Checked Bag Fees: What Airlines Really Charge

Your free checked bag allowance depends on your airline and fare, and it ranges from zero bags on some basic fares to two or more on premium cabins. Anything beyond that included count is excess baggage in the piece-count sense, and it's priced as an additional bag fee.

Separately, a single bag that goes over the weight or size limit, commonly 50 pounds and 62 total inches on U.S. carriers, is also called excess, overweight, or oversized baggage depending on the airline's own terminology. The fee for that is usually higher than a standard additional bag.

Basic Economy or the lowest fare tier on a given airline is often, but not always, the one with the smallest free checked bag allowance, sometimes dropping to zero included bags. That's a separate variable from the excess baggage fee itself, since a fare with zero free bags still has its own published or calculator-based price for the first paid bag.

Several major U.S. airlines still publish a straightforward number for domestic flights. American charges $45 for a first checked bag prepaid online ($50 at the airport) and $55 for a second ($60 at the airport). Delta charges $45 and $55 for the first and second bag. JetBlue charges $45 and $59 off-peak when paid online at least 24 hours ahead, rising on peak dates or if you wait. Alaska charges $45 and $55 as of April 10, 2026.

Southwest also charges $45 for a first bag and $55 for a second, which surprises people who remember its old policy. Southwest ended Bags Fly Free on May 28, 2025, and now charges the same kind of fee most of its competitors do, except for A-List Preferred elite members and its Choice Extra fare, which still include free bags.

Air Canada also publishes flat figures, though in Canadian dollars rather than USD: a first bag runs $45 to $54 CAD and a second $60 to $72 CAD on Basic and Standard fares within Canada, the U.S., and nearby regions, with Flex and Comfort fares including the first bag free and Latitude fares including two.

United does not list a static price for a standard checked bag anywhere on its baggage page. It states plainly that fees depend on when you bought your ticket and where you're flying, and directs you to its own baggage fee calculator. That schedule changed twice in 2026, in April and again in May, with no flat number published either time.

British Airways does the same thing for Economy Basic passengers buying their first checked bag, or anyone buying an extra bag beyond their included allowance: the cost depends on destination and quantity, generated through Manage My Booking or a calculator, not a printed rate. If a specific airline promises you a bag fee before you've entered your route and dates, that's a sign the number might not hold at checkout.

Frontier and Allegiant follow the same dynamic-pricing pattern, pricing checked and even carry-on bags per route and purchase timing rather than a single flat rate, which puts them in the same never-quote-a-flat-number category as United and British Airways here. If an airline's own fee page points you to a calculator instead of a table, that's your actual answer: there isn't a flat fee to quote.

The pattern across most U.S. carriers looks similar even where the exact numbers differ. Delta and Southwest both charge $100 for a bag between 51 and 70 pounds and $200 for one between 71 and 99 or 100 pounds, on top of the standard bag fee. JetBlue charges a flat $150 for either overweight band, 51 to 70 or 71 to 99 pounds. American uses a finer tiered scale, $30 for 50 to 53 pounds, $100 for 53 to 70 pounds, and $200 for 70 to 100 pounds.

Nearly every airline in this comparison draws a hard line somewhere between 99 and 115 total inches or 99 and 100 pounds, past which the bag simply isn't accepted at any price. If your bag is anywhere near those thresholds, it's worth weighing it at home rather than finding out at the counter.

British Airways runs a similarly tiered structure but in GBP, EUR, USD, and CAD: a flat 100 USD (65 GBP) charge for any bag between 23 kg (51 lb) and its 32 kg (70 lb) absolute maximum, with nothing heavier accepted at any price.

The cheapest checked bag is the one you never check. Confirming your carry-on actually fits your airline's sizer with the fit checker avoids the fee entirely, and it's worth doing even on airlines that let you bring one for free, since a bag that's too big still gets gate-checked or charged.

If you do need to check a bag, weigh it at home first, since most carriers price a 51 pound bag the same as a 69 pound bag, meaning even a small amount over the line costs the same as being well over it. And paying online in advance is consistently cheaper than paying at the airport, a pattern that holds across American, JetBlue, and several other carriers in this comparison.

It's also worth checking whether your airline's status program or co-branded credit card includes a free checked bag, since several carriers in this comparison, including American, Delta, and Alaska, waive the standard fee for elite members, active-duty military, or holders of certain airline credit cards, which can make the whole comparison moot for frequent flyers.