizzair; those guys who scream at you to put everything in your bag are often the company who operates the checkin at the local airport. Whenever I’ve had less than pleasant experiences with those, it wasn’t with the wizzair employees, who were always very polite, and sometimes actually charming (like on last week’s flight from Oslo, where the flight attendants’ professionalism would have shamed anyone at Lufthansa). I’m not a wizzair employee either, by the way, but I confess I’m a fan, and a fairly frequent flyer and user of their Discount club 🙂

Thanks for the positive and logical reply

Really bad company, with sales techniques absolutely unfair. When we booked our tickets they forced us to pay an extra to choose a seat whereas it’s absolutely not compulsory. We finally found how to pass this step but everything is maid to force people to pay.

Then, we paid 10 euros for a “cabin bagage” when we booked our flight. Our bag was exactly on the good dimensions but surprisingly we were forced to pay a fine at the gate of the plane because this bag was supposed to be checked-in, it was not mention anywhere on our ticket or on our mail…

Finally we paid 10 euro to add this little bag + a 30 euros fine. It was unbelievable that anyone in the staff understood their mistake, and moreover spoke very aggressively. This company is stealing money by using this kind of process (one third of the passenger had the same problem).

LAST TIME WIZZ AIR, even if I have to fly with 3 stops instead of direct.

WIZZAIR MADE US PAY FOR CONFIRMED TICKET, MADE US PAY FOR CHECKIN, MADE US PAY FOR LUGGAGE and at he END THE FLIGHT WAS OVERBOOKED AND 3 OF US WERE LEFT BEHIND WITHOUT GETTING ANY SEAT, they separated the whole Family, although FAMILIES wit SMALL KIDS SHOULD HAVE PRIORITY!!!!!

We have booked 4 full fare tickets 2 Adults 2 Kids (7,8).

1) Online checkin did not work for us, so we arrived at the airport and had to pay 125,- Euros to checkin (CHECKIN FEE for CHECKING in on the Airport). We had to run to another terminal to pay this fee, and come back to show the receipt, otherwise no boarding passes?????

2) According to ticket we were allowed to take 4 small bags. We have bought 4 small bags specifically for this trip with a maximum of 6 kg as described (same size as a backpack, but very small trollies). Nevertheless the weight and size didn’t matter to checkin staff and they made us pay another 65 euros, since they were not a backpack and looked like trollies???? For what reason does Wizzair have weight and size restrictions if they don’t stick to it???????.

3) Arriving at the Gate, without any seats assigned we went to the lady at the gate which was not a WIZZAIR EMPLOYEE (3 party Aircraft Handling Company), to tell us that the flight is OVEBOOKED and we will have to wait until the end with our 2 little kids to see if they can take us. The screen at the gate showed families with children have priority boarding (didn’t look like).

At the END only my wife was able to board the plane, and I was left behind with my two kids. The third party handling agent at the gate told us to leave the terminal and go outside to the 3rd party ticket counter to get alternative plans.

This did dot happen since the had to booked another ticket online at the gate to catch a flight VIE-BCN-AGP, which airline was able to accept us at the gate with bags and without additional costs for checkin and luggage.

I would highly recommend not flying Wizzair, this behaviour should not be tolerated from an airline against full fare paying passengers by law.

Unfortunately, I see myself forced to write a negative review for my first and only experience with Wizz Air. If you are a traveller or enjoy visiting new cities please take 2 mins to read this:

I had a flight from Berlin to Budapest on 6.12.2019, it was overbooked so I was denied boarding.

I contacted the airlines in the next day and until today I didn’t receive the compensation as per the EU regulations. I was accused of not showing up at the counter to take the denied boarding form.

This is not true because I showed up in the counter and was given back the check-in money in cash. In addition, I was granted a one night stay at the airport’s hotel and the officers clarified to me to claim the compensation online. So how can I not show up in the counter and take these?

I understand that an overbooked flight can just happen but what is not accepted is to spend 40+ days sending several emails to get the compensation.

At the moment I am not sure if this review will move something yet I think that when someone reads this will definitely think twice before booking with #Wizzair.

#complain #over_booking #EU_regulations #berlin_sxf

Contact with their customer service is 100% impossible IF you are not in one of the countries they operate from. I am organising flights for others, but myself am in Kenya. Because of COVID19 I have been hit by sudden flight bans by certain countries. Their online options don’t cover everything. In addition, all of their contact telephone numbers are Premium Service high cost numbers which you cannot access from outside the country. They provide no email. This is not about having no experience with low cost airlines, or experience in complex bookings. It is about a severely limited service. It is sad, it means with even one lost booking which could not be rebooked/credited, or anything else, all of the people I am booking with will now have a negative view of Wizz air, who will lose future bookings. It will be worth paying more for backup in extreme circumstances. Sad really.

Wizzair charged me twice for my flight because of an error on their website. It happened in December 2019. It is now September 2020 and I still have not been issued with a refund. Wizzair has already said twice that they issued me with a refund, but they never did. The worst customer service ever. Never flying with Wizzair again.

Price performance fits. New machines; Staff friendly; Clean Punctual; Affordable. You get what you pay for and you have to inquire in advance. Meanwhile I flew with Wizz again and always everything is OK.

Ignorant Wizz Air employee at check-in (London, Luton) made me miss my flight by insisting on an unnecessary COVID test. (Not required for immunised passengers arriving in Gibraltar – they do a free test on arrival). By the time I had obtained the test outside the airport, the check-in desk was closed. They refuse to admit liability and it cost me £350 on train fare to Gatwick, new ticket, overnight stay at airport hotel etc.

Do not fly Wizzair! Why? Because they are masters of deceiving tricks and practices. Take a moment and read what I experienced, and then decide if you want to fly with this company. It all began when we found cheap tickets to Sicily and we decided to make a reservation for our holiday. My three kids, wife and me. Of course, they offer all possible extras such as travel insurance, risk trip cancellation, 4.99 eur per person for online check-in service, service package assistance for 32.80 eur, etc, it’s up to you. We had to fight through a complicated system of check-in two days before the departure, as they kept sending emails, inviting and pressing to do the reservation of seats. If we don’t do the check-in online for free, it would cost us 35 eur per passenger at the airport. When I tried to do the check-in, the system wouldn’t let me through, unless I choose the seats. But these had to be paid extra 60 eur per seat. Naturally I was searching for fora to find out if I really have to pay this extra or is it possible to do it at the airport for free. Nothing useful came out of this search, so this is another reason why I’m writing these lines. One day before the flight, the amount for check-in (for free) and choosing seats was reduced to a more reasonable sum, so I thought ok, maybe I will not have so many problems at the airport and children can sit together with us. On the day of departure, I received an email even before we started from our home, saying that there will be a delay. When we came to the airport, another email for further delay arrived – altogether almost two hours. Needless to say, that this was the only flight to show delay on the departures display… We arrived safely, sitting together and playing with the children. When asked for a cup of water for my son who had hiccups, the steward kindly said we can buy a bottle. When our holiday was nearing the end, I was expecting an email from the company, saying we can do the check-in, as it happened the first time repeatedly. Unfortunately, no email came, and in all the fuss about returning the rent-a-car and packing I forgot to do it a day earlier. It should be said, that online check-in at this company is possible until three hours before the flight. After that you have to do it at the ticket office and pay for it. It’s all clearly explained on their website. Our flight was scheduled at 14:50 next day, so I decided to do it early in the morning. When I was looking to figure out how to do it, I learned that I forgot the password for the company’s website. So, I pressed the password reset button and waited. And waited. We had to move on to the airport, went to the counter, but the lady said that we can check-in only two hours before the flight. Finally, the password reset email came, exactly at 12:00! I tried to do the check-in, but the system didn’t allow it any more, as it is possible to do it only until three hours before the flight. Flight which was already advertised to be delayed. I went to the counter, and very nice lady tried to do it for me, but then she realized it is impossible and sent me to the ticket office. There was nobody until 13:30 and finally another nice lady explained to me that I have to pay extra 215 eur for check-in and for issuing flying tickets. As the departure was nearing, I decided to surrender. And it wasn’t only me who had this problem, at least three other passengers I saw standing behind me at the ticket office – a young couple from USA and another lady. Of course, we got seats scattered all around the airplane, from row 6 till 32 – to punish us further? Later in the plane I noticed empty rows just in front of me, the system knew we are a family with kids… I didn’t say anything about the luggage yet. A very elaborated system, but you can choose whatever suits you best, so we took two checked-in bags, allowing us to have 2x20kg of stuff, paying extra 104 eur and two hand baggage. For children we decided to take the priority option, allowing them to have two cabin baggage, one of 8kg, and one hand baggage. As we already witnessed unpleasant situations at boarding, we were very careful to respect the allowed dimensions – 1/40x30x20 and 1/55x40x23. Waiting for delayed departure (again), we saw a man who evidently suffered some kind of accident and had immobilized left arm. His wife asked for a priority boarding and thy were allowed to it. But then a lady came, asking them about the luggage. As they didn’t pay for it, they were not allowed to bring it to the cabin, unless they pay extra. Another lady wanted to bring her baggage to the cabin, although she paid with her ticket for the checked-in luggage (but did not use this option). So, she has been invited to pay extra 45 eur before boarding. What is evident from this writing, is the fact that the company actively seeks how to deceive passengers to squeeze more money out of their pockets, which is nothing new for a low-cost company. But in the attempt to achieve this goal, they carry out a series of unfair practices. From the attractive price at the beginning (14,99 eur for us), it costed us almost 700 eur. This is an amount that allows you to fly with a normal airline, you don’t have to choose low-cost and to endure all this stress and fraudulent practices. But the most striking thing that triggered this writing is the planned delay in sending an electronic response to a password reset, and the fact that it’s a deliberate and intentional delay. Wait until it is too late to do the online check-in is really a dirty, rude, dishonest and unfair practice. And the trick that you cannot check-in if you don’t pay for seats? Why do you have to pay for seat allocation when checking online? Why there is no clear explanation how to avoid this payment? I invite any other passenger who had similar experiences to write a response to this notice, to explain people that this company is not worth their trust. Of course, I took all the envisaged steps to appeal to the company, but received only the standardized and impersonal answers, explaining the rules of the company’s website. I will no longer fly with this company, and I hope I saved someone’s money and nerves too, when they will choose some other airline. I know that all the rules are carefully explained on the company’s website, but they are so twisted and difficult to understand, you cannot realize you have a problem. Fly safely and enjoy your holidays!

