Every Airline's Carry-On and Bag Fees, in One Table (US 2026)

Every bag fee on a US airline depends on three things: which airline, which fare class, and when you pay. The table below shows the standard economy fare on domestic routes. If you are flying basic economy, add the basic economy penalties below. If you are paying at the airport instead of at booking, add the airport premium, which is $10 to $75 depending on the carrier.

Prices in the table are for tickets issued on or after the April 2026 fee hikes and reflect standard economy on domestic routes. International long-haul routes are usually more generous (first bag often included), and inter-island Hawaii and Alaska routes have their own pricing.

The main table, based on published 2026 fee schedules:

A few patterns worth pulling out of this table.

Every legacy carrier converged on $45 first bag and $55 second bag after the April 2026 hikes. Only American holds slightly under that, at $40 online. That has effectively erased the fee-competitive angle between United, Delta, Alaska, Hawaiian, and Southwest. If you are choosing between them, bag fees are no longer a tiebreaker.

Ultra-low-cost carriers (Frontier, Allegiant) charge separately for the carry-on. If your bag is bigger than the personal-item size, you are paying for it on these airlines. That charge is often larger than a legacy carrier's first checked bag fee, which flips the "cheap fare" advantage on its head.

Airport pricing is a trap on every airline that offers a discount for prepaying. On Frontier, walking up to the gate turns a $30 carry-on into $100. On United, it adds $10 per bag. On Alaska since April 2026, there is no discount for prepaying, so the airport price is the same as the online price. Read the small print for your specific carrier.

Basic economy is where bag fees quietly balloon. The base fare looks cheap, but the fine print takes away things that are free on the standard fare. Carry-on is the biggest one.

2026 basic economy carry-on rules:

United Basic and JetBlue Blue Basic are the ones to watch. If your fare is basic on those two carriers, you cannot bring a standard rolling carry-on into the cabin. The gate agent will make you check it, and the fee is usually higher than the online prepay rate for a checked bag. That erases the basic economy discount on most trips.

For the full trade-off math on basic economy versus main cabin, see our companion guide on basic economy versus main cabin, which walks through when basic economy actually saves money and when it is a trap.

The single biggest bag-fee shift of the last two years. Southwest ended its 55-year "Bags Fly Free" policy on May 28, 2025 (initial fees $35 first, $45 second), then raised to $45 first and $55 second on April 9, 2026. Third bag is $150. Carry-on and personal item are still free on every fare, including Basic. Free checked bags still apply for A-List Preferred and Business Select (two free), A-List (one free), Rapid Rewards Credit Card holders (one free), and active-duty military.

Spirit stopped flying on May 2, 2026 after a court approved the airline's liquidation. Tickets and bag purchases are no longer sold. If you have a Spirit booking or Free Spirit points from before the shutdown, refunds are being processed through the bankruptcy proceedings, not by the airline directly. This shrinks the ultra-low-cost field to two carriers: Frontier and Allegiant.

Frontier's carry-on fee alone can hit $99 at the gate, and a checked bag can reach $100 to $117 at the airport. The Works bundle (typically $89 to $180 at booking) includes carry-on, a checked bag, seat selection, and priority boarding. On any trip where you need a carry-on and a checked bag, The Works is usually cheaper than paying for each piece separately. Buy it at booking; adding it later costs more.

Allegiant is unusual: the airport rate for any bag is a flat $75, regardless of route or bag type. Carry-on prices at booking start as low as $10 on some routes, which is one of the cheapest carry-on options in US aviation, but the airport walk-up jump to $75 is one of the steepest. Add everything at booking or lose the price advantage.

United Basic Economy fares on most domestic routes do not include a full-size carry-on. You get a personal item that fits under the seat, and that is it. If you show up at the gate with a rolling carry-on, the airline will check it and charge you the checked bag fee ($45 to $50), which is almost always higher than adding the bag at booking on a Main Cabin fare would have been. For transatlantic Basic Economy, a carry-on is included.

American at $40 online is currently the cheapest first bag on a legacy carrier. Delta, Alaska, and Hawaiian all landed at $45 first / $55 second after April 2026, matching United. JetBlue's peak-season surcharge is the outlier: in peak weeks, the second checked bag on JetBlue can hit $69, which is the highest legacy price in the US in 2026.

The right co-branded airline credit card can pay for itself on a single trip. Every major legacy carrier offers a card that waives the first checked bag for the cardholder and, on most cards, a few travel companions on the same reservation.

Current cards and their first-bag benefit as of 2026:

A rough calculation: two roundtrips a year, checking one bag each way, at $45 per bag equals $180 in bag fees for a solo traveller. Any of the cards above pays for itself in the first year on that usage. For a family of four flying together, the math is even easier: one Alaska Visa card waives the first bag for up to six companions, which is $270 saved on a single one-way trip.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred and Amex Platinum do not waive airline bag fees directly, but they offer statement credits for airline incidental fees (Amex Platinum) or a general travel credit (Sapphire Reserve) that can absorb bag fees. Read the fine print for what qualifies.

Every major US carrier waives some or all bag fees for elite frequent flyers. If you are within striking distance of an elite tier, the bag-fee savings alone can justify the effort to reach it.

Elite status is normally earned through spend or flight count over a calendar year. On many programs, the cheapest way to reach the entry-level tier is a status-match promotion from another airline. If you have status on one carrier and want to switch, ask the target airline about a match before you buy elite-qualifying tickets outright.

• Delta Medallion (Silver and above): first bag free on Delta-operated flights. Higher tiers (Gold, Platinum, Diamond) get more free bags.
• American AAdvantage (Gold and above): first bag free, higher tiers extend to more bags and companions.
• United Premier (Silver and above): first bag free, extending to more bags and companions at higher tiers.
• Alaska Mileage Plan (MVP and above): two free checked bags for MVP, three for MVP Gold, and higher allowances above that.
• Southwest A-List: one free checked bag. A-List Preferred: two free checked bags, plus the benefit extends to up to eight companions on the same reservation.
• JetBlue Mosaic (all tiers): two free checked bags.

There are five reliable ways to skip bag fees on US airlines in 2026:

The single most-repeated mistake is showing up at the airport without adding a bag online first. On Frontier, that alone can cost $70 more per bag. On Allegiant, the walk-up rate is $75 regardless of what the online rate would have been. Prepay is not a small saving, it is often a doubling.

• Fly with a personal item only. Every US carrier includes a free personal item that fits under the seat. If you can pack the trip into a 18 x 14 x 8 inch bag (Frontier and Spirit standards are similar to that), you pay nothing on any airline.
• Fly Southwest, American, Delta, Alaska, JetBlue, Hawaiian, or United on the standard fare with a carry-on. Full-size carry-on is free on every legacy carrier standard fare and on Southwest even on Basic. Not on United Basic or JetBlue Blue Basic.
• Use a co-branded airline credit card. Delta Amex, United Explorer, Citi AAdvantage, JetBlue Plus, Alaska Visa, and Southwest Rapid Rewards all waive the first bag for the cardholder and often companions.
• Reach elite status on your primary airline. Free bags scale with the tier and often cover companions on the same booking.
• Prepay online rather than at the airport. Almost every airline except Alaska charges more at the airport, sometimes double. Add the bag when you buy the ticket, not when you check in.