How to Avoid Airline Bag Fees the Legit Way

Answer these in order. The first yes usually points to your biggest saving.

1. Do you have elite status with the airline you are flying? If yes, check the benefit table below. Status often covers a free bag or a free carry-on on basic fares.
2. Do you hold the airline's co-branded credit card? If yes, many cards include a first checked bag free, sometimes for your companions too.
3. Are you active duty military with ID? If yes, several airlines waive bag fees, some for up to four bags.
4. Do you need more than a personal item? If no, fly with a personal item only and pay nothing. If yes, compare fares that include a carry-on, and pay for checked bags early.

Every airline in this guide lets you bring one personal item free on its cheapest fare. If your trip fits under the seat, bag fees drop to $0. The catch is size, which varies a lot.

Tips that make personal item only work:

• Choose a soft bag with no rigid frame so it can squeeze into the sizer.
• Wear your bulkiest shoes and jacket.
• Roll clothes and plan to do laundry if the trip is long.
• Measure the packed bag at home, depth first, with our gate sizer guide.

Delta, American, Southwest and Alaska include a carry-on on their standard fares. If you need a roller bag and nothing checked, flying one of them can cost $0 in bags where a strict airline would charge. On Avelo a carry-on costs $52 to $75 each way, and on Allegiant $10 to $75. On United Basic Economy, a full size carry-on is not offered on most routes (United carry-on bags). Our basic economy carry-on guide explains the rules fare by fare.

What each airline says the benefit covers

Read the fine print on your card. On United, Gateway and Select cards do not qualify for the Basic Economy carry-on benefit. Delta does not spell out every card in its overview, so check Delta's page for yours.

Bring your military ID to the counter, and check the airline page for whether the benefit applies to personal or official travel.

If you do have to pay, pay as early as you can. American charges $5 less per bag online. JetBlue's listed fees apply to bags added more than 24 hours before departure. Avelo is lowest when bags are added during the first booking. United Basic Economy is $45 prepaid and $75 at the gate. The full picture is in our guide on when to pay airline bag fees.

Taking a carry-on to the gate on basic economy and hoping. On United Basic Economy, a bag that will not fit under the seat costs $75 at the gate, compared with $45 prepaid. That is 75 minus 45, which is $30 more per flight for gambling.

Hoping for a free gate check. When bins fill up on fares that include a carry-on, an agent may check bags at the gate, and American says it valets larger carry-ons on regional planes at no charge. None of that is a way around strict fare rules, and agents check the sizer first.

Stuffing an oversize personal item. If it fails the sizer, it becomes a paid carry-on at gate prices.

United Basic Economy, one checked bag round trip, prepaid: 2 x $45 is $90. Taken to the gate instead: 2 x $75 is $150. If a standard fare that includes a carry-on costs less than $90 more round trip, and a carry-on is all you need, the standard fare wins.

American Basic Economy compared with Main Cabin, one checked bag round trip, paid online: Basic is 2 x $50, which is $100. Main is 2 x $45, which is $90. Main saves $10 on bags alone, so add that to the fare difference.

Southwest cardmember couple on the same reservation, one checked bag each, both ways: without the card benefit, ($45 plus $45) x 2 is $180. Southwest says the cardmember's first bag benefit extends to up to eight more passengers on the same reservation, so those first bags drop to $0.

1. Write down every bag you really need for the trip, by person.
2. Check whether anyone in your group has status, a co-branded card or military ID, and read that airline's benefit on its official page.
3. Price the trip two ways: the cheapest fare plus bags, and a fare that already includes what you need.
4. Multiply each bag fee by travelers and by flight directions, never just once.
5. If you still need to pay, add the bags during booking or online, not at the gate.
6. Measure your personal item at home so a bag you thought was free does not turn into a gate charge.

A few minutes with a calculator before you book usually saves more than any trick at the airport.

See every airline's fees on our baggage fees page.

• Frontier bag options
• Allegiant baggage
• Avelo optional services
• Breeze bag allowance
• Sun Country booking guide
• United carry-on bags
• United Basic Economy
• American carry-on bags
• American checked bags
• Delta carry-on baggage
• Delta baggage overview
• Southwest carry-on policy
• Southwest optional charges
• JetBlue carry-on bags
• JetBlue fees
• Alaska fees page