They trick you with cheap flights…….and then you end up paying more! they fucken make you feel that you wish you took the other flight offers! trust me.. you wont save money. simply put big SCAMMERS!!! with very low customer support, which i think is purposly done that way!!! ask yourself, who on the fucken earth charges customer support call? they dont charge you just a normal fee…fucken 15 euros for a fucken call that supposed to be free!!! So tell me that isnt that way on purpose to discourage people to claim anything….. Their online check-in link is fucked up…it might not work….and even if its not your fault they will charge you at the airport…. and like i said…there is not way to claim or explain the situation! its black hole! SCAMMER SCAMMER…..Will never ever fly them again….

Here’s the thing – Wizz cancelled my flight, and then their “hilariously horrible” customer service kicked in, and I haven’t been able to get a refund, let alone compensation, for over a month.

hello. i love your blog. keep it up please! we discuss it with our families!

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Wizz Air Review [2024]: Why I'd Never Fly Wizz Again!

If you're planning to travel across Europe by air, you've no doubt heard of Wizz Air. Are they any good? Tune into my research and experience flying with Wizz Air to be informed the next time you're booking flights!

Budget airlines make a lot of sense when flying short distances. More and more people are turning to cheaper flights instead of normal carriers to save more cash for the actual experiences while traveling. 

Can't blame them cus I'm one of them.

But just because I'm flying on a budget airline, it doesn't mean you'll have to fly with the worst budget carrier. In fact, I actively avoid them and would gladly pay a little more if I've had a horrible experience.

Luckily for y'all, I've documented my journey and research, so nobody has to go through bad airlines that don't put customers first.

My fellow contributors and I have covered many airlines worldwide, such as  Aegean Airlines ,  Iberia Airlines , and  Volaris .

In my recent experience with Wizz Air, I've definitely got my take on whether you should fly with them.

Check out my Wizz Air review! 

I'll tackle all of your questions about this popular low-cost carrier, and hopefully, it'll help you decide if you should book your next vacation with Wizz Air. 

Feel free to scroll down to the end to see my experiences flying with Wizz Air. You'll want to see what happened with me before booking with Wizz Air. Trust me.

What Is Wizz Air?

Wizz Air  is based out of Budapest and is known to be a leading low-cost budget airlines in Europe . Best yet? It's also known as Europe's greenest airline.

The company earned the "greenest airline" title through its relatively new and efficient fleet of airplanes, banning single-use plastics in the cabin, a carbon off-setting program, and paperless flight decks.

Even though this is a European-based company, you'd be happy to hear its comprehensive list of destinations. So where does Wizz Air fly?

Wizz Air operates over 600 routes in many countries in Europe and North Africa, such as Egypt and Morocco. The Middle Eastern Countries of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bahrain, Georgia, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the UAE.

They also fly to Scandinavian countries and Sri Lanka.

What is Wizz Air Known For?

2021 worst airline for flight delays - wizz air.

According to  recent news  and data published by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Wizz Air was named the worst airline for punctuality in the UK in 2021. However, the delays Wizz Air recorded were different from what I first thought.

The recorded average delay of Wizz Air flights in 2021 was slightly over 14 minutes behind schedule, which according to the data published, was the least punctual airline in the United Kingdom. Wizz Air representatives even mentioned to journalists at  The Independent  that keeping delays under 15 minutes during an unprecedented major impact on the industry is "no small feat."

In fact, one of the recent airlines we've covered here,  easyJet , had some of the best punctuality records in 2021.

Wizz Air Mystery Flights Program

In August of 2022, Wizz Air hosted a competition where they'd fly 100 people to secret destinations worldwide. The reward included flight tickets for 2 nights of accommodation and travel insurance.

The 100 chosen travelers departed in Abu Dhabi on August 26th and returned on August 28th, taking them on a short journey to one of Wizz Air's destinations. If you'd like to see more about what happened during that journey, check out the #GetLostwithWizz on Instagram!

This shows me that this airline is trying to appeal to those who make travel a part of their lifestyle.

Does Wizz Air Have Any Partnerships or Alliances?

Wizz Air proudly stands alone because they do not partner with other airlines. Spirit, Allegiant, Ryanair, and EasyJet also share this opinion.

Wizz Air App

The Wizz Air app is available for Android and iPhone. I've discovered it's a handy way to book Wizz Air flights, review your current bookings, check schedules, add services, or change bookings. You can also check-in and download your boarding pass.

The app allows you to change your booking, access a mobile boarding pass, and view your flight status information.

Unfortunately, many users report the app crashing or not loading at all. Most users who leave reviews give the Wizz Air app a low rating. Luckily, I didn't run into any of these issues, but they're worth noting since so many people have complained.

Wizz Air Baggage Allowance Policy

I always worry about baggage when flying, especially with low-cost airlines. If you're like me and sometimes pack too much, here's the info you need to know about baggage fees with Wizz Air.

On all Wizz Air flights, you are allowed to bring one small personal item, which the airline calls a carry-on, for free. That's it!

Wizz Air's official size for personal items is 40 x 30 x 20 cm. Basically, you can take it if it fits in your lap or under your seat.

If you have more than a purse, laptop bag, or a small backpack, you gotta pay extra.

Even though I try to travel as light as I can, I often have a carry-on. Wizz Air calls these "trolley bags." Trolley bags or any items to go in the overhead bins will cost extra. The max sizing for these carry-ons is 55 x 40 x 23 cm.

Any checked bags must be brought to the front desk when you check-in and will cost extra. If your bags are overweight, that'll also add to what you need to pay.

When you're checking bags, you can pick the following weight options:

And the maximum size for a checked bag with Wizz Air is 149 x 119 x 171 cm. If required, you can purchase up to 6 checked bags per person.

I think Wizz Air's baggage policy is one of the worst among all budget carriers. Super confusing but also extremely strict and designed for you to pay extra.

Wizz Air Fees

Wizz Air is a budget airline, so naturally, these flights have no frills.

All extras, such as food and drinks, printing your ticket, exclusive lounges, seat choices, and baggage, will cost an extra fee. This is common with most budget airlines, and travelers should thoroughly research before booking flights and beware of hidden fees.

So don't get tempted by the cheap base fares because it's almost always never the true cost.

Refunds and Cancellation

It is possible to cancel your Wizz Air flight and receive a refund.

Still, applicable cancellation fees increase slightly depending on when you cancel. If you cancel 14 days or more before your flight, the fee is 67 $USD; if it is less than 14 days, it is 86$ USD.

If your flight is canceled by the airline, you can rebook the next available flight for the same or a similar route.

Suppose a flight is unavailable on the same or the next day. In that case, you can arrange your own transport to your destination through a similar carrier, save your receipts and submit them to Wizz Air.

In my opinion, don't waste your time with their process. If you have a decent travel credit card, cancel your flight through them.

