How to avoid airline baggage fees (hint: a 'free' bag isn't always)
You聽know the feeling: you're聽standing in line at the airport, nervously shifting your聽monstrous rolling suitcase, its zippers pulling at the seams, front pockets stuffed, and wheels teetering on the brink of collapse. You brought that extra jacket,听those jumbo, value-sized shampoos and conditioners聽AND聽the entire Harry Potter series for beach reading. Hey, if the airline is charging you to check your bag, you might as well get those most out of it, right? Well before you lug that聽beastly baggage onto the check-in scale, we've got some advice on how to prevent those pesky fees all together.
Don't assume "free" checked baggage is the best deal.
When you compare flights, make sure you factor in airfare聽plus聽all of the baggage fees in your totals. Consider the number of bags allowed, weight limits, and exemptions. Sites like聽聽let聽you enter your departure and arrival locations, and search different airlines to see what they charge for checked bags, overweight items, exemptions, and more.
Once you do the math, you'll see that free bags may not be so free after all. To test this theory, I searched聽both聽聽(which doesn't charge for checked bags) and聽聽(which does)聽for the lowest price on a non-stop, round-trip weekend flight from Chicago to Tampa between October 30 and November 1, 2015.
Southwest's lowest fare? $740, with two checked bags. But wait!聽A similar flight on Delta costs just $370! Check聽one bag for $25, and your total comes to $403. Even if you checked two bags, you'd only add on an extra $35, bringing your total price to $438--a full $300 less than what you'd pay to fly Southwest. Although Southwest's policy of "free" checked bags seems like the better deal, you'd聽actually pay聽less if you paid to check your聽baggage.
Another thing to remember: the聽difference may be in the details. Two companies'聽fees聽might look the same on the surface, but be completely different in reality. For young families traveling, for example, Delta allows any strollers, car seats, or bassinets to be carried on or checked without it counting towards your baggage total.聽聽extends a similar policy, but it applies to "non-ticketed children" (under two聽years for domestic flights), and even then, it's only good for one聽stroller and one car seat for that "non-ticketed child."聽Any extra strollers and car seats will count as additional checked baggage, with fees that can climb up to $150!
Use your rewards card to ramp up savings.
Airline credit cards or rewards programs are an easy way to get your bags checked for free.聽The聽lets your check your first bag for free, and gives you free priority boarding. 罢丑别听聽offers a free checked bag for you and up to four traveling companions on domestic flights, which can save you up to $125 in baggage fees.
罢丑别听聽cards lets you check your first bag for free, as well as the first bag for anyone else under your reservation, which can mean a savings of up to $200 for a family of four.
Last but not least, the聽聽offers airline fee reimbursement which you can use towards baggage fees, airplane food and more!
Send it by snail mail.
Your bag too聽heavy to check? Ship it back home for less!
Consider mailing your luggage. The cost to ship your overweight luggage by聽,听, or聽may be cheaper than checking it! For example, a 50lb checked bag on a flight from St. Louis to Chicago may cost $25-$35, but USPS can ship a 50lb package via parcel post for as little as $23.
On a recent trip, my craft-beer loving husband had some "souvenir" home brewing equipment, bottles, and bar glasses to bring back in our checked luggage, which topped us over the weight limit. Despite shoving shoes and hair straighteners in our carry-on bags to lighten the load, it looked like we were stuck with a $50 overweight fee.
What we didn't realize is that UPS could ship it for half the cost! A box weighing about 20lb could be shipped straight to our doorstep for around $22. Plus, many FedEx and UPS locations are located in or around airports, and unlike checking your luggage, you'll have a tracking number to keep tabs on your bags every step of the way!
Just carry it on.
Traveling light can save you time and money.
If you're just taking a quick weekend trip, do you really need to check a bag? I vote聽no.聽In fact, traveling with just a carry-on can save you both time and money. Why pay extra to send your bag underneath the plane when you聽can instead stow it above your seat for free AND聽avoid waiting 20+ minutes at baggage claim? Sure, you may need to learn a valuable lesson in packing less, and you won't be able to bring back any craft beer or giant shampoo bottles, but I tend to prefer the ease of traveling light over the hassle and cost of checking a bag. Plus, if your flight is fully booked, sometimes the gate agents will offer cash incentives to passengers willing to gate-check their carry-ons. Yes, in some rare cases you can actually get paid to check your bag!
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