Paying for checked baggage when you fly adds up quickly. At a starting rate of $25 to check one bag one way on a domestic flight, it’s pretty easy to rack up hundreds of dollars in bag fees every year. If you’re traveling with a family, you’re probably wasting hundreds of dollars on baggage every time you get on a plane.
The good news is this: You never need to pay a checked bag fee again.
If you do check bags—even just once or twice a year—you should have a credit card that provides the benefit of waived checked bag fees for the airline that you travel most.
Most co-branded airline cards carry some type of free baggage benefit, and even if there is an annual fee, you’ll quickly recoup the expense with all your savings.
How to choose a card with FREE Checked Baggage benefits?
Rules and fees for checked bags vary from airline to airline, and so do the baggage fee waiver benefits offered by different credit cards. Some cards allow everyone in your party (up to 8 people traveling on the same reservation) to check bags for free, while others only extend the benefit to the primary cardholder for the first bag. You’ll want to make sure you double check the benefit you’re eligible for with the card you carry.
To save you some time and research, we’ve put together this list of airlines and the credit cards we recommend that can help you score free baggage benefits on each.
Note: This information has been gathered independently by Cards for Travel for your information. Card details have not been provided or reviewed by the banks.
American Airlines
Citi Bank offers a wide variety of AAdvantage credit cards with varying benefits so you’ll want to check the details on your specific card before you travel with baggage. Here’s a sample of some of Citi’s AA cards with baggage benefits:
Citi Advantage Platinum Select Card
The first checked bag is free for the primary cardholder and up to 4 travel companions on the same domestic itinerary.
Citi Executive World Elite MasterCard
The first checked bag is free for the primary cardholder and up to 8 travel companions on the same domestic itinerary.
CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum Select Card
The first checked bag if free for the primary cardholder and up to 4 travel companions on the same domestic itinerary.
Aviator Red Card
The first checked bag is free of charge for the cardholder and up to 4 traveling companions on the same itinerary on an American Airlines operated reservation. (If you had the US Airways card from Barclaycard that transformed into an AA card upon the merger, you’ll have this benefit as long as you keep the card.)
Air Canada
TD Aeroplan Visa Card
The first checked bag is complimentary for the primary cardholder on Air Canada operated flights. The version of the card you hold will determine if this complimentary baggage benefit is valid for paid tickets and/or award tickets only.
Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Card
The baggage fee for the first bag will be waived for the primary consumer credit cardholder and up to 6 additional passengers in the same reservation. To be eligible the cardholder’s Mileage Plan™ number must be attached to the reservation and all travel must be solely on Alaska Airlines.
British Airways
British Airways Visa Signature Card
The British Airways card from Chase doesn’t provide any free baggage benefits– but that’s only because everyone can check their first bag for free on most BA flights. This card currently has a number of other money-saving benefits, so it’s still worth checking out.
Delta
Gold Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express
The first checked back is free for the primary cardholder plus up to 8 guests traveling on the same reservation. The reservation must include the primary Card Member’s SkyMiles number.
Gold Delta SkyMiles®Credit Card from American Express
The first checked back is free for the primary cardholder plus up to 8 guests traveling on the same reservation. The reservation must include the primary Card Member’s SkyMiles number.
Platinum Delta SkyMiles card from American Express
The first checked back is free for the primary cardholder plus up to 8 guests traveling on the same reservation. The reservation must include the primary Card Member’s SkyMiles number.
Reserve Delta SkyMiles card from American Express
The first checked back is free for the primary cardholder plus up to 8 guests traveling on the same reservation. The reservation must include the primary Card Member’s SkyMiles number.
Hawaiian Airlines
The Hawaiian Airlines World Elite MasterCard from Barclays
The first checked bag is free for the primary cardmember when you use your card to purchase your ticket directly from Hawaiian Airlines.
Southwest
Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
The Southwest Airways card from Chase doesn’t provide any free baggage benefits– but that’s only because everyone can check their first bag for free Southwest. This card consistently offers of other money-saving benefits, so it’s still worth checking out if you like the airline.
United
United MileagePlus® Explorer Card
The primary Cardmember and one companion traveling on the same reservation will each receive their first standard checked bag for free.
United MileagePlus Club Card
The primary Cardmember and one companion traveling on the same reservation will each receive their first and second standard checked bags free ($25 value for the first checked bag and $35 value for the second checked bag, each way, per person) on United-operated flights when purchasing tickets with their United MileagePlus Club Card.
United MileagePlus Explorer Business Card
The primary Cardmember and one companion traveling on the same reservation will each receive their first standard checked bag free ($25 value for the first checked bag, each way, per person) on United-operated flights when the primary Cardmember includes their MileagePlus number in their reservation and purchases their tickets from United with their United MileagePlus Explorer Business Card.
No matter which card you choose or which airline you travel—this is a card carrier’s benefit on which you’ll never lose!
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Image: Creative Commons, FrankieLeon