The In-Flight Experience

The in-flight experience on Wizz Air is exactly what you would expect from a budget airline. The check-in process is made easier with online tickets, but if you are traveling with a checked bag, you'll need to go to the counter to have it weighed.

For a budget carrier like Wizz Air, you can expect to be boarding using the tarmac from many airports in Europe.

There is no in-flight entertainment, and seats could use a little more space and legroom, but it does have more space than other budget airlines like EasyJet and Sky Airlines.

Most Wizz Air flights fly into airports further away from the main city, so passengers should be well informed of this before booking. 

Upgrades With Wizz Air

There are multiple additional ways to enhance your flying experience with Wizz Air. Here are some of the most popular options that you should know about...

Priority Status

You can add this option to your ticket when you check out. But what's so great about it?

Purchasing Wizz Air Priority Status, you will get priority check-in if you are traveling with larger bags, priority boarding, and a carry-on bag free of charge.

Priority passengers also board a separate bus which arrives first on the plane as well.

The fee for this is anywhere between US$5.50 and US$50. You can buy this perk online, through the Wizz Air call center, or at the airport. Just remember that it'll be more expensive if you buy in person!

Wiz Air does offer a priority status for an extra fee that allows you some perks when traveling. I usually wouldn't pay for this, but after going through such a horrible experience, I find it more convenient to pay for this than not. More to that later.

Wizz Air Discount Club

The Wizz Air membership is also an excellent option for frequent travelers and only costs ~US$44 for a standard membership and ~US$77 for a group membership per year.

The standard membership covers you and one companion. Whereas group membership allows the main individual and up to 5 companions to use the benefits.

What benefits, you ask? This membership gets you ~US$10 off all tickets and ~US$5 off the checked bag cost.

Is Wizz Air Safe?

Wizz Air has a clean record with no recorded fatalities. Their new fleet of airplanes has an average age of 4.5 years, making them super safe to fly.

How is Wizz Air's Customer Service?

Most Wizz Air customers find their customer service to be minimal at best. If there are any issues with your ticket or flight, tracking down customer service to find a resolution can be tricky.

For me, this is something that makes me the most nervous when traveling with budget airlines. I like to have the confidence that someone would help me should my travel plans go awry.

My Experiences Flying Wizz Air

In short, they're terrible. I'm probably never flying with them again. Here's why.

It all started with the online check-in. Here's a small tip for you if this is your first few times flying budget airlines.

Tip:  It's almost always better to check in online as there are usually long waits at the airport, and they'll charge you for extra bags.

Wizz Air's online check-in process is one of the worst I've experienced, and I've flown many budget airlines before. First, they ask you to create an account with them, which is an unnecessary step, in my opinion. 

Afterward, the app walks you through a 5-7 step process involving priority boarding, baggage, seats, and a printed boarding pass. Remember that anything you select here is  optional  and absolutely not required. 

If you're going through the in-person route, ensure that you give yourself minimum 2 hours for international flights.

Wizz Air check-in counters do not open 2-3 hours until the flight; they're usually a huge line.

Do you think that's bad? Here's where it gets worse.

A Disaster of a First Impression of Wizz Air

It all started when I headed to the airport at the scheduled time of departure, which I double-confirmed with the confirmation they sent me at the time of booking with my Google Calendar's time, which they automatically set up. 

It was a direct flight from Barcelona to Belgrade.

After arriving at the airport, I tried checking in online to Wizz Air at the 3-hour mark of departure, which should be free given the timeframe mentioned in their official policy.

The online check-in didn't seem to work, so I checked the airport's information to see whether it's been delayed. After confirming that the flight was still on time through the airport's screens, I proceeded to the check-in counter to inquire about my issue.

They pointed out that their flight was delayed (shocker) and that the Wizz Air app correctly shows the updated delayed schedule. On top of that, they made me pay ~$70 for in-person check-in because the flight schedule was outside of the timeframe of the online check-in.

Keep in mind that no official email was sent out by Wizz Air, nor did they update the delayed times at the airport. This made me feel like they almost wanted you to come into the check-in counter and pay the extra fees...

That's not all.

Once I got to the boarding gate, Wizz attendants handed out forms on their official policy for cancellation and delays and required all passengers to sign a form that made sure they knew their rights.

To top off everything, both ground and on-flight attendants seem like they're more concerned with abusing their constructed authority of power and control and not at all concerned with customer service whatsoever.

This meant that they were more concerned with how you lined up than with how fast or efficient they were boarding customers. This also meant that they're more concerned with you following their every command rather than treating you like a customer or just a human being.

Upon reading stories and reviews of other Wizz Air passengers, I'm not alone either. With people getting kicked off of flights because of a slight disagreement with airlines sending outdated information to passengers, the overall experience was a disaster.

I'll leave my experience with Wizz Air for you to decide whether you'd still want to fly with them. As for me, I'd much rather pay more money to avoid this disaster of an airline company.

Is Wizz Air Worth It?

In my opinion, nope, absolutely not.

Wizz Air has been known to be the better of the budget European airlines, but I gotta say, I'm gonna stay away from them as far as possible. That's why I would fly it if absolutely necessary, but it wouldn't be my first choice... even then, I'd consider my options over and over again.

They were named the worst UK airline for flight delays for a reason; plus, the actual average time of delay and the PR efforts made by Wizz Air to address the issue now seems kinda fake.

If you're looking for a comfortable flight that goes off without a hitch guaranteed, it might be best to look elsewhere. If you're looking for airlines that treat you like a decent human being, no less a customer of theirs, definitely avoid Wizz Air.

It should be noted with things like banning single-use plastics in the cabin, a carbon off-setting program, and paperless flight decks, I think they may be trending in the right direction, but I personally would wait to see if there's a massive change in their customer feedback online before flying with them again.

Wizz Air is an option for minimalist travelers looking to save money and don't mind dealing with the hiccups and sacrifices that come with budget airlines. While it's an option, it's nowhere close to being a good one.

However, It's still a relatively safe and reliable way to hop around Europe and the surrounding countries on a budget. Wizz Air is sometimes on time, and they have canceled very few flights overall. I'll give credit where credit's due, but it's still a very low bar to surpass.

My Rating: 2.3/5

• Comfortable seating
• Affordable prices
• Sustainable efforts
• Many destinations
• Horrible ground & air staff
• Experience constructed for you to pay more
• Frequent delays & cancellations
• Only fly out of smaller airports
• Hidden fees

General FAQs About Wizz Air

Let's do a quick fire round of any questions you still have lingering about Wizz Air.

How much baggage can I take on a Wizz Air flight?

The allowance varies depending on the type of ticket purchased. Although most of its more average tickets allow for you to only bring one small cabin bag. You often need to pay for trolley bags, as the company calls them, and checked bags.

Can I check in online for Wizz Air flights?

Yes, online check-in is available from 48 hours to 3 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Can I get a refund for my Wizz Air flight?

Refunds are generally not given for low-cost carriers like Wizz Air unless the flight is cancelled or significantly delayed by the airline.

How can I change my Wizz Air flight?

Flights can be changed online through the "My Bookings" section on the Wizz Air website or app. Change fees may apply.

Does Wizz Air provide meals on its flights?

Wizz Air does not include complimentary meals in its ticket price, but food and drinks can be purchased onboard.

What is Wizz Air's policy on traveling with pets?

Wizz Air allows small pets, like dogs, cats, and birds, in the cabin for certain flights. Pets are still subject to restrictions and additional fees.

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Wizz Air Review: What I Hate About Flying Wizz Air in 2023

By: Author MC Miller

Posted on Last updated: September 20, 2023

Categories Airline Reviews

We’ve flown Wizz Air a few times and would fly with them again (we even bought a Wizz Discount Club membership). That said, there are a few things we hate about the Hungarian budget airline and we’re going to vent about those in our Wizz Air review .

Pros : Cheap fares, flight routes to unique locations, positive safety record, reasonable seat room, reliable on time record. Cons : The hidden extra fees (I’m just scratching the surface here), hostesses are too surly to allow a female to take a photo of their pretty pink overcoat uniform Tips : If you need a bag then pack light and book Wizz Priority to skip the queues, board first and bring a 10 kg carry on for €10.

Hopefully Wizz Air management see this feedback and take action because some policies really suck.

What I Hate About Flying Wizz Air in 2022

Sneaky fees were previously the bane of my existence when flying budget airlines in Europe.

Rebooking fees which make changing date futile. Check. Sky high fees if your carry on is overweight at the boarding gate. Check. Bag fees twice the price of the fare. Check

Wizz Air has all the worst fees you’ll find on most budget airlines. But I’ve become accustomed to those and know how to avoid it.

No one makes the same mistake of failing to check in online twice (the €75 pp fee is proven to improve memory, thanks Ryanair).

