Photo by Charles Wiriawan
In honor of JetBlue’s fall from grace yesterday, joining all other U.S. carriers except Southwest in charging for checked bags, we decided to lay out for you exactly how much U.S. airlines charge for checked bags on domestic trips.
When in doubt, it’s safe to assume that it’s going to cost you about $25 to check a first bag and $35 for a second, as those seem to be the going rates. But rethink defaulting to carrying on with some airlines, because on Allegiant, Frontier and Spirit it isn’t free — and it actually can cost more than checking a bag.
Like with just about everything including travel, fortune (savings) favors the prepared. Allegiant, Frontier, Spirit and now even JetBlue take advantage of procrastinators and can charge as much as $15 more for a bag that you pay to be checked at the airport rather than online beforehand. Oh, and if you’re flying Hawaiian, signing up for the HawaiianMiles Frequent Flyer Program gets you a discount for checked luggage.
These are the fees for checked bags in economy on U.S. domestic flights if you don’t have elite status or access to perks from cobranded credit cards:
*Price when paying for bags when booking plane ticket
**Price when paying online ahead of time
Note: These are the maximum fees for baggage on Allegiant. Prices vary depending on departure and arrival airports.