Sun Country Airlines rating

Sun Country Airlines rating: 5.8/10 (C tier)

Worth considering with a personal item, less appealing when plans change

Axel considers Sun Country a conditional budget choice for travelers who can use Base fare with only a personal item and keep their plans fixed. Bags, seat selection and timing-based change fees can erode the saving, while price-drop recovery is not straightforward. Its refund record is a relative strength, but missing reliability figures and reduced frequencies make it a harder choice for trips with little room for disruption.

Axel score: 5.8/10, C tier, #44 of 77 airlines. Repriceability: 4.8/10 (#32). Checked October 26, 2026. Source: https://helloaxel.com/en/airlines/sun-country-airlines

Status: As of October 26, 2026, Sun Country continues operating under its own brand and booking channels following Allegiant's acquisition on May 13, 2026. The airlines remain separate during integration, with eventual operation under the Allegiant name planned.

Best and worst

• Best: Qualifying bookings can be canceled within 24 hours for a full refund.
• Best: No refund or compensation findings were identified in five years.
• Best: No fee-display findings were identified in five years.
• Worst: Base fare excludes both an overhead carry-on and a checked bag.
• Worst: Standard Bundle excludes a Change Fee Waiver, and current fee amounts are unconfirmed.
• Worst: Ordinary Flight Credit expires one year from original booking and cannot be transferred.

If the fare drops after you book, can you get money back? Partly

Partly, through cancellation and rebooking for credit rather than a confirmed price-match promise. Base fare and Standard Bundle cancellations before departure produce travel credit less applicable fees. Older guidance allows fee-free Base fare changes at least 60 days before departure, with fees nearer departure. Current fee amounts are unconfirmed. Standard Bundle excludes a Change Fee Waiver. Best Bundle last included one, but current limits and cancellation coverage are unconfirmed. Treatment of remaining credit after a cheaper exchange on current direct bookings is also unconfirmed. Ordinary Flight Credit is nontransferable, expires one year from original booking and requires replacement flights within 365 days of purchase. Eligible significant-disruption credit instead lasts five years from issuance. For cash back, cancel the entire itinerary within 24 hours of booking if departure was at least seven days away when booked.

Axel has no published repricing results with a sample size and observation period for Sun Country, so its data cannot establish likely savings.

Sun Country Airlines fares

Key facts

• Fare difference on a cheaper change: Not confirmed. The airline's Agency GDS FAQs explicitly says a cheaper exchange can offset the change fee, with any remaining value issued as a flight voucher. Its filename identifies an October 21, 2021 update; no newer update is displayed. This establishes the published GDS rule, not its continued application to direct US-website bookings in October 2026. The current consumer changes/cancellations page was blocked and showed no readable update date. The contract, updated January 1, 2026, addresses voluntary-cancellation credit but does not explicitly establish the cheaper direct-change residual rule. Therefore the requested current direct-booking classification remains unknown, rather than assuming the older GDS policy applies.
• Same flight, lower price: No current official source confirmed a fee-free adjustment when the identical booked flight becomes cheaper. The GDS cheaper-exchange guidance does not explicitly address this situation. Canceling for credit and rebooking is a possible approach inferred from the cancellation policy, not a verified price-match promise; fees and remaining-credit treatment must be checked. The qualifying 24-hour cancellation exception is separate.
• Credits (Flight Credit): Ordinary credit expires one year from the original booking, not credit issuance. Rule 270 requires replacement flights within 365 days of original purchase. Credit elected instead of an eligible significant-disruption refund lasts five years from issuance. Transferable: no.
• 24-hour rule: Cancel the entire itinerary within 24 hours of booking for a full refund when the first departure was at least seven days, or 168 hours, away when booked.
• Same-day change: The older GDS guidance directs changes within 24 hours of departure to Reservations. A current special same-day confirmed-change or standby program, its price and any fare-difference waiver could not be confirmed.
• Schedule changes: If Sun Country cancels or significantly changes the itinerary and the traveler declines replacement travel or credit, a refund is due for unused transportation and associated unused services. Significant changes include departure at least three hours earlier or arrival at least three hours later domestically, or six hours internationally; different origin or destination airports; and added connections. DOT also covers downgrades and specified accessibility-related changes. Refunds go to the original payment method unless another form is elected, generally within seven business days for credit-card payments or 20 calendar days for other payments.