(Yes, Ryanair sucks too. But I’ve put together a guide about how to avoid every single Ryanair fee ).

My new pet hate is coercing you into making a seat reservation for an extra fee.

No, not would you like extra legroom sir? Or, would you prefer to sit in the first row?

That’s a minor inconvenience which can be clicked away like an annoying pop up ad.

So how have Wizz Air and Ryanair made flying a budget airline worse?

This is the most detestable WizzAir fee

By intentionally seating you away from your travel companions.

Oh, is it inconvenient that you’re in row 6 and your partner needs to board at the rear of the plane to reach her seat in row 42?

Why not buy a seat together for £12?

Thanks Wizz Air. It’s no Emirates First Class !

Not only is this asshole product design. It also makes the crew’s life far more difficult. Why?

Because before take off an adult version of musical chairs takes place with everyone bartering their way to sit with their buddies.

No one wants to be sleep on a random’s shoulder for 2 hours. Shocker.

Well, maybe you should just buy a seat then if you really want to sit with your family?

Are you sure you want to open these floodgates by enabling companies to manipulate you that easily?

What if the next time you went to watch your favourite sporting event, the opera or musical and your ticket only buys you a seat in a certain area. If you want the pleasure of sitting next to someone you know, you’ll have to pay an extra €16.

A great way to increase profits overnight. But at what cost?

There is principle here and people making these decisions need to realise there’s a distinction between imposing cost-saving inconveniences and applying manipulative tactics.

I’m OK with charging people to bring suitcases on board which take up cargo space and add weight, thus consuming more fuel.

What’s not cool is trying to manipulate people to buy seats by splitting friends and families up.

It’s not like they fixed a problem here. Everyone was surviving just fine when seats were allocated in order of when you checked in and groups bookings weren’t dotted across the plane.

Either boycott Wizz Air or play musical chairs to sit with your loved ones. We’ll be doing the latter because the airline doesn’t otherwise suck.

But please, don’t enable companies like Wizz Air to strong arm people by buying this manipulative add on.

Not Happy Jan

Wizz Air Check In

The Wizz Air check in process was quick and straightforward. To check in there are 3 options: check in online and print a boarding pass, download the Wizz Air App or check in at the airport (paid).

Warning: checking in at the airport with Wizz Air is not free. It costs 25 euro if you do not check in online at least 3 hours before your flight. Airport check in is free at these airports only: Dubai (to Budapest only), Corfu, Palma de Mallorca, Tirana (to Budapest only), Zaragoza, Moscow, Marrakesh Menara Airport.

Checking in Using the Wizz Air App

After downloading the Wizz Air App from the play store, I signed in to my account I created when booking my flight.

Once logged in my upcoming flight was displayed with the option to check in (it opens 2 days before your flight – but thankfully you can pay more to check in earlier).

The process involves the usual helpful last minute opportunities up sells which allow budget carriers to turn a profit but are super annoying.

No, I don’t need insurance. Yes, I agree I’m at a much greater risk of dying or suffering personal property injury if I don’t protect myself now.

Aside from the upsells, checking in using the Wizz Air App is simple – my passport and date of birth etc were already pre-loaded from an earlier flight. You can save your details for future flights.

After entering your details you have another opportunity to chose your seat for an additional fee.

Then you will be issued with a boarding pass with a QR code which is your ticket to freedom. The boarding pass can be used offline – so now need to worry about having wifi to use it.

If you’re travelling with a companion on the same booking, and you’ve not yet acquainted yourself with the new upsell which is all the range among budget airlines in Europe right now, you’re in for a pleasant surprise.

Even though you booked together and checked in together – you won’t be sitting together! Hooray for humanity!

Wizz Air Baggage Policy

On Wizz Air you can bring a small backpack, purse on free of charge.

If you need another bag there are a few options:

• €10 – buy Wizz Priority which includes a 10kg carry on bag;
• €12 – check in a 10kg bag (you don’t receive priority with this option);
• €24 – €40 euro – check in a bag from 20 to 30kg.

Our Recommendation : If you’re only taking a small trip, I recommend the 10kg carry on option with Wizz Priority because you also get priority bag drop, boarding and you don’t have to wait around for your luggage at the other end.

I’ve never tried it, but I highly suspect bag pooling is not allowed. By bag pooling I mean where you’re travelling with a friend who is only using 10kg of their 20kg allowance – taking over their share.

Wizz Air Bag Drop

As check in is online you only need to go to the check in counter if you have a bag to stow.

The line was pretty short by budget airline standards, but we skipped it anyway using our priority boarding pass.

We showed the e-ticket to the lady at the desk and she tagged it and whisked it away in seconds.

The whole process from lining up to depositing the bag took no more than 3 minutes.

This was a massive positive for us.

In Flight Experience

Most recently we flew from Bratislava to Lviv (Fight 6736) on an Airbus A320.

The seats weren’t spacious but I didn’t feel cramped like I have when flying with Easyjet or Sky Airlines.

The leather seats were slightly worn but comfortable enough.

Seats on Wizz Air don’t recline, so reclining etiquette doesn’t come into play.

The seat configuration is 3 x 3 (A – F) which is no different to any other budget airline.

One thing I noticed was that fewer people brought carry on bags to stow on board than our most recent flight on Ryanair.

I don’t know whether this can be attributed to the route. Our Ryanair flight was from Paris, so maybe people cart home shopping.

It was a welcome surprise, nevertheless.

Wizz Air Food & Shopping

Wizz Air doesn’t serve complimentary meals but you can buy food and beverages on board.

Snacks range from €1.50 for peanuts to €3 for 40g pringles.

Beer,wine or spirits costs €4.5 – €5. There’s also a two for €7 deal. A coke or juice costs €2.5 – €3.

Food offerings include a seeded rye baguette with turkey ham, pickles, mustard-seed flavoured mayo, Edam cheese and onion chutney. For €4 it’s not bad value if you’re flying at a reasonable time of day (we weren’t).

It wouldn’t be a real flight if there wasn’t the opportunity to buy perfume. I can’t remember the last time I actually saw someone buy duty free on a short haul flight?

In flight Entertainment

New touch screen displays in every seat, loaded with the latest movies and your favourite tv series is something Wizz Air definitely doesn’t have.

I’ve never actually found this to be a problem. Probably because most flights leave at the crack of dawn so I sleep.

Is Wizz Priority Worth it?

Wizz Air only allows you to bring on a small backpack size bag for free.

Unless you can live from a small backpack, you’ll probably need to pay to bring a bag.

With Wizz Priority for 10 euro you can bring 1 x 10kg bag (55 x 40 x 23 cm) as carry on luggage.

You also get priority check in (bag drop) and priority boarding. Priority boarding is lovely when skipping the queue at the gate and to ensure your bags can be stowed in the overhead locker above your seat, not 10 rows away.

We usually get better seats (rows 1 – 6) but this isn’t promised.

As is the course with many budget airlines, you might find yourself needing to take a shuttle bus to the plane after passing through the departure gate.

Your priority status remains in tact here, as priority passengers board a separate bus which arrives first to the plane.

Verdict : Unless you’re only travelling with a backpack, there’s no question paying €10 for Wizz Air priority is worth it.

Wizz Discount Club: Worth it?

Hands up, I was upsold on the Wizz Air Discount Club.

Basically, the membership costs 29 euro and lasts for one year. Members receive at least 10 euro off flights and 5 euro off bags. The discount extends to the club member and 1 companion.

The discount was applied immediately, so as we were buying 2 flights and 1 bag, the membership only cost 5 euro.

Since it was the 2nd Wizz Air flight I’ve taken in the last 6 months, I figure there was a reasonable possibility I would fly again and save at least 25 euro (20 euro profit).

I’d estimate there’s a 50/50 chance I’ll fly with Wizz Air again. So putting 5 euro down, to maybe make 20 euro profit seemed a reasonable bet (watch me never fly Wizz Air again now).

Read more about the Wizz Air Discount club here .

Verdict : The jury’s still out on whether it’s worth it for us. But since it only cost €5, last 1 year and I’ve already looked up more flights with Wizz Air, I expect the Discount Club will be good value.

Edit: I’ve flown WizzAir a few times again to London , Paris , Lviv etc. The discount club hasn’t been worth it yet.

Every single time the fare has been more expensive after I’ve logged in with my Wizz Air Discount club. It seems like they have some funky algorithm changes which make the bags more expensive if the fare is cheaper (due to the Discount Club membership). Anyone else noticed this?

Wizz Air Safety Record

Wizz Air has no recorded fatalities and currently holds a 7-star safety ranking from airlineratings.com

Their fleet has an average age of 4.5 years and is made up mostly of Airbus A320 and A321s.

