BUFFALO, N.Y. — With one of the major U.S. airlines increasing bag fees this week, we wanted to find out how the travel experts save money themselves.
American Airlines is raising its checked bag fee by $10, so it will now cost you $40 to check at bag at the airport, and one of the travel experts 2 On Your Side talked with Wednesday afternoon thinks other airlines will do the same thing.
"Alaska and JetBlue had previously raised baggage fees, so I think you're going to see the other airlines copycat here in the coming weeks," said Clint Henderson, managing editor at The Points Guy.
Henderson said if you plan ahead, you can avoid some of the fees that keep popping up.
"Have the airline co-branded credit card. So, a lot of times they'll give you a sign-up bonus, and you'll get your first bag for free just for holding the credit card," Henderson said.
2 On Your Side asked viewers on social media Wednesday morning what they do to save money while traveling.
Anthony said, "Just take a carry on and do laundry."
Paul said, "Try Southwest. They don't charge a baggage fee."
Henderson agrees with both.
"You could also fly Southwest, which doesn't charge for bags, so a couple options there to get around baggage fees. I am team carry-on, so I always no matter where I'm going in the world, I always just have carry-on luggage just because I don't want the airlines to potentially lose my luggage. I don't want to be separated from my stuff, and I don't want to pay bag fees," Henderson said.
Lindsay Schwimer is a travel expert with the free app Hopper, which helps you find the best time to book flights. She says for international flights book five to seven months out.
"If you're booking a domestic trip over the summer, you're likely a little bit too early. What I'd recommend is downloading a price-monitoring tracker like the Hopper app, plug in dates that you want to travel this summer, the destination that you're eyeing, that way you'll get real time alerts as soon as prices drop," Schwimer said.
They both also said make sure you read the fine print. An airline might get you to click on a cheap flight, but once you get to the final bill, they can sometimes add a bunch of fees, so just know what you're signing up for.