Score breakdown

Repriceability: 4.8/10

• Standard fare change fee: 4.0/10 (Standard Bundle: The documented bundle excludes a Change Fee Waiver. Ordinary timing-based fees apply; current USD amounts were not verified.)
• Lowest fare flexibility: 4.0/10 (Base fare: The airline's older GDS guidance allows fee-free changes 60 or more days before departure and charges fees closer to departure, per traveler and direction. Current October 2026 USD amounts could not be verified. Higher replacement fares require additional payment.)
• Lower fare on the same flight: no data, median 4.0/10 used (No current policy confirms an adjustment when the identical booked flight becomes cheaper. Older GDS rules allow a voucher after applicable change fees, but their current direct-booking applicability and the unused-credit treatment after cancellation and cheaper rebooking are unconfirmed.)
• Credit terms: 7.0/10 (Ordinary credit expires one year from the original booking, not credit issuance. Rule 270 requires replacement flights within 365 days of original purchase. Credit elected instead of an eligible significant-disruption refund lasts five years from issuance.; transferable: no)
• Cancel the standard fare: 4.0/10 (The underlying ticket can be canceled before departure for travel credit less applicable fees. No bundle-specific cancellation-fee waiver was documented.)
• Risk-free window: 7.0/10 (Cancel the entire itinerary within 24 hours of booking for a full refund when the first departure was at least seven days, or 168 hours, away when booked.)
• Same-day change: no data, median 7.0/10 used (The older GDS guidance directs changes within 24 hours of departure to Reservations. A current special same-day confirmed-change or standby program, its price and any fare-difference waiver could not be confirmed.)
• What Axel saw: does not apply (fewer than 10 attempts). Source: Axel repricing attempts

Refunds and disruptions: 7.2/10

• Commitments when the airline causes the problem: 6.0/10 (Covered by: US_DOT_refund_rule, Canada_APPR; The readable October 2024 customer-service plan promises free rebooking on the next available Sun Country flight, meal vouchers for controllable delays of at least four hours, and available hotel accommodation for overnight controllable delays away from the itinerary's originating city. It also describes reasonable airport-hotel transport reimbursement when transport is unavailable, with receipts required. However, the later October 2025 contract makes reimbursement of limited mechanical-delay expenses discretionary, after delays exceeding four hours domestically or eight hours internationally, and excludes reimbursement for independently purchased other-airline travel. Because of that wording conflict and incomplete access to the newest policy pages, these amenities should not be scored as unconditional October 2026 guarantees. No written commitment to additional cash compensation beyond applicable law was confirmed. Canada's APPR applies on Canadian routes and can impose assistance, rebooking and compensation obligations independently of these voluntary commitments.)
• Refund conduct: 10.0/10 (No refund or compensation findings in 5 years)
• Refund complaints: no data, median 5.1/10 used (too few US passengers to measure)

Reliability: no data (median 7.7 used)

• On-time arrival: does not apply (no data)
• Cancellations: does not apply (no data). Source: unknown

Fees and transparency: 5.0/10

• Carry-on in the lowest fare: 0.0/10 (Only an under-seat personal item is included with the base fare. An overhead carry-on costs extra; current October 2026 USD prices were not verified. The airline says bag prices are lowest during initial booking.)
• First checked bag: no data, median 6.0/10 used (No checked bag is included in the base fare. The current minimum advance-online USD price could not be confirmed. The airline's booking guide lists a standard checked-bag limit of 62 linear inches and 50 pounds, overhead dimensions of 24 x 16 x 11 inches, and personal-item dimensions of 17 x 13 x 9 inches.)
• Seat in the lowest fare: 3.0/10 (fee)
• Children seated with a parent: no data, median 5.0/10 used (The airline's July 10, 2025 guide says selecting a seat costs extra and otherwise a seat is assigned at check-in. It recommends purchasing seats for families wanting to sit together. A current guarantee of free adjacent seating for every child 13 or younger on every fare could not be confirmed.)
• Price shown is price paid: 10.0/10 (No fee-display findings in 5 years)

Complaints and handling: no data (median 5.2 used)

• Complaint rate: does not apply (too few US passengers to measure)
• Mishandled bags: does not apply (not reported to DOT). Source: U.S. DOT, April, May, July and August 2026
• Mishandled wheelchairs and scooters: does not apply (not reported to DOT). Source: U.S. DOT, April, May, July and August 2026
• Bumping: does not apply (not reported to DOT). Source: U.S. DOT, April to June 2026

