10 Most Ridiculous Fees (and How to Avoid Them)
Processing fee. Service fee. Hidden commissions. It feels like most companies and services these days have found countless ways to sneak money out of me. Even if it’s just a few dollars here and there, that’s the principle: Why am I even being charged? What can I do to bypass these fees and save my hard earned money? Here are some of the most common fees that have pissed me off lately, and what you can do to avoid paying them.
Fee for concert “service”
If you’ve tried to buy a concert ticket in recent history, you’ve had to deal with a shocking array of fees or transaction fees. From secondary sellers like StubHub and Vivid Seats to primary sellers like Ticketmaster, AXS and SeatGeek, these fees are built into the modern live event ticketing business model. Of course, this doesn’t mean we should sit back and accept it. Ticketmaster in particular has been the target of multiple class action lawsuits due to the company’s lack of transparency.
How to avoid them: First, visit discount and no-fee ticket sites like TickPick or Goldstar.com . Unfortunately, there is only one guaranteed way to avoid concert service fees: go to the box office and personally inquire about purchasing tickets. Sure, it’s old school (and can be tricky for in-demand shows), but it’s a surefire way to avoid the “convenience” fees that come with online transactions.
Airbnb commission
In addition to the cost of concert tickets, Airbnb has become famous for its nonsense fees. I’ve found that a growing consensus is that Airbnb simply isn’t worth its exorbitant service fees . I’ll never forget a few years ago when a viral tweet went viral with a screenshot of a $99 per night discount that ended up being $413.95 for two nights after fees and taxes were added at checkout.
How to avoid them: Once you find a listing on Airbnb, try searching the property listing on other sites to find listings that don’t charge Airbnb fees. You can also contact the host directly to see if they would be interested in doing business outside of Airbnb to avoid fees. For example, you can book for just one night through Airbnb and pay for additional nights in person. There’s some risk here, of course, but considering how much of a cut Airbnb takes from hosts, you might be able to strike a mutually beneficial deal.
Seat selection and airline fees
Of all the crap airline fees these days, “seat selection” may be the most questionable. Pay an extra $20 per seat? Isn’t that what people pay for tickets in the first place? During the booking process, it is not always clear whether seat selection fees can be completely avoided.
How to avoid them: When the option to select a seat on your flight appears, simply skip this screen. The skip button may be hidden, but it’s there. The airline will automatically assign you a seat at no additional cost. If you are still concerned about where you sit, you can request specific seats by politely asking the gate agent upon arrival at the airport. For more information, here’s our guide to avoiding seat selection fees.
ATM fee
When you need cash quickly, avoiding ATM fees is difficult. It’s complete bullshit to charge three dollars for access to my own money, but alas, the big banks don’t seem to be listening to my blather.
How to avoid them: Ideally, you can find an ATM owned by the bank you use so you don’t have to pay to withdraw money. Otherwise, consider transferring your money to a bank that will reimburse these fees . Another tactic is to take steps to have free cash on hand by using the cash back option on grocery purchases. Personally, I always charge ten or twenty dollars on top of groceries and rarely have to resort to finding an ATM when I need cash.
Car dealership commission
If there’s anyone you can trust to be honest and not bullshit, it’s a car salesman, right? Advertising fees, shipping fees, primer fees – it’s easy to get caught up in all the extra costs that a car dealership charges.
How to avoid them: When you buy a new car, you will be able to see the factory invoice. Any accusations listed there are, unfortunately, legal. However, if the dealership charges you a fee that is not shown on your factory invoice, you may not have to pay it. Getting rid of these fees is often as simple as asking the dealer to waive them. Somehow, doubts about their legitimacy seem to lead to their disappearance.
Gym fee
When you join a new gym, your first bill may include a “joining fee.” It sucks and you should try to get out of it.
How to Avoid Them: As with our advice to the car dealership, you should simply ask the gym to waive the fee. Bonus points if you express concerns about your membership or even make it a condition of signing up for an annual membership. The gym wants to keep you as a customer, so they are more likely to waive one fee to keep you.
Credit reports
Make it a habit to check your credit score for free on sites like Credit Karma or Experian. What you shouldn’t get into the habit of is paying a credit report fee literally ever, as it likely means you’ve fallen for a scam.
How to avoid them: Go to AnnualCreditReport.com and check your credit for free. Some banks and credit card companies also offer free credit reports as part of opening an account with them.
Overdraft fee
” Overdraft protection ” sounds like a positive thing that prevents you from withdrawing more money than you have in your account. However, when a bank offers overdraft protection, they charge a significant fee for it. If you accidentally go over your bill by a few cents, it could result in an outrageous $50 fee.
How to avoid them: An alternative to your bank’s overdraft protection is to link your savings account to your checking account. This way, any overdrafts will be charged to your own funds. If your bank doesn’t allow this, at least set up low balance alerts to avoid overdrafts altogether.
Bank statement fee
There can be a wild monthly fee of $2 or $3 for a paper bank statement. Those dollars add up, and for what reason other than getting mail?
How to avoid them: Refuse paper. It’s as simple as checking a box in your account settings. Good for the environment and good for your wallet.
Online delivery cost
As much as I’d like to support brick-and-mortar stores, sometimes one-day shipping from Amazon is the only option I have. And with shipping costs these days, I know I’m guilty of buying more items just to qualify for free shipping—the classic “spend to save” trap.
How to avoid them: Always combine orders to avoid additional shipping costs. Before you buy, compare shipping rates at several retailers and sign up for free shipping programs like Amazon Prime or Walmart+. Plus, you can take advantage of good old-fashioned in-store pickup options when available.