I’ve never felt unsafe flying with Wizz Air.

The best thing about flying Wizz Air are the cheap flights and obscure destinations. We stumbled on a few gems which make our list of places to travel this year .

Final tip: If you’re still willing to try Wizz Air, to get the cheapest flights double check by opening a flight aggregator like this one , and click through to the add bags page on 3rd party sites like Mytrip, Kiwi, gotogate etc as some offer cheaper bags).

More airport and flight reviews:

• Ryanair Review: All the fees and how to avoid them
• Plaza Premium Lounge Heathrow Airport
• British Airways Premium Economy Review

Save this Wizz Air Review to Pinterest

MC Miller is a travel blogger and writer who has travelled America extensively and abroad to over 80 countries. He founded Couple Travel The World in 2017. Since then, he has spent over 6 years on the road as a full time travel couple. When he not traveling he likes to spend quality time with his partner Bett, planning our their next date or romantic getaway!

View all posts

Tuesday 26th of September 2023

They now charge 10 euro per person per flight - so called 'system surcharge' that sneakily appears right before you pay (they claim it's a glitch, but it's been going on for several years unfixed and nobody cares )))) I've tried different devices, locations, both wifi and mobile internet, website and mobile app - nothing helps avoid it... What a shame!

Friday 15th of September 2023

If it helps at all, you might want to revise the Baggage fees you listed in your article. In Romania the fees are much higher, I think maybe they vary by departure city. In Bucharest, the Wizzair baggage prices are like this :

small backpack - free cabin baggage or trolley and priority boarding - 45€ 10 kg bag - 75€ 20 kg bag - 95€ 26 kg bag - 116€ 32 kg bag - 116€

Outrageously high...I know!

Great review, I live in Romania and I've been flying Wizzair for a few years now, every month. They've raised the prices of checked bags in Bucharest to a whopping 95€ per bag - whereas checking the same sized bag with wizzair departing from Venice is only 21€?! Not sure why there is such a huge price difference from one city to another... I haven't found a way around this yet, I usually just take a small carry-on so I don't have to check luggage. But there will come a day when I will need to take a larger bag or suitcase, and I'm not sure what I'll do then. Paying 100€ for a bag on top of the airfare just makes it about the same price as the main standard airlines, so it just isn't really worth it. I'm surprised Wizzair hasn't figured out that they'll start losing customers if they keep this up!

coupletraveltheworld

Hi Marilyn, thanks for your comments. 95€ is insane. I've found they increase the price of bags depending on the ticket you purchase. If you buy early, then the price of bags are higher than if you buy a last minute ticket...

Alin din Suceava

Thursday 27th of July 2023

Now price for a seat is 26 pounds... What the hell

Sandor Zsombory

Saturday 24th of June 2023

Was happy that I found this direct flight Timisoara-Rome with WizzAir back in May. Unfortunately my happiness transformed to a distaste soon enough. Had to cancel my trip due to the fact my wife was diagnosed this week with a medical problem that needed immediate attention making us cancel our whole Euro trip due to various doctors visits, surgery…Anyway calling WizzAir told us the cancellation fee is 80% or the cost of the tickets, if I have to change dates is about 65% of the original ticket costs. They have no travel voucher to offer to be used later as I asked I need no money back. They offered to “negotiate” the cancellation cost of the ticket if we can provide doctor’s records resulting that my wife cannot travel, this is outrageous as medical records are confidential. Seems that letter from my family doctor was not good enough. Anyway I remained with very bad taste of the inhuman experience this company offered basically taking advantage of peoples unfortunate situation to make some money. Would advise to avoid such companies in the future.

Monday 28th of August 2023

@Sandor Zsombory, sorry about your wifes condition but you are fighting against standard airline protocols. just hand them the doctors note for goodness sake.

Monday 26th of June 2023

Hi Sandor, sorry to hear about your wife's medical condition. No doubt dealing with WA customer service doesn't help much right now...

• By Niko Suominen 12 April 2021 - 7 min read
• Tags: Wizz Air , low-cost airline , review
• Destination: Hungary

Review: Wizz Air - a Reliable Airline or a Purple Spark?

• By Niko Suominen
• 12 April 2021 - 7 min read

The content on this page includes affiliate links. While clicking on these links won't cost you anything extra, we may earn a modest commission from any purchases you make.

Wizz Air is a low-cost airline in Europe with its head office in Budapest, Hungary. It is concentrating on flying especially to East Europe. We have flown several times with this purple-coloured airline. Read how we rate Wizz Air!

Covered in the Article

Low-cost business model, extensive route network especially in east europe, prices are low, moderate charges for extra services, airports are sometimes far from cities, strict baggage rules, wizz discount club, flights from turku to gdansk and back, on-board services, price level, overall experience, practical advises for flying with wizzair, is wizz air a good airline.

More and more European flight routes are operated by low-cost airlines. One of them is Wizz Air , which may not be a widely known airline for all travellers. The airline comes from Hungary and it concentrates on flying in East Europe. However, Wizz Air has also many routes elsewhere in Europe and the Middle East. If you are not yet familiar with this purple low-cost airline, you may be surprised how extensive a route network it has . If you live in Europe, there is probably a city close to you where Wizz Air flies.

The main hub of Wizz Air is in Budapest Airport . There are also many secondary hubs including but not limited to Gdansk, Warsaw and Kyiv. Wizz Air's pricing model is based on a low-cost business strategy. Tickets are cheap but they include only flights. All other things must be paid separately. This is the classical low-cost business model.

Safety of flying is always important. Statistically, Wizzair has a great safety record and that is a sign that they are operating professionally. We consider them to be safe an airline but flying always has its risks.

Pros Compared to Other Low-cost Airlines

Ryanair and Easyjet are probably Europe's most well-known low-cost airlines. What makes Wizzair better?

One of Wizz Air's biggest advantages is the different route networks. The airline flies to many East European cities where other low-cost airlines do not fly. Wizz Air offers flights to East European cities which could be expensive to reach with traditional airlines. In addition, they have many destinations in the whole of Europe with top destinations including Paris, Budapest, Barcelona, Bucharest, Milan, Stockholm and a lot more.

Wizz Air offers cheap flights. According to our Wizzair experiences, you can fly almost 2000 km for only 20 euros. Of course, it is not common to get cheap tickets but it is sometimes possible. Ryanair may have inexpensive flight ticket offers as cheap as Wizz Air's.

Low-cost airlines are cheap as long as you do not buy too many extra services. Luckily Wizz Air has priced its extra services moderately.

Read a story what kind of luggage issues we faced luggage issues we faced on a flight from Turku to Vienna.

Cons to Wizzair's Low-cost model

Many low-cost airlines, including Wizz Air, are flying to small airports. These airports are cosy and you can pass through them fast. Unfortunately, they are often far from big cities so taking a bus or a train to the city may take much time and cost even more than your flight ticket . This is a common issue with many low-cost airlines. Wizz Air is not an exception.

Wizz Air has really strict baggage rules. At the time of our flights, we were allowed to take only one cabin of luggage. It could weigh 10 kilograms and the maximum size was 55 x 40 x 23 cm. Check-in luggage cost more. By buying priority boarding, we were allowed to take another small bag to the cabin.

Low-fare airlines normally do not have bonus programs. However, Wizz Air makes an exception with their discount club for their customers.

Wizz Air has WIZZ Discount Club that is meant for their frequent flyers. The club membership is not free. For basic membership, you must pay 29,99 euros annually. Premium membership costs more. The advantage of the club membership is that you will get exclusive offers and normally at least 10 euros discount for every one-way flight and also a discount for baggage fees. Your companion will also get the said discounts.

Our Wizz Air Experiences

We have flown many flights with Wizz Air. All our flights have been operated without any problems. No delays or flight cancellations have occurred. In the short term, everything has gone safely and smoothly.

Once, we flow a short flight from Turku, Finland to Gdansk, Poland. The route took a little more than 1 hour.

Turku Airport is a small airport and our flight was the only departing flight at that time. We had made check-in online (at the airport it would cost) and everything at the airport went smoothly. We were offered a free check-in for our cabin luggage because the flight was almost fully booked. Unfortunately, a customer before us was not that lucky and he had to pay an expensive price for his overweight luggage. So be careful not to take too heavy luggage with you.

Our flights were operated with Airbus A320 and A321 fleets. The planes seemed to be new and in really good condition. There was not much space inside the cabin but no one expects low-cost airlines to have spacious cabins. Wizz Air's Airbus fleet is comfortable to fly with.

Low-cost airlines do not have free onboard service. Wizz Air has an in-flight cafe where you can buy snacks and drinks.

The selection was not that good but surely enough for short flights.

All our tickets have been extremely cheap. Flying almost free has been great.