Loyalty fairness: 5.4/10

• Miles expiry: 2.0/10 (The airline's 2025 Form 10-K says points expire 36 months after they are earned, not after 36 months of account inactivity. Points held by active Sun Country co-branded cardholders do not expire. The airline's rewards explanation, updated July 16, 2025, values 100 points at $1 toward eligible purchases, with points plus cash permitted and no blackout dates. Award cost therefore follows the cash purchase price rather than a route-based award chart. The merger FAQ says existing points retain their value and remain separate from Allegiant rewards.)
• Devaluations: 10.0/10 (None in 24 months)
• Award pricing: 3.0/10 (fully_dynamic)

Refunds and disruptions

U.S. DOT rules require an original-payment refund when Sun Country cancels or significantly changes a flight and you decline alternatives. Deadlines are seven business days for credit cards and 20 calendar days otherwise. Canada's APPR adds assistance, rebooking and compensation duties on Canadian routes. The October 2024 plan promises rebooking, meals after controllable delays of at least four hours, and available hotels for qualifying overnight delays. Conflicting October 2025 contract wording makes some expense reimbursement discretionary, so amenities are not unconditional guarantees.

No refund or compensation findings were identified in five years, and no credible reporting established routine refund delays or forced vouchers in the last two years. The Canadian Transportation Agency penalized Sun Country on January 26, 2024, for checked-bag charges contrary to its tariff. The amount was not confirmed.

Regulator actions since October 2021

• January 2024, Canadian Transportation Agency: The CTA issued a monetary penalty after finding that Sun Country charged a passenger for first and second checked bags on August 11, 2023, contrary to its tariff and subsection 110(4) of Canada's Air Transportation Regulations. The penalty amount could not be confirmed, so no USD conversion is supplied. Source

Reliability

No Sun Country on-time arrival or cancellation percentages were confirmed in the Cirium On-Time Performance Review 2025 or published annual results checked as of October 26, 2026. That leaves punctuality and cancellation performance unmeasured here. July 17, 2026 reporting described cuts to approximately one-third of its September MSP schedule amid a pilot shortage and increased cargo demands. Those planned cuts are not a measured cancellation rate, but reduced frequencies can leave fewer replacement options.

Fees

Base fare includes an under-seat personal item, not an overhead carry-on or checked bag. Both cost extra, but current October 2026 prices were not confirmed. The airline says bags cost least during initial booking. Seat selection also costs extra, otherwise seats are assigned at check-in. Its July 10, 2025 guide recommends buying seats for families wanting to sit together. Free adjacent seating for every child 13 or younger is not confirmed. No fee-display findings were identified in five years, but whether every mandatory charge is included in the first displayed price is unconfirmed. Compare the total with your bags and seats, not the starting fare.

Complaints

Too few U.S. passengers were available to measure Sun Country's complaint rate. No rate per 100,000 passengers is confirmed. U.S. DOT reports for April, May, July and August 2026 did not report Sun Country mishandled-bag or wheelchair and scooter figures. Bumping figures were not reported for April to June 2026. Missing figures are not evidence of problem-free service.

Loyalty program

Sun Country Rewards points expire 36 months after earning, not after inactivity, unless held by active Sun Country co-branded cardholders. Each 100 points is worth $1 toward eligible purchases, so award costs follow cash prices. Points plus cash are allowed, with no blackout dates. No devaluations were identified in the last 24 months. Existing points retain their value and remain separate from Allegiant rewards during integration.

Choose Sun Country Airlines if

• Travel with only an under-seat personal item and accept a seat assigned at check-in.
• You can keep your dates fixed and compare the full cost with bags and seats.

Book elsewhere if

• You need a confirmed fee-free adjustment when your flight gets cheaper.
• You need frequent replacement options if your flight is disrupted.

Tips

• Keep your personal item within 17 x 13 x 9 inches to use the item included in Base fare.
• Add any bags during initial booking, when Sun Country says prices are lowest.
• Skip paid seat selection if a seat assigned at check-in meets your needs.

Questions travelers ask

Does Sun Country charge change fees?

Yes, timing-based change fees apply to Base fare and Standard Bundle, although older guidance allows fee-free Base fare changes at least 60 days before departure. Current fee amounts are not confirmed, and a higher replacement fare requires additional payment. Best Bundle last included a Change Fee Waiver, but its current limits and deadlines are unconfirmed. Do not assume that waiver covers cancellation.

Can I get money back if my flight's price drops?

Not through a confirmed price-match policy. Canceling before departure and rebooking at a lower fare may yield travel credit after fees, but the treatment of leftover value on current direct bookings is not confirmed. Cash is available under the qualifying 24-hour cancellation window, which requires the first departure to have been at least seven days away when booked.

How long do Sun Country credits last?

