7 Ways to Avoid Baggage Fees

Choose Your Airline Wisely

Not all domestic airlines are equal when it comes to baggage fees. Southwest stands out from the rest: Southwest offers two free checked bags. Conversely, the legacy airlines—American, Delta, United, and US Airways—charge fees for first and second checked bags, which generally start at $25. Spirit's arguably the worst, charging $100 for a carry-on bag checked at the gate. Check out our Ultimate Guide to Airline Fees for a complete list of domestic airline baggage charges.

If you're looking for a flight and planning on checking luggage, a good place to start your search is TripAdvisor Flights (our sister site). This fare aggregator calculates costs while factoring in selected extras, such as number of checked bags and in-flight services.

Get Elite Status

We know: It's not exactly easy to get elite status with an airline. You have to log 25,000 miles in a year before you're eligible for the perks of elite status on a legacy airline. (Other airline's elite-mileage requirements differ.) But once you do, you'll enjoy baggage-fee waivers and additional perks like priority boarding and access to preferred seating.

Pack Light With Cool Products

Sure, fitting everything into a carry-on bag is an obvious solution to the baggage-fee problem. Still, there are those travelers for whom packing light is as improbable as flying the plane themselves—especially on long-haul trips. But we know of a few products that can help. Use compression sacks (also known as vacuum bags), like these ones from Eagle Creek. Take advantage of pocket space by investing in the Scottevest travel vest, which, with its 24 pockets, does double duty as a wearable carry-on bag. And look for squishy, foldable travel essentials that take up minimal suitcase space whenever you can; some of our favorites include the Vapur Anti-Bottle and the inflatable Travelrest Pillow.

For more ideas, see Five Tips for Fitting it All in a Carry-on Bag.

Read Your Airline's Baggage Policy Carefully

One of the biggest mistakes an overpacking traveler can make is booking a ticket without first reading the airline's baggage-fee policy closely and carefully. Airline baggage-fee policies (and policies regarding extra fees in general) differ significantly, and they're often very complicated. Size, weight, and the number of bags all factor into the cost of checked luggage, as well as route, miles flown, and frequent-flyer status. If you don't read your policy, you could easily end up paying way more than you bargained for.

Know How Much Your Suitcase Weighs

Overweight-bag fees can be far costlier than base charges for checked luggage. Generally, bags that weigh at least 51 pounds are qualified as overweight, and airline fees for too-heavy bags often start at $50 or more. But some airlines charge even higher prices: American and United, for example, issue a fee of $100 for each checked bag weighing more than 50 pounds on domestic flights.

Bring a small portable luggage scale with you so you can weigh your bags prior to your departure and return flights. And make sure it's calibrated correctly. (Check its instruction manual for information on proper calibration.)

Get An Airline Credit Card

Baggage-fee savings are a big incentive to sign up for airline-branded credit cards. Several cards waive fees for the first bag you check, including Gold Delta Skymiles, Citi Platinum Select/AAdvantage Visa Signature, and United Mileageplus Explorer Card. Most credit cards that offer free checked bags come with an annual fee. So do the math. Balance the baggage fees you usually pay against your annual credit-card fee and you could see significant savings, even if you only check luggage a few times a year.

Ship Your Stuff

Shipping luggage could save you some money, not to mention the stress of worrying about a possible lost suitcase. In Seven Ways to Prevent Lost Luggage, we break down the costs: "American Airlines charges $100 for checked bags weighing more than 50 lb. on flights within the U.S. In comparison, UPS charges $66.24 to ship a 55-lb. bag from Los Angeles to Chicago. Sure, it takes longer to arrive. (In this example, the $66.24 fee is for four-day shipping.)"

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• Best Airlines for Extra Legroom in Premium Economy
• What Not to Buy at the Airport