Americans aren’t as lucky as us in Australia, enduring checked baggage fees for even the first bag on most flights within the US but also to neighbouring countries like Canada and Mexico.
Here are five ways that you can avoid paying this fee which we are not used to forking out when travelling on Qantas and Virgin Australia.
1. Check-in for your domestic US flight when departing Australia
Often travellers from Australia will book a return flight to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas/Fort Worth or New York with the intention of filling in the rest of their trip with domestic flights later on.
A few months ago, I booked a one-way flight from Sydney to LA on Virgin Australia and then a separate Economy ticket on Delta from LA to Austin.
When checking in at Sydney Airport with Virgin Australia, I gave the check-in agent my six-digit confirmation number for my Delta flight and they were able to attach a baggage tag to Austin via LA and didn’t charge me the $25 USD fee for taking that bag on the second flight.
It all depends on whether the first airline has an interline agreement with the second one, meaning they can issue a boarding pass and check luggage on the second flight. You can find a list of interline agreements for Qantas and Virgin Australia. If you have access to ExpertFlyer, they have a more comprehensive search function.
2. Fly Southwest
This Dallas-based carrier is my favourite when flying Economy in the US (Delta would be a close second) and it is actually the third-largest airline by passenger numbers, ahead of United.
They are the only US airline that includes not just one but two checked bags in every fare. Their customer service is generally superior to American and United, and they have a great range of destinations in the US, Mexico, Central America and The Caribbean.
You can also change your flight for free (plus any fare difference) or cancel your flight and receive a travel credit.
3. Hold elite status
If you hold status with Qantas, Velocity or another frequent flyer program, then you can access a complimentary checked baggage allowance on that airline and its partners. That covers American Airlines and Alaska Airlines for Qantas, and Delta for Virgin Australia.
4. Fly Business Class
Called ‘First Class’ by most US airlines on their domestic flights, you’ll get a complimentary checked baggage allowance.
Generally, though, I don’t find using cash or points for domestic US flights is of good value, as you usually don’t even get lounge access. The exception to that is for transcontinental flights, which it is much more attractive to have a lie-flat seat on and you’re more likely to get lounge access.
Delta 757 Domestic First Class
5. Travel with only carry-on
Pretty self-explanatory but impractical for many—respect to those expert minimalists out there.
One more thing: be careful of Basic Economy fares
All three US legacy airlines (Delta, American and United) have started to behave like low-cost carriers in charging for bringing anything larger than a ‘personal item’ (think: small backpack or purse) onboard.
They, at least for now, make it really clear on their websites that you are purchasing a Basic Economy rather than more expensive Economy fare but that could change in the future.
If you are using a third party booking engine like Expedia or Webjet, then this information can be really well-hidden.
A good way to get around this is to install the Legroom for Chrome extension if you are a Google Chrome web browser user. It shows you the carry-on baggage allowance and also the legroom for your seat (as the name suggests).
Summing up
US airlines are less generous than Australian ones when it comes to checked baggage allowances (and lounge access…and fit-for-humans legroom…and friendly customer service…and not getting dragged off a plane…and having solid Business Class products—I could go on and on).
So, if you are connecting from your flight from Australia onto a domestic US flight, try to get the checked baggage fee waived by checking in for the second flight when departing Australia.
Within the US, Southwest offers the most generous (and only) complimentary checked baggage allowance. Do watch out for Basic Economy fares on many airlines, which restrict even carry-on baggage.
Finally, if you hold status with Qantas or Velocity, then try to preference travel on partner airlines to get both an increased baggage allowance and potentially lounge access.
Have you had any success with any of these methods? Do you have any other suggestions to avoid checked baggaged fees in the US or elsewhere?
Will VA have an interline with Alaskan once they gobble up Virgin America in a few weeks? Cant find an answer to this anywhere, Am flying VA to LAX in May and dont particularly want to pay 25USD to check my luggage in Alaskan for the trip to Vegas.
Hi,
I can’t find any information about Hawaiian Airlines and free checked baggage with Velocity Gold online. Can you help me out?
Just answered in another comment.
Can you show me a link that says Velocity Gold on Hawaiian Airlines get free checked baggage? I can’t find anything online
My mistake—it doesn’t seem Velocity Gold members get complimentary checked baggage on Hawaiian. If so, it would probably be on this page. Guide updated to reflect that.
Travelling domestically while in the USA certainly makes one appreciate Qantas and Virgin. I’ve definitely used my Virgin Gold to grab the free bags with Delta and having a second bag for free helps when one does a little too much shopping. One of the best things though about flying in the USA is that booking in Delta Comfort + is a really easy and economical way to maintain Gold with Virgin. Just did so last month for the second year in a row. On a side note I did find the Delta lounges somewhat inconsistent – with some way bigger and better (especially in the alcohol department) and others with rather limited food and drink choices.
Also if you have SPG platinum, and flying with Delta, with the crossover awards, it will allow you one free checked bag and whoever is travelling with you as well with one free checked bag. FYI.
Great to know!
Not sure I agree flying “First” (or business) on domestic US isn’t worth it. For a start it is much cheaper than flying business in Australia domestically. I recently book DEN-LAX which is slightly further than MEL-BNE, for only $280 on AA in First. Qantas to Brisbane is more than double that. It’s also a good way to get status credits, particularly with connecting flights through the hub system – although now Qantas credits “First” as Business with the recent AA fare code changes so whilst it’s not as lucrative as it used to be, it’s still much cheaper than flying business to get the same thing in Aus. Plus it also means you don’t have to fly in their horrendously uncomfortable coach seats with virtually no meal service, or any other service for that matter.
Agree entirely, Peter – domestic F airfares in the US have declined significantly over the last few years as airlines ‘monetise’ their forward cabins, much to the chagrin of UA/AA/DL elites who had come to expect endless upgrades. The SCs, space, access to overhead bins, checked baggage and booze (including ‘PDBs’) all make F worthwhile at today’s prices, even if the food is commonly only packaged junk in a ‘snack basket’ (even on a 2.5 hour flight), and the FAs would clearly rather be elsewhere. Most domestic US lounges are not worth the effort, and there are a multitude of other options anyway (Priority Pass, AmEx platinum, Star or OW status, QC membership, etc.).