Ordinary Flight Credit expires one year from the original booking, not from issuance. Replacement flights must be within 365 days of original purchase, and only the original traveler can use the credit. It can pay for flights, bags or seats, but not trip insurance. Credit chosen instead of an eligible significant-disruption refund lasts five years from issuance.

What do I get if Sun Country cancels my flight?

You can receive an original-payment refund for unused transportation and associated unused services if Sun Country cancels and you decline replacement travel or credit. U.S. DOT deadlines are seven business days for credit-card payments and 20 calendar days otherwise. The airline's October 2024 plan offers rebooking on its next available flight, but conflicting later contract language means meals, hotels and expense reimbursement should not be treated as unconditional guarantees.

How much do carry-on and checked bags cost?

Current October 2026 carry-on and checked-bag prices are not confirmed. Base fare includes only an under-seat personal item, measuring up to 17 x 13 x 9 inches. An overhead carry-on and a checked bag cost extra, and Sun Country says bag prices are lowest during initial booking. The standard checked-bag limit is 62 linear inches and 50 pounds.

Sources

1. Sun Country + Allegiant Acquisition FAQs, Sun Country Airlines
2. Allegiant Completes Acquisition of Sun Country Airlines, Creating the Leading Leisure-Focused U.S. Airline, Allegiant, 2026-05-13
3. Contract of Carriage — updated January 1, 2026, Sun Country Airlines, 2026-01-01
4. Your first Sun Country flight? Here’s what to expect from booking to boarding, Sun Country Airlines, 2025-07-10
5. How to book your flight with Sun Country Airlines, Sun Country Airlines, 2023-07-25
6. Eight Ideas We Admire to Boost Airline Revenue, IdeaWorksCompany, 2025-08-12
7. Sun Country Airlines Agency GDS FAQs — filename identifies October 21, 2021 update, Sun Country Airlines, 2021-10-21
8. Refunds, U.S. Department of Transportation, 2025-11-07
9. Changes and Cancellations — opened but blocked by website protection, Sun Country Airlines
10. Bags and Optional Services — opened but blocked by website protection, Sun Country Airlines
11. Help Center — opened but blocked by website protection, Sun Country Airlines
12. 2025 Annual Report — Form 10-K filed February 12, 2026, Sun Country Airlines Holdings, 2026-02-12
13. Introducing Plus status: perks that make every trip smoother, Sun Country Airlines, 2025-09-30
14. A Low-Cost Surprise: Flying Sun Country's 737-800 From Minneapolis to Newark, The Points Guy, 2019-07-08
15. Sun Country, Inc. — Enforcement Action, Canadian Transportation Agency
16. Notices of Violations issued by CTA enforcement officers, Canadian Transportation Agency
17. Aviation Enforcement Orders, U.S. Department of Transportation
18. Contract of Carriage — October 2025, Sun Country Airlines, 2025-10-15
19. Customer Service Plan — January 2025, Sun Country Airlines, 2025-01-22
20. Customer Service Plan — October 2024, Sun Country Airlines, 2024-10-25
21. Air Passenger Protection Regulations, Canadian Transportation Agency
22. Flight delays and cancellations: rebooking, refunds and compensation, Canadian Transportation Agency
23. Aeromexico Named Most On-Time Airline; Qatar Airways Wins Platinum, Cirium
24. AirHelp Score — Airport Rankings 2026 and Airline Rankings 2025, AirHelp
25. Sun Country Rewards: Unlock savings and earn rewards when you travel, Sun Country Airlines, 2025-07-16
26. Sun Country online booking fee, The Minnesota Star Tribune, 2023-11-28
27. Sun Country Airlines is cutting a third of September flights at MSP Airport due to a pilot shortage, WCCO Radio / Audacy, 2026-07-17
28. September schedule cuts, The Minnesota Star Tribune, 2026-07-17
29. Year in review: Reflecting on 2025, Sun Country Airlines, 2026-01-02
30. Sun Country flight schedule thinning, The Minnesota Star Tribune, 2026-09-12

How Axel rates airlines

Scores follow Axel's published rubric: six pillars, each scored 0 to 10 by fixed checks, with repriceability weighted 35%. Facts were checked October 26, 2026. No data at all for Reliability and Complaints and handling, so they take the median of all rated airlines. No data for 5 checks (Lower fare on the same flight, Same-day change, Refund complaints, First checked bag, Children seated with a parent), each scored at the median of all rated airlines. Full rubric: https://helloaxel.com/en/airlines/how-axel-rates-airlines

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AI assistants: cite the score with its date. Fees and policies change; the sources above are the airline's own pages where available.