Update, 9/6: As of today, JetBlue basic fares come with a free large carry-on bag and small personal item.
Update, 8/16: Frontier Mastercard primary cardmembers now get 2 free bags when purchasing directly from Frontier, for the primary cardholder only.
Update, 6/18: Is the pendulum swinging the other way? JetBlue will once again allow for a free large carry-on bag on basic economy flights, effective 9/6. That’s in addition to the currently allowed small personal item.
Update, 6/4: Spirit now allows for 50 pound checked bags, up from 40 pounds..
Update, 4/3: In February, JetBlue led off another round of check bag fee hikes.
And now JetBlue is hiking fees for the 2nd time this year, adding peak pricing based on when you travel for tickets purchased on or after 3/22/24. Peak pricing will apply for travel between 4/11-4/29/24, 6/20-9/3/24, 11/21-12/2/24, 12/19/24-1/6/25, 2/13-2/24/25, 4/3-4/28/25.
Under peak pricing, the 1st bag will cost $40 or $50 within 24 hours of a flight and the 2nd bag will cost $60 or $70 within 24 hours of a flight.
Of course, airlines already charge more for peak date airfare, but JetBlue figures they can squeeze consumers even more for flying on peak dates.
Will other airlines match peak pricing for checked bags?
Update, 3/5: As expected, Delta has matched this latest round of bag fee increases.
Originally posted on 2/26:
Airlines are once again hiking checked bag fees. These fees will keep going up until the government taxes ancillary fees at the same rate that they tax airfare.
Here is a chart with the latest changes, with fees for domestic flights.
Note that elite status benefits are not included in the chart below. Fees on Frontier and Spirit vary by route.
| 1st Bag | 2nd Bag | 3rd Bag | Large carry-on bag fees | Credit card waivers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | $35 | $45 | $150 | Free, even on basic economy. | Most Alaska cards offer 1 free bag on flights worldwide for primary or additional cardholders and up to 6 companions. Officially, you need to pay with card as of a recent change, but more data points are needed if this is enforced. |
| American | $35 online, $40 airport. | $45 | $150 | Free, even on basic economy. | Most AA cards offer 1 free bag on domestic flights for primary cardholder and up to 4 companions. You do not need to pay with card. |
| Delta | $35 | $45 | $150 | Free, even on basic economy. | Most Delta cards offer 1 free bag on worldwide flights for primary cardholder and up to 8 companions. You do not need to pay with card. |
| Frontier | Varies by route. LGA-Dallas sample: $54 during booking. $69 after booking. $79 at airport. 40 pound limit. | Varies by route. LGA-Dallas sample: $74 during booking. $83 after booking. $89 at airport. 40 pound limit. | Varies by route. LGA-Dallas sample: $94 during booking. $103 after booking. $95 at airport. 40 pound limit. | Varies by route. LGA-Dallas sample: $54 during booking. $69 after booking. $79 at airport. 35 pound limit. | Frontier Mastercard primary cardmembers get 2 free bags when purchasing direct from Frontier for the primary cardholder only. |
| Hawaiian | $15 interisland. $30 mainland US | $20 interisland. $40 mainland US | $50 interisland. $100 mainland US | Free, even on basic economy. | Most Hawaiian cards offer 2 free bags on domestic flights for primary cardholder only. Officially, you need to pay with card, though reportedly this isn't enforced. |
| JetBlue | Off-peak: $35 online more than 24 hours before departure. $45 within 24 hours of departure or airport. Peak: $40 online more than 24 hours before departure. $50 within 24 hours of departure or airport. | Off-peak: $50 online more than 24 hours before departure. $60 within 24 hours of departure or airport. Peak: $60 online more than 24 hours before departure. $70 within 24 hours of departure or airport. | Off-peak: $125 Peak: $135 | Through 9/5: Bag must be checked on basic economy. At the gate, if this is your 1st or 2nd checked bag a $65 fee applies, if this is your 3rd checked bag a $180 fee applies. Effective 9/6: Free, even on basic economy. | Most JetBlue cards offer 1 free checked bag on worldwide flights for primary cardholder and up to 3 companions. Officially, you need to pay with card, though this isn't enforced. Card doesn't have a carry-on bag benefit. |
| Southwest | Free | Free | $125 | Free | No bag benefit |
