As a traveler, you want to spend as little as possible on your trip as a whole. Many travelers can avoid paying any fees for their bags if they only bring hand luggage and look for exceptions. You can still plan ahead to keep the fees you have to pay to a minimum if you have to check bags.
Since fees depend on how much, how big, and how many pieces of luggage you have, packing light can help any traveler avoid paying the highest fees. Some airline companies don’t charge for the baggage like Boutique Air Baggage Fees. Boutique Air does not charge baggage fees. In this article, we discuss how to save money on air baggage fees.
Credit Cards That Help Cover Baggage Fees
There are a lot of great credit cards that are co-branded with airlines that can help cover the cost of baggage fees. We’ll talk about these cards in the section for each airline. But what if you want a card that doesn’t have to be used with a certain airline? Here are some great options for cards that can help you pay for your baggage fees on a variety of airlines.
Research Baggage Fees
No matter which airline you’re flying, you should always look into the fees for luggage with the ticket you bought. And believe it or not, you should look into the fees for both checked and carry-on bags. Sometimes, basic economy fares don’t even let passengers use the overhead bin space and will charge you up to $65 for bringing a bag onto the plane instead of checking it. Many international airlines are very strict and will even weigh your carry-on bags, so you should know how much you can bring, how big your bags can be, and how much they can weigh.
Book first or business class
If you want to save money, it might seem counterintuitive to book a higher class. Most of the time, this won’t
save you money, but if you have a lot of bags to check, a first- or business-class ticket may be cheaper in the long run.
Depending on the airline, people who fly in a higher class may be able to check their bags for free. If you’re going to have to pay more for your bags anyway, why not fly in style? At least check prices before making a reservation.
Load up the stroller
Most airlines let parents leave their strollers at the gate for free before getting on the plane. Most strollers are also very handy because they have a lot of pockets and pouches. How to fix it? Fill ’em up! We don’t recommend putting anything valuable in your checked stroller, but you can put diapers, tissues, toiletries, and blankets in it. Make sure that your name and address are written on the stroller before you check it at the gate.
Ship your luggage
Sending your bags through the mail or even paying for a luggage or backpack shipping service is often cheaper than checking your suitcases on a flight. This is especially true if you’re carrying an overweight or oversized bag.
The UPS website says that shipping a 60-pound bag from New York to Miami via UPS Ground costs about $56. (the bag will arrive in three days). On an American Airlines flight, it will cost $125 each way to check the same bag ($100 for an overweight bag and $25 for a checked bag). Sending your bags in the mail a few days ahead of time is a great way to save money, and most hotels will hold your bags until you arrive.
Buy a Luggage Scale
If you don’t have access to a scale at home or when you’re traveling, buy a portable luggage scale so you can quickly and easily find out how much your bags weigh and avoid any surprises at the airport. If you have a scale at home, just weigh yourself while carrying your bag and then again without it. Take your weight without the bag and subtract it from your weight with the bag.
Earn Elite Status
If you fly a lot, stick with one airline and join their frequent flyer program so you can earn elite status. Even if a customer has a low status, they can still get their checked bags for free.
Use Compression Packing Cubes
Packing cubes are a great way to stay organized when you travel, but compression packing cubes will also let you fit more things into your suitcase without taking up much more space. Also, if you’re traveling with more than one suitcase and one of them is too heavy, you can just take a packing cube out of one bag and put it in another instead of trying to take each item out of your bag.
Choose the right airline
Prices for luggage can vary a lot from one carrier to the next. Most big airlines charge about $50 for each extra bag, but there are still ways to save. Each passenger can even check in two bags for free.
Airline rules seem to change often, so read up on them before you book to make sure you know about all fees.
Final Thoughts
Now you know how to avoid paying baggage fees on some of the biggest airlines in the world. In this article, we talked about many airlines and showed you how to avoid paying annoying fees for checked and carry-on bags with credit cards, elite status, and other things. Make a note of this page and return to it before booking a flight. It will help you the next time you fly on a new airline.
Now, we’d like to give you the virtual microphone. How can you travel without having to pay extra for your bags? Leave a comment below to tell us.
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