Wizzair is not a luxury airline. If you keep in mind that you are flying with a low-fare airline with a cheap ticket, you must be happy. You get what you have paid for.

Some reviews are circulating on the web that Wizz Air is often delayed. At least all our flights were operated on schedule. Surely some routes may be more sensitive to delays.

Flying with Wizzair and flying with other low-cost airlines is a good choice if you just remember to follow the rules. Rules do not differ much between low-fare airlines.

Be careful with your luggage size and weight. Avoid buying check-in luggage because it costs much unless you need to bring such important stuff with you. One hand of luggage must be enough for a short holiday. Only 1 piece of cabin luggage is allowed and Wizz Air is strict about this policy. If you need another small bag inside the cabin, buy an inexpensive Priority Boarding option because it includes an extra small cabin bag.

Do check-in online. Doing it at the airport will cost a lot more.

Join the WIZZ Discount Club if you plan to fly more than one Wizzair flight in a year. Remember that your companion also gets a discount. When a couple is flying a return flight, the discount is usually 40 euros but the annual membership fee is only 29 euros. So the club is worth the money.

We would say YES . Wizz Air is a competitive airline in its low-fare category. We feel that they are more relaxed than their Irish competitor Ryanair.

Have a look also at our other Airline Reviews .

Tags: Wizz Air , low-cost airline , review Destination: Hungary

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It should still be okay.

We have no documents and I can’t find them online…. Nothing linked on my wizz air account… nothing been emailed to us. Only evidence we have is it says travel insurance on the receipt

Just to add when they sent invoice for refund it doesn’t show insurance on there so presumably they just refund the tickets price

You should have received policy confirmation documents as you have a statutory cooling off period for insurance purchases made this way.

If you selected the latter then all the policy documents have links at that point to download.

It states the insurance is underwritten by Chubb European Group SE.

The documents that I clicked on give contact detail as:

[email protected]

telephone 0161 333 6160

I suggest if you did not click on and down load the travel insurance policy documents at the time that you do a dummy booking and do so now.

First thing that comes up on search engine for Wizzair travel insurance.

https://wizzair.com/en-gb/information-and-services/covid-information-hub/travel-insurance/insurance-links

Comicman thanks but not a helpful reply! Was just asking for advice of how to get the documents and of the insurance was still valid.

Thank you to those who have been helpful, I have emailed Chubb and seen the documents linked on here.

Let’s hope the policy is still valid Jenny and that it actually covers what you hope it does.

Travel Insurance varies widely in terms of cover and buying it without checking what it does and doesn’t include is a gamble.

It’s done now though but next time you are considering buying travel insurance, look at the policy before you buy. It might have a whole raft of exclusions you don’t want.

Thank you for the helpful replies, we did look at the cover offered and were happy with it…, Concern was just getting the documents not what was in the cover…. I want the documents and to know where they are before we go.. so posts telling me I should have looked into it we’re not helpful! Rant over…….

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• Excellent 3,277
• Very Good 4,204
• Average 2,794
• Terrible 13,864
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" The best flight with this airline is the flight that you do not have with this airline. "

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Do not buy their health insurance... - Wizz Air

“do not buy their health insurance policy” review of wizz air.

Do not buy the health insurance policy offered when you purchase the ticket with Wizzair (flight Catania-Dubai). The price shown is misleading. Although they write that you can cancel it within 15 days with no fee, I did it but after 2 months I have not been refunded and even not received a single reply to my 6 emails sent to the insurance company. Wizzair should not partner with such unreliable health insurance company and suggest it when you puchase the ticket. I consider my financial loss also responsibility of Wizzair. A serious air company would not suggest unreliable health insurance companies to its clients.

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• Excellent 3,277
• Very good 4,204
• Average 2,794
• Terrible 13,864
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4,624 - 4,628 of 26,031 reviews

I never had an eperience like this. I don't understand how this could be legal. Their website is full of traps waiting for you to fall in.

We recently booked a 7 days holiday in Tenerife. When booking with the travel agent went through all the usual parafanalia and we decided to go ahead with the booking and paid and selected our seats informing them we required airport assistance.because we are both disabled.As it was a weekend when were booking the holiday the agent advised us to ring the airline the day after to confirm the seats being aisle seats. When we contacted WIZZ AIR we were told we could not have those seats being passengers who required assistance and would have to sit at the back of the plane in a window seat,to which I told them I was unable because of my disabilities I would be unable to get into the window seat,and my wife would also have to do the same but could not guarantee where on the plane she would be, but in a window seat just the same .AGAIN I said I would not be able to get into the window seat their answer was if I could not get into the seat I would be off loaded.Not to say I cancelled the holiday but was refused my depositback. SO MY ADVICE IF YOU REQUIRE ASSISTANCE ON YOUR FLIGHT AVOID WIZZ AIR LIKE THE PLAGUE.

What a terrible flight experience, at all possible levels. First, check-in issues occurred online, apparently due to "website technical difficulties". It forced all passengers to queue up earlier than foreseen at the airport. Wasted time. Moreover, the crew surprisingly waited for the very last second before letting passengers to get on board, in a totally rushed and disorganized manner. Unbelievable. To make things even worse, there was no guidance whatsoever from any crew official when getting on board. This resulted in passengers being stuck standing in the middle or the plane's corridor for several minutes because they didn't know where to put their luggages. Unreal to witness such situations in Covid19 times. Trust me you better pay 10 or 20% more and get a decently organized company. Or just opt for another low-cost carrier instead. Oh. I almost forgot to mention. The flight was late on schedule, to crown it all. But does it even come as a surprise? Run away.

In all of my life, I have never experienced such poor service. Slow queues, high dis functionality, infants could run their operations. For my next destination I’d rather walk than fly with Wizz air. As a result TWO planes were grounded and switched about causing mass frustration from my fellow passengers and I. If your considering to choose Wizz air, I’d HIGHLY recommend that you choose another airline, shocking, never again. WASTE OF MONEY

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• Excellent 3,277
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• Average 2,794
• Terrible 13,864
• Premium Economy
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• All languages ( 26,031 )
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" The best flight with this airline is the flight that you do not have with this airline. "

" Not value for money be careful from extra charges "

" Just never fly with them. "

" Never travel in wizz air "

" Don't book with Wizz "

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Is Ryanair Safe?

Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This influences which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money .

The no-frills Irish airline Ryanair is known for having affordable ticket prices and flying to many destinations, primarily throughout Europe. If you plan to travel to destinations outside the United States, you could save money by flying with Ryanair.

But is Ryanair safe? In summary, yes — the airline has received good safety ratings, and its safety records show that it has had minimal incidents — none of which were deadly.

In this article, we'll examine the safety of Ryanair, plus its reliability stats, so you know what to expect before booking.

Ryanair at a glance

If you've never flown with Ryanair, you'll want to ensure you have clear expectations before boarding. First and foremost, Ryanair is a low-cost carrier . While the airline has low-cost ticket prices, extra add-ons such as seat selection and checked baggage fees can make your flight more expensive. But if you're a no-frills traveler who packs light, you can save money by flying with budget airlines such as Ryanair.

Ryanair's route network serves countries across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

» Learn more: Are any low-cost European airlines worth flying?

Ryanair has never had a fatal crash

Before boarding a plane with an unfamiliar airline, reviewing the brand's safety records is a good idea.

Ryanair has an excellent safety record. In its 37 years of existence, there have been zero passenger or crew member fatalities.

According to the Aviation Safety Network, the airline has thirteen reported incidents, the last occurring in 2019. Several of these incidents were minor taxiway collisions with other planes on the runway.

» Learn more: Should you fly international budget airlines?

Ryanair has been recognized for its safety

AirlineRatings.com regularly reviews the safety of the world's airline companies so air travelers can feel more confident choosing airlines. Ryanair has a safety rating of 7 out of 7 from AirlineRatings.com.

Ryanair was named one of AirlineRatings.com's Top Ten Safest Low-Cost Airlines for 2022.

The following factors were considered when choosing which airlines made this list:

Incident records over the past two years.

Crash records over the past five years.

Results of International Civil Aviation Organisation audits. The ICAO audits the aviation safety and security oversight of its 193 Member States.

European Union Banned list status — Is the airline blocklisted from operating under certain circumstances or banned altogether from operating in Europe?

Other low-cost airlines that made the list include:

Allegiant .

Jetstar Group.

» Learn more: The best airline credit cards right now

Is Ryanair reliable?

Now that you know more about Ryanair's safety rating, you may wonder if the airline is reliable. You want to feel confident that you'll be able to get where you need to go once you book a flight.

The good news is Ryanair is a relatively reliable airline. We reached this conclusion by examining on-time arrival and flight cancellation data from The Official Aviation Guide.

