Checked Bag Fees are Rising Everywhere; Are Credit Cards a Solution?

If you need to check a bag when you travel, your wallet could be about to take a big hit. With fuel prices rising, every major U.S. airline has raised checked bag fees. 🧳💸

This week, Alaska and American joined Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, and United in hiking the price to check a bag, with first-bag fees jumping to about $45 each way in most cases, with a second bag typically over $50. Checking bags for a family trip could now cost hundreds of dollars. 

Enter: co-branded credit cards. Each of the big carriers offers one or more credit cards that offer a free checked bag as a benefit. Often that benefit extends to companions on the same reservation, from one companion in the case of the United Explorer to up to eight companions in the case of the Delta Gold. These cards with a $150 annual fee could easily save $200 or more in a single round-trip. 

So… should you get an airline credit card just to avoid bag fees? Generally, only if you know you’ll actually check one. Otherwise, you might be paying ~$100 per airline just in case—that’s pretty pricey insurance. 

A few airline cards can be worth keeping even if you don’t check bags often—cards like the Atmos Summit or Delta Gold/Platinum might have enough other benefits to justify the fee on their own. The free checked bag is just the cherry on top.

Most airline cards, though, only break even on the fee if you check a bag. For instance, the Citi AA Platinum Select has a $99 annual fee, but doesn’t offer any permanent benefits to recoup that annual fee without checking a bag. So these cards can make sense if you check bags with a given airline relatively often, but that $99 is a hefty price for a “just in case.” (Many airline cards waive the fee for the first year, though, so testing it out for a year can be low risk.) 

In either case, though, timing matters. Airline cards have huge variations in sign-up bonuses depending on when you apply. The Atmos Summit currently has a 100k-point offer, but a few weeks ago it was only 80k. The AA Platinum Select currently offers only 50k miles, but a few weeks ago you could get 80k. Those swings are worth hundreds of dollars. Signing up at the wrong time could cost you—maybe more than the bag fees you could save.

For that reason, I don’t recommend rushing out to get an airline card if you don’t need one. But what if you do? If you have an upcoming trip that will require checked bags, getting a co-branded card for the bag benefit could make sense. Just be sure to read the fine print to make sure you will actually get the benefit on your trip. Some cards don’t cover international trips, or only apply to direct bookings, while others require you to pay with the card to get the checked bag benefit, so you might need to make sure you can have the card (or an instant card number) before you need to book. 

Lazy Take 🦥

Airline cards can easily pay for themselves if you know you’ll use the benefits. But if you fly rarely or can get by with a carry-on, paying an annual fee just as checked bag fee insurance is probably a losing bet.

And if you are going to get one, timing matters—signing up at the wrong time can cost you more than the bag fees you’re trying to avoid.

This week on the blog 📝

I tried to break down the best ways to redeem Bilt Cash for lazy value. Sadly, checked bag fees are not a redemption option. 

Quick Points of the Week ⚡

More value 📈

JetBlue Premier adds benefits. The $499-fee card landed with a thud when it launched last year, but it’s upping the ante with benefits like a bigger award redemption discount, a headstart toward status, and a $300 credit for travel booked through JetBlue. It could be a solid option for JetBlue loyalists now. (JetBlue)

Rove adds Virgin as a transfer partner. The shopping and travel portal’s collection of solid transfer partners keeps growing. (Rove)

Devaluations 📉

Amex Platinum losing Lufthansa lounge access. Did you know you could access certain Lufthansa lounges with an Amex Platinum when flying with Lufthansa Group? That somewhat obscure lounge access is ending on October 1st. (MilesTalk)

Amex lowers cap on referrals. It will get harder to earn a lot of rewards by referring friends and family to Amex cards, but most people won’t be affected by the new 5-referral annual cap. (Danny Deal Guru)

Deals 🏷️

Rakuten’s best-ever $50 referral offer extended (again). It’s a great deal if you want to sign up and/or refer friends, and if you use our referral link we can earn too (we’re grateful for the support), but Rakuten isn’t going to get me to say “last chance” again on this deal when it allegedly expires at the end of June. (OMAAT)

Recommended 👍

How to clear TSA if you forget your ID. It’s not a good situation to be in, but it’s possible to get through security in a pinch. The Points Guy explains. 

Rumors 👀 

Citi floating Strata Premier changes. The bank surveyed customers, asking for feedback on hypothetical cards with a higher fee, much more usable statement credits, but generally lower points earning. (Miles to Memories)

Sign up bonus of the week 🎯

Links marked with an * are affiliate or referral links, meaning we may earn if you apply via our link. 

No major new offers this week, so we’re doing a little housekeeping. 🧹

The Chase Sapphire cards have lost their 🔥on the “great offer” list. Why? The offers on both cards are well above the historical standard offer of 60,000 points, but after nearly a year at the current level, I don’t think it’s quite right to view them as limited-time opportunities anymore. So I’m leaving them on the list while we wait to see what Chase’s bonus patterns will be going forward, but at this point I’m starting to think it’s more likely we might see an elevated offer in the future than a decrease in the bonus. That’s just my best guess—sadly, I don’t have inside information or a crystal ball. 🔮

Other great sign-up bonuses this week

50,000 points+ $300 Bilt Cash + Bilt Gold status on the Bilt Palladium (our take: 🔥🔥🔥🔥)

100k points + 25k companion discount on the Atmos Summit (our take: 🔥🔥🔥🔥)

175k points on the Hilton Aspire (our take: 🔥🔥) ends April 15

200k points on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant (our take: 🔥🔥)

70-130k points + free night on the Hilton Honors/Surpass (our take: 🔥) ends April 15

75k points + $250 travel credit on the Capital One Venture Rewards (our take: 🔥) ends April 13

70k points on the JetBlue Plus (our take: 🔥)

70-100k miles on United Credit Cards (our take: 🔥)

Up to 100/175k on the Amex Gold/Platinum (our take)

125k pointson the Chase Sapphire Reserve*(our take)

75k points on the Chase Sapphire Preferred* (our take)

How we rate bonus offers. 

Enjoy the weekend! 🦥

I hope all your luggage fits in a carry-on!

Sometimes we include referral or affiliate links (we’ll mark them clearly). If you use them, we may earn a commission—never at extra cost to you. We do our best to share great offers, but always double-check for the best deal available. Thanks for supporting LazyPoints 🦥