Last July Continental and United raised the price of checking a 2nd bag to Europe or Israel from $50 to $70. Shortly thereafter the other airlines matched.
United has once again upped the ante. Effective for tickets bought as of 06/01/12 it will now cost $100 each way to check a 2nd bag between the US and Europe, Middle East, Africa, and India.
The other airlines will likely match this hike as well within the next month or so as they did last year.
If you do fly to Israel or Europe on United at all (but not enough to earn Star Alliance Gold which gives 3 free 70 pound bags on United) you should definitely look into the United Club card. With it you and 1 companion automatically get 2 free bags. On just 1 round-trip to Europe or Israel for 2 people with 2 bags each that’s a $400 savings. It is the only credit card that gets you 2 free checked bags, though cards like the $450/year American Express Consumer Platinum and Business Platinum cards give $200 in fee refunds per calendar year (which will total $400 in refunds per card during your first cardmember year) along with lounge access to most lounges in the world besides for United lounges.
Although the rules say that this is a benefit only for the primary cardholder when purchasing the ticket on the card, in my experience you do not need to purchase the ticket on the card. Plus in my experience (and as was confirmed by United’s social media representative online) you can add additional cardholders for free and they and 1 companion will also get 2 free bags by showing the card to a checkin agent.
The United Club card has a $395 annual fee, but Chase will waive that fee for the first year if you send them a secure message after getting the card (and some have reported being able to keep the $95 signup bonus as well). After the first year you can downgrade to a cheaper card if you want or try to get a retention bonus.
The card also gives numerous other benefits as outlined in this post, including a full club membership even when not flying, waived award expedite fees, 50% more miles on all purchases, and the excellent Avis President’s Club status and Hyatt Platinum status.
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30 Comments On "International Baggage Fees On The Rise Yet Again."
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How much do they charge within the US for second bag?
@hudi:
$35 each way: http://www.united.com/CMS/en-US/travel/Pages/ChangedBagRulesOptionalServices.aspx
Could I upgrade my united card to the united club card? (United is the first cc I opened, I don’t want to pay the first year fee and don’t want to effect my credit score )
@love this blog:
You can upgrade from a regular United card that is more than 12 months old, however if you upgrade you probably won’t be able to get the $395 fee waived as the fee waiver is for new applicants.
However you are allowed to have a United club card on top of an existing United card. In fact I currently have a United Club Mastercard on top of a regular United Visa and a regular United Mastercard!
The year is almost over what do you recommend me to do with my united master card?
@love this blog:
Try to get a retention bonus (they can give miles or statement credits) to keep it open.
how do i become star alliance gold?
@chaim:
Fly!
You need 50,000 flown miles in a calendar year to attain the status with United.
You only need 19,000 miles with Aegean and that status lasts much much longer, but most coach flights on United only get half credit with Aegean.
And while Aegean Gold will get you free bags and worldwide lounge access, it will not get you economy plus, upgrades, bonus miles, and discounted fees on United like United Gold will get you.
More info: http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/19282
@Dan how did you get a Club Mastercard?
@hudi:
By upgrading from a Presidental Plus Mastercard.
I was able to upgrade and they wavied the 395 for a year
@dave:
Awesome, well done!
hey dan, how many credit cards do u suggest that one should apply on a monthly basis to get the bonus offers
Is there any way to avoid the bagge fees with UsAir on flights to Israel?
I just flew united back form israel and didnt realize until i was checking in that I was allowed to take a second bag for free. I was with 2 other people on the same itenirary. the gain would have been, a sybling is moving back from israel to the U.S. and the other gain i had by not knowing before hand was that I didnt have to do extra scleping. (who knows how I would have gotten to the airport in israel with 6 check in bags)
@dave:
As many as they’ll approve you for after calling reconsideration 😀
@ick:
Fly in business or get Star Alliance Gold.
thats disgusting.
@dave: Did u have the card for a year?
Quick Question i live in new york i want to fly from tlv-ewr but it cost the same amount of points to travel tlv-lax via ewr do u think if i miss the ewr-lax flight i can rebook it for a diffrent time since if one could u can get a free ewr-lax ticket
@Sam: yes
Hi Dan,
do u have any idea how long after getting the united club card does it take to get the presidents status with avis? and is there any way to expedite it?
Thank you!
@dave: You’re allowed a free stopover using United miles. Just build the stopover in when you book. Like this for example:
1 Sep – EWR-TLV
10 Sep – TLV-EWR
5 Nov – EWR-LAX
If instead your return was this:
10 Sep – TLV-EWR-LAX
and you just missed your EWR-LAX, then you could not reschedule. The EWR-LAX portion would be canceled.
I think I get two free bags with my Delta Platinum card.
@David:
Nope, just the first bag is free with all Delta credit cards.
Dan, Do you recommend I upgrade my co ppc to the ucc, considering that upgrading will erase the possibility of getting an additional year free through the standard application process?
I just applied for united card mentioned. can i really book a ticket to Israel with another card and then just show the card at check in? also what does the presidential status at avis do for you?
@josh:
That’s your call!
Remember that once you get rid of your presidential plus card there’s no way to get it back.
@jul:
Yes.
See here: http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/22186
If I have two mileage plus explorer cards that are active will I get 2 free bags flying to TLV? What other benefits should I be using with the united mileageplus explorer flying united?
hi what about mileadge pluse explorer card
The major difference for cards is that the continental presidential plus master card gives you one thousand elite qualifications miles which can be used for frequent flyer status for every $5000 spent. The united card has eliminated this useful perk. If your missing some miles to upgrade to the next elite level you can add the eqm’s to achieve status.