The Official Aviation Guide collects data related to airline and airport reliability. We used some of this data to compare Ryanair's reliability to other low-cost European airlines.

Below are on-time arrival and cancellation stats for September 2022:

The above data shows Ryanair doesn't have the highest on-time arrival rate. But it's not poor either. On the contrary, Ryanair's on-time arrival rate is better than EasyJet, Wizz Air, and Wizz Air UK.

As for flight cancellation rates, Ryanair has a lower rate than:

Norwegian Air Shuttle.

Wizz Air UK.

Of course, there aren't any guarantees that your arrival won't be delayed or your flight won't be canceled. After all, travel doesn't always go as planned. But with these figures in mind, you can feel confident when booking with Ryanair.

To better protect your travel investment, you may consider purchasing travel insurance if your trip doesn't go as planned.

» Learn more: Is travel insurance worth it?

Should you fly with Ryanair?

So, is it a good idea to fly with Ryanair?

When considering safety on Ryanair flights, you can feel confident flying because the low-cost brand has a good airline safety record and zero incidents resulting in fatalities.

While Ryanair doesn't have the highest reliability ratings compared to other European budget airlines, recent on-time arrival and flight cancellation data shows that Ryanair is still reliable. Its on-time arrivals figures are not bad and its flight cancellation rate is low.

As long as you go into your flight experience aware that you're flying with a low-cost carrier, you can feel confident booking with Ryanair.

How to maximize your rewards

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2024 , including those best for:

Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

No annual fee: Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card

Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Luxury perks: The Platinum Card® from American Express

Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

on Chase's website

1x-5x 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases.

60,000 Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.

1x-10x Earn 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3x points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.

60,000 Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.

on Capital One's website

2x-10x Earn unlimited 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 5X miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel, Earn unlimited 2X miles on all other purchases.

75,000 Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel.

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Travel Insurance

Cheapest travel insurance of April 2024

Mandy Sleight

Heidi Gollub

“Verified by an expert” means that this article has been thoroughly reviewed and evaluated for accuracy.

Updated 9:52 a.m. UTC April 11, 2024

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Editorial Note: Blueprint may earn a commission from affiliate partner links featured here on our site. This commission does not influence our editors' opinions or evaluations. Please view our full advertiser disclosure policy .

WorldTrips is the best cheap travel insurance company of 2024 based on our in-depth analysis of the cheapest travel insurance plans. Its Atlas Journey Preferred and Atlas Journey Premier plans offer affordable travel insurance with high limits for emergency medical and evacuation benefits bundled with good coverage for trip delays, travel inconvenience and missed connections.

Cheapest travel insurance of 2024

Why trust our travel insurance experts

Our team of travel insurance experts analyzes hundreds of insurance products and thousands of data points to help you find the best travel insurance for your next trip. We use a data-driven methodology to determine each rating. Advertisers do not influence our editorial content . You can read more about our methodology below.

• 1,855 coverage details evaluated.
• 567 rates reviewed.
• 5 levels of fact-checking.

Best cheap travel insurance

Top-scoring plans

Average cost, medical limit per person, medical evacuation limit per person, why it’s the best.

WorldTrips tops our rating of the cheapest travel insurance with two plans:

• Atlas Journey Preferred is the cheaper travel insurance plan of the two, with $100,000 per person in emergency medical benefits as secondary coverage and an optional upgrade to primary coverage. It’s also our pick for the best travel insurance for cruises .
• Atlas Journey Premier costs a little more but gives you $150,000 in travel medical insurance with primary coverage . This is a good option if health insurance for international travel is a priority.

Pros and cons

• Atlas Journey Preferred is the cheapest of our 5-star travel insurance plans.
• Atlas Journey Premier offers $150,000 in primary medical coverage.
• Both plans have top-notch $1 million per person in medical evacuation coverage.
• Each plan offers travel inconvenience coverage of $750 per person.
• 12 optional upgrades, including destination wedding and rental car damage and theft.
• No non-medical evacuation coverage.

Cheap travel insurance for cruises

Travel insured.

Top-scoring plan

Travel Insured offers cheap travel insurance for cruises and its Worldwide Trip Protector plan gets 4 stars in our rating of the best cruise travel insurance .

• Worldwide Trip Protector offers $1 million in emergency evacuation coverage per person and a rare $150,000 in non-medical evacuation per person. It also has primary coverage for travel medical insurance benefits, which means you won’t have to file medical claims with your health insurance first.
• Cheap trip insurance for cruises.
• Offers a rare $150,000 for non-medical evacuation.
• $500 per person baggage delay benefit only requires a 3-hour delay.
• Optional rental car damage benefit up to $50,000.
• Missed connection benefit of $500 per person only available for cruises and tours.

Best cheap travel insurance for families

Travelex has the best cheap travel insurance for families because kids age 17 are covered by your policy for free when they’re traveling with you.

• Free coverage for children 17 and under on the same policy.
• $2,000 travel delay coverage per person ($250 per day) after 5 hours.
• Hurricane and weather coverage after a common carrier delay of any amount of time.
• Only $50,000 per person emergency medical coverage.
• Baggage delay coverage is only $200 and requires a 12-hour delay.

Best cheap travel insurance for seniors

Evacuation limit per person

Nationwide has the best cheap travel insurance for seniors — its Prime plan gets 4 stars in our best senior travel insurance rating. However, Nationwide’s Cruise Choice plan ranks higher in our best cheap travel insurance rating.

• Cruise Choice has a $500 per person benefit if a cruise itinerary change causes you to miss a prepaid excursion. It also has a missed connections benefit of $1,500 per person after only a 3-hour delay, for cruises or tours. But note that this coverage is secondary coverage to any compensation provided by a common carrier.
• Coverage for cruise itinerary changes, ship-based mechanical breakdowns and covered shipboard service disruptions.
• Non-medical evacuation benefit of $25,000 per person.
• Baggage loss benefits of $2,500 per person.
• Travel medical coverage is secondary.
• Trip cancellation benefit for losing your job requires three years of continuous employment.
• No “cancel for any reason” (CFAR) upgrade available.
• Missed connection coverage of $1,500 per person is only for tours and cruises, after a 3-hour delay.

Best cheap travel insurance for add-on options

AIG offers the best cheap travel insurance for add-on options because the Travel Guard Preferred plan allows you to customize your policy with a host of optional upgrades.

• Travel Guard Preferred upgrades include “cancel for any reason” (CFAR) coverage , rental vehicle damage coverage and bundles that offer additional benefits for adventure sports, travel inconvenience, quarantine, pets, security and weddings. There’s also a medical bundle that increases the travel medical benefit to $100,000 and emergency evacuation to $1 million.
• Bundle upgrades allow you to customize your affordable travel insurance policy.
• Emergency medical and evacuation limits can be doubled with optional upgrade.
• Base travel insurance policy has relatively low medical limits.
• $300 baggage delay benefit requires a 12-hour delay.
• Optional CFAR upgrade only reimburses up to 50% of trip cost.

Best cheap travel insurance for missed connections

TravelSafe has the best cheap travel insurance for missed connections because coverage is not limited to cruises and tours, as it is with many policies.

• Best-in-class $2,500 per person in missed connection coverage.
• $1 million per person in medical evacuation and $25,000 in non-medical evacuation coverage.
• Generous $2,500 per person baggage and personal items loss benefit.
• Most expensive of the best cheap travel insurance plans.
• No “interruption for any reason” coverage available.
• Weak baggage delay coverage of $250 per person after 12 hours.

Cheapest travel insurance comparison

How much does the cheapest travel insurance cost.

The cheapest travel insurance in our rating is $334. This is for a WorldTrips Atlas Journey Preferred travel insurance plan, based on the average of seven quotes for travelers of various ages to international destinations with a range of trip values.  

Factors that determine travel insurance cost

There are several factors that determine the cost of travel insurance, including:

• Age and number of travelers being insured.
• Trip length.
• Total trip cost.
• The travel insurance plan you choose.
• The travel insurance company.
• Any add-ons, features or upgraded benefits you include in the travel insurance plan.

Expert tip: “In general, travelers can expect to pay anywhere from 4% to 10% of their total prepaid, non-refundable trip costs,” said Suzanne Morrow, CEO of InsureMyTrip.

Is buying the cheapest travel insurance a good idea?

Choosing cheaper travel insurance without paying attention to what a plan covers and excludes could leave you underinsured for your trip. Comparing travel insurance plans side-by-side can help ensure you get enough coverage to protect yourself financially in an emergency for the best price. 

