What?! I have to pay to check my bags?!

It is an unfortunate fact of life these days that you must consider and plan for the expense of checking your luggage when you take a flight.  With rare (and decreasing) exception, there are going to be baggage fees.  Discount carriers in Europe have charged separately for bags for years, and that business model is taking hold on this side of the pond in a big way.

So, the first thing is to understand that you’re probably going to pay for your checked baggage.  Some notable exceptions at the time of this writing is Southwest Airlines and our wonderful AeroMexico charters from Dallas to Cancun this summer.  Both of these carriers offer two checked bags per person, no charge.  Oh, the luxury!

Another challenge in figuring out what you’ll pay to check your baggage is that the policies and the prices seem to change on a continual basis.  So, what you’ll pay sometimes depends on what the policy was at the time your ticket was issued.  (Do you remember when your ticket was issued?)

In an effort to decipher this puzzle, I offer these resources:

http://www.airfarewatchdog.com/blog/3801089/airline-baggage-fees-chart-updated/

http://www.funjet.com/cs/baggagepolicy.asp

Be sure to verify any of the information directly with the carriers.

A few more notes:

Most upper level members of frequent flyer programs have baggage fees waived.  (i.e. AAdvantage Gold, Platinum etc)

Consider shipping rather than checking where it is less expensive and appropriate.

Consider traveling so light that you don’t have to check bags at all.  (Remember, though, that the struggle for overhead space onboard your flight gets more intense every day, so that’s no picnic either.)

What tricks do you use to minimize baggage charges?