25/09
Sneaky Ways to Avoid Airline Fees
Now that I have your attention, let’s get right to it:
*The easiest way to avoid paying a fee to check a bag is to bring it through security with you, as long as it’s not so big the gate agent will catch it. Says Katie Coakley of Vail, Colorado, “Simply decline to check your bag, take it with you to the gate, and then inevitably, it will be a full flight. The airline will gate-check your bag and you’re free and clear. Your bag comes out with everyone else’s, but with no fee.” There are some variations on this theme, but you get the idea.
*Here’s a good one, from Laura Bergells of Grand Rapids, Michigan. “Sip from an obviously oversized bottle of water as you go through security. Look remorseful: ‘Oh, gosh, I totally forgot. I was thirsty. My bad.’ By letting guards ‘be a hero’ publicly, they’re often willing to overlook my too-large face lotion and shampoo bottles. The one time they didn’t, the officer smiled, and said, ‘Well, we got you on one, that’s good enough!’”
*Jorge Gomez, who blogs at placesandtrips.com, has a great one: “Some airlines charge you for seat reservation, so if you’re traveling with someone else and you want to sit together during the flight, you must pay a fee to reserve your seats or risk being assigned separate seats. Whenever I travel with my children, I never reserve the seats since by federal regulations, minors must sit next to their parents. So the airline has no choice but to arrange a way to get all of us sitting together or next to each other.”
More next time…
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