How to Save on Airline Baggage Fees
Remember the days when you could board a flight without long security lines and exorbitant baggage fees? Believe it or not, there was a time when airports did not seem like a nightmare from which it was impossible to wake up.
And while safety lines may be unavoidable (for now), there are several ways to avoid the additional fees that airlines charge us for excess bags, extra bags, or, well, well, generally having a bag.
This week, The Points Guy answered the question that we all wondered: Do I really need to pay this fee for my bag?
As it turns out, this isn’t necessary , although not paying often requires you to have the correct credit card or award ticket. Here’s every situation in which you can save on those baggage fees, TPG writes, in addition to some of the tried and tested tips we’ve put together so you never have to fork out that extra $ 35 again. …
Take a look at the benefits of your credit card
Do you have one of these airline co-branded credit cards? You’re in luck: many of them will protect cardholders from unnecessary baggage fees. For example, if you are flying a United flight, those with a Chase United Explorer credit card are given free checked baggage on that airline (and the same benefit for one companion).
And if you don’t have one of these co-branded cards, you’re out of luck yet. You can also apply for a range of huge travel benefit credit cards such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve and Platinum Card from American Express, which offer transferable member points that you can use as reimbursement for incidental travel expenses (Chase Sapphire gives you $ 300 to cover any expenses related to travel purchases (AMEX Platinum Card gives you $ 200 but limits you to one airline).
Check the bag at the gate
You should know that this is a gamble, according to USA Today . But if you’re willing to take the risk, you can always check your bag at the gate. You will need to bring your bag through security and wait at the gate while the flight attendant looks for volunteers to check your luggage. This usually happens when the flight is very busy or the plane is especially small.
It doesn’t hurt to walk right up to the catwalk as soon as you’re at the gate and ask the attendant if you can check your bag as we wrote earlier . You will probably get a positive result, but this is not what you will see on any airline’s websites as a standard protocol.
You should have a ready-made TSA fluid bag in the right size, but at least you can save some money.
Choose the right airline
When choosing a flight, always factor in incidental expenses (you can use Google Flights to include additional costs such as baggage fees in the total cost of your flight). However, some airlines simply do not charge fees for checked baggage, although this is becoming less and less common. Which airlines? Here are some airlines offering the best checked baggage rules:
- Southwest allows you to check in up to two pieces of checked baggage free of charge.
- Air Nippon Airways allows you to drop off your baggage for free.
- British Airways allows one piece of checked baggage free of charge.
- Lufthansa allows one piece of checked baggage free of charge.
- Virgin Atlantic allows one checked bag for free (unless you are flying in Light Economy, which is a notch lower than Economy Classic).
In case you couldn’t tell, domestic flights are not very profitable for free checked baggage (except Southwest).
Take advantage of your friends and family
If you are traveling in a group and need to check a lot of bags, ask someone in your group who does not check the bag. Why? Let’s take a look at the numbers.
Let’s say you have two bags that you need to check. If you’re on a domestic flight with American Airlines, Alaska, or United Airlines, the first bag costs $ 30 and the second bag costs $ 40. If you have a friend who doesn’t check your bag, it’s helpful if he donated it on your behalf. Or, suppose you brought a third bag – that would usually set you back a whopping $ 150, in which case asking a friend to hand over the bag makes a big difference to you.
If you have a friend flying with an upgraded seat or elite status with an airline, you will also benefit from having them check your bag – they will often have the opportunity to check your baggage for free. You can upgrade yourself as well, but if you came here to save money , this is probably not the advice you want.