For example, compare these two Travelex travel insurance plans:

• Travel Basic is cheaper but it only provides up to $15,000 for emergency medical expense coverage. You’ll also have to pay extra for coverage for children.
• Travel Select will cost you a bit more but it covers up to $50,000 in medical expenses and includes coverage for kids aged 17 and younger traveling with you. It also offers upgrades such additional medical coverage, “cancel for any reason” (CFAR) coverage and an adventure sports rider that may be a good fit for your trip.

Reasons to consider paying more for travel insurance 

Make sure you understand what you’re giving up if you buy the cheapest travel insurance. Here are a few reasons you may consider paying a little extra for better coverage. 

• Emergency medical. The best travel medical insurance offers primary coverage for emergency medical benefits. Travel insurance with primary coverage can cost more than secondary coverage but will save you from having to file a claim with your health insurance company before filing a travel insurance claim.
• Emergency evacuation. If you’re traveling to a remote location or planning a boat excursion on your trip, look at travel insurance with a high medical evacuation insurance limit. If you are injured while traveling, transportation to the nearest adequate medical facility could cost in the tens to hundreds of thousands. It may make sense to pay more for travel insurance with robust emergency evacuation coverage. 
• Flexibility. To maximize your trip flexibility, you might consider upgrading your travel insurance to “ cancel for any reason” (CFAR) coverage . This will increase the cost of your travel insurance but allow you to cancel your trip for any reason — not just those listed in your policy. The catch is that you’ll need to cancel at least 48 hours before your trip and will only be reimbursed 50% or 75% of your trip expenses, depending on the plan. 
• Upgrades. Many travel insurance plans have optional extras like car rental collision and adventure sports (which may otherwise be excluded from coverage). These will cost you extra but may give you the coverage you need. 

How to find the cheapest travel insurance

The best way to find the cheapest travel insurance is to determine what you’re looking for in a travel insurance policy and compare plans that meet your needs.

 “Travel insurance isn’t one-size-fits-all. Every trip is different, and every traveler has different needs, wants and concerns. This is why comparison is key,” said Morrow.

Consider the following factors when comparing cheap travel insurance plans.

• How often you’re traveling. A single-trip policy may be the most cost-effective if you’re only going on a single trip this year. But a multi-trip travel insurance plan may be cheaper if you’re going on multiple international trips throughout the year. Annual travel insurance policies cover you for a whole year as long as each trip doesn’t exceed a certain number of days, usually 30 to 90 days. 
• Credit card has travel insurance benefits. The best credit cards offer perks and benefits, and many offer travel insurance-specific benefits. The coverage types and benefit limits can vary, and you must put the entire trip cost on the credit card to use the coverage. If your trip costs more than the coverage limit on your card, you can supplement the rest with a cheaper travel insurance plan.
• The coverage you need. When looking for the best travel insurance option at the most affordable price, only buy extras and upgrades you really need. A basic plan may only provide up to $500 in baggage insurance, but if you only plan to take $300 worth of clothes and accessories, you don’t need to pay more for higher coverage limits.

Is cheap travel insurance worth it?

Cheap travel insurance can be worth it, as long as you understand the plan limitations and exclusions. Taking the time to read your policy, especially the fine print, well before your trip can ensure there won’t be any surprises about what’s covered once your journey begins.

“If a traveler is looking for coverage for travel delays, cancellations, interruptions, medical and baggage — a comprehensive travel insurance policy will provide the most bang for their buck,” said Morrow. But if you’re on a tight budget and are only worried about emergency medical care and evacuation coverage while traveling abroad, stand-alone options are cheaper.

Before buying travel insurance, you should also consider what your health insurance will cover. 

“Most domestic health insurance plans, including Medicare, will not cover medical bills abroad,” said Morrow. Even if you’re staying stateside, you may find value in an affordable travel insurance plan with medical coverage if you have a high-deductible health plan (HDHP). 

A cheap travel insurance plan is better than none at all if you end up in a situation that would have covered some or all of your prepaid, nonrefundable trip expenses.

Methodology

Our insurance experts reviewed 1,855 coverage details and 567 rates to determine the best travel insurance . From those top-scoring travel insurance plans, we chose the most affordable for our rating of the cheapest travel insurance.

Insurers could score up to 100 points based on the following factors:

• Cost: 40 points. We scored the average cost of each travel insurance policy for a variety of trips and traveler profiles.
• Medical expenses: 10 points. We scored travel medical insurance by the coverage amount available. Travel insurance policies with emergency medical expense benefits of $250,000 or more per person were given the highest score of 10 points.
• Medical evacuation: 10 points. We scored each plan’s emergency medical evacuation coverage by coverage amount. Travel insurance policies with medical evacuation expense benefits of $500,000 or more per person were given the highest score of 10 points.
• Pre-existing medical condition exclusion waiver: 10 points. We gave full points to travel insurance policies that cover pre-existing medical conditions if certain conditions are met.
• Missed connection: 10 points. Travel insurance plans with missed connection benefits of $1,000 per person or more received full points.
• “Cancel for any reason” upgrade: 5 points. We gave points to travel insurance plans with optional “cancel for any reason” coverage that reimburses up to 75%.
• Travel delay required waiting time: 5 points. We gave 5 points to travel insurance policies with travel delay benefits that kick in after a delay of 6 hours or less.
• Cancel for work reasons: 5 points. If a travel insurance plan allows you to cancel your trip for work reasons, such as your boss requiring you to stay and work, we gave it 5 points.
• Hurricane and severe weather: 5 points. Travel insurance plans that have a required waiting period for hurricane and weather coverage of 12 hours or less received 5 points.

Some travel insurance companies may offer plans with additional benefits or lower prices than the plans that scored the highest, so make sure to compare travel insurance quotes to see your full range of options.

Cheapest travel insurance FAQs

When buying travel insurance, cheapest is not always the best. The most affordable travel insurance plans typically offer fewer coverages with lower policy limits and few or no optional upgrades. Add up your total nonrefundable trip costs and compare travel insurance plans and available features that cover your travel expenses. This strategy can help you find the cheapest travel insurance policy that best protects you from financial loss if an unforeseen circumstance arises.

Get the coverage you need: Best travel insurance of 2024

According to our analysis, WorldTrips , Travel Insured International and Travelex offer the best cheap travel insurance. Policy coverage types and limits can vary by each travel insurance provider, so the best way to get the cheapest travel insurance plan is to compare several policies and companies to find the right fit for your budget.

A good rate for travel insurance depends on your budget and coverage needs. The most comprehensive travel insurance plan is usually not the cheapest. But cheap trip insurance may not have enough coverage or the types of coverage you want. Comparing different levels of coverage and how much they cost can help you find the best cheap insurance for travel. 

The average cost of travel insurance is between 5% to 6% of your total travel expenses for one trip, according to our analysis of rates. However, you may find cheaper travel insurance if you opt for a plan with fewer benefits or lower coverage limits. How much you pay for travel insurance will also depend on the number of travelers covered, their ages, the length of the trip and any upgrades you add to your plan.

Travel insurance covers nonrefundable, prepaid trip costs — up to the policy coverage limits — when your trip is interrupted or canceled for a covered reason outlined in your plan documents. Even the cheapest travel insurance policies usually provide coverage for:

• Medical emergencies.
• Trip delays.
• Trip interruption.
• Trip cancellation.
• Lost, stolen or damaged luggage.

However, if you’re looking to save on travel insurance, you can shop for a policy that only has travel medical insurance and does not include benefits for trip cancellation .

Even when you buy cheap travel insurance, you can often use upgrade options to customize your policy to meet your specific needs. 

Some common travel insurance add-ons you may want to consider include:

• Rental car damage coverage. 
• Medical bundle.
• Security bundle.
• Accidental death and dismemberment coverage.
• Adventure sports bundle.
• Pet bundle.
• Wedding bundle.
• “Cancel for work reasons” coverage.
• “Interruption for any reason” (IFAR) coverage.
• “Cancel for any reason” (CFAR) coverage .

Blueprint is an independent publisher and comparison service, not an investment advisor. The information provided is for educational purposes only and we encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding specific financial decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Blueprint has an advertiser disclosure policy . The opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Blueprint editorial staff alone. Blueprint adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. The information is accurate as of the publish date, but always check the provider’s website for the most current information.

Mandy is an insurance writer who has been creating online content since 2018. Before becoming a full-time freelance writer, Mandy spent 15 years working as an insurance agent. Her work has been published in Bankrate, MoneyGeek, The Insurance Bulletin, U.S. News and more.

Heidi Gollub is the USA TODAY Blueprint managing editor of insurance. She was previously lead editor of insurance at Forbes Advisor and led the insurance team at U.S. News & World Report as assistant managing editor of 360 Reviews. Heidi has an MBA from Emporia State University and is a licensed property and casualty insurance expert.

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