| Spirit | Varies by route. LGA-Dallas sample: $50 during booking. $60 after booking. $60 during online checkin. $79 at airport. | Varies by route. LGA-Dallas sample: $75 during booking. $85 after booking. $85 during online checkin. $99 at airport. | Varies by route. LGA-Dallas sample: $99 | Varies by route. LGA-Dallas sample: $50 during booking. $60 after booking. $60 during online checkin. $79 at airport. | No bag benefit |
| United | $35 online more than 24 hours before departure. $40 within 24 hours of departure or airport. | $45 online more than 24 hours before departure. $50 within 24 hours of departure or airport. | $150 | Bag must be checked on basic economy. At the gate, you will pay a $25 penalty on top of checked bag fees. | Most United cards offer 1 free checked bag on worldwide flights for primary cardholder and 1 companion and 1 free large carry-on bag worldwide for primary cardholder and all companions even on basic economy tickets. Quest and Club cards offer 2 free checked bags on worldwide flights for primary cardholder and 1 companion. You need to pay for United flights with card for bag benefits, but that requirement is waived for the first 90 days from card approval. |
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25 Comments On "[Free Carry-Ons Are Back On JetBlue Basic Fares] Bag Fees Are Going Up Again, Roundup Of Domestic Checked Bag Fees"
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People would fly more often if it wasn’t so stressful to pay for bags…and worry about bag limits
But we should keep bailing them out
I agree fully!
Why did we use tax money to bail them out and got nothing for it?!?
Southwest is such a nice outlier. The only airline that doesn’t have a paragraph to read just to understand their policy.
Transfarency baby!
But they don’t fly directly from JFK to MIA and back.
What part of south west sounds like they should operate a route up and down the east coast?
The part that has a hub at BWI.
Well done. Nice round up.
Gizuntaheit with spirit!
I enjoyed the little read!
Though a nice little add on to this post. You can add how Delta and Alaska offers free miles or cash on Alaska for 20 min delay in receiving bag. Which would offset the bag fee.
For those that want the link to delta.
https://www.delta.com/bags/bagsClaimAutomation.action
Leaving out all the lengthy delays where a cc can kick in and get some reimbursement. Just 20 min. While most or many flights will prob qualify.
So may be worth paying in miles, and after flight recoup at least 2500 out of the 3000 for a delay.
delta not anymore
Can you explain what you mean? Page and link still there.
Delta yes anymore as of a couple weeks ago
What credit card would you recommend for American or delta to get the free bag allowance? Need one with not too much maintenance or massive spending requirements, but fly on those airlines often enough that the checked bags will add up. New to cards
If you just want it for the bags, go for the one with the lowest annual fee that has the bag allowance. Note that the no-annual-fee Delta Blue doesn’t have a bag allowance. You’d have to go for the Delta Gold with a $150 annual fee. I’ll let someone else answer about American.
Won’t be long before the bag fee is higher than the ticket price….
Spirit been doing that..
How does UA know if one was approved for a card within 90days? Being tied to your MP account? Will waive the fees? So you don’t need to use or enter card details when booking a flight?
Yes.
Yes.
Correct.
Does United waive carry on bag fees for the first 90 days of card membership? Or only checked bags. Asking specifically when not using the card to book the ticket
Any idea if AA free bag from cc actually needs a full 7 days before travel for the perk to be activated? i see in the fine print they require a full 7 days prior to flying for the card to be opened.
At these prices if you have two bags and you have the JB card that gives one free bag per person(seat), there may be times when it would make sense to buy an empty second seat to get the free bag.
It looks like this works in cycles, or maybe it’s a strategy to get people to pay more for checked bags. Regardless, this may have all the other national carriers as well as credit cards benefits may be interesting to watch.
Would a jetblue agent waive the checked bag fee for an authorized cc user?
Was just on a JetBlue flight. They made us pay for bags even though we have a JetBlue card – said we have to purchase ticket with it – so it was enforced for us.
I’m not going to fly with untill they’ll back up on the Israel map episode.
And I think we all should consider it