Photo courtesy of Thinkstock
Some people, as our boss Mark Murphy showed on national television, will use anything they can to avoid succumbing to ubiquitious airline fees that range from second bag charges to water bottles.
Now it's obvious Mark was able to fit a lot of stuff into 'The Vest.' Who would wear that remains to be seen, but it did lead us to wonder how many other fees could be avoided with some simple ingenunity.
CHANGE FEES - Look, if the airlines didn't charge you to change your flights, then everybody and their brother would be locking in low fares by purchasing tickets and then just making changes as needed. That's why $200 change fees are in place. Solution: Buy a refundable ticket. It's more expensive than a non-refundable tickets, yes, but if you think you're going to have any cause at all to change that ticket it's worth the money. Or you could truly bargain shop and fly Southwest, which has no change fees.
BAGGAGE FEES - Buy The Vest. Or sign up for an airline credit card, many of which now include free checked bags. Or, look into shipping ahead with a luggage service. Or fly Southwest, where the first two bags are free, or JetBlue, where the first checked bag is free.
WATER & OTHER BEVERAGES FEE - BYOB, baby. You already can't bring liquids through security checkpoints, but you can purchase your bottle of water once you are past security and into the gate area of the terminal. If you're not interested in contributing to the airlines' deep pockets by having to purchase a bottle of water, buy it before boarding.
RESERVATION BY PHONE FEE - Forgive us, because this has a bit of a smarmy, dine-and-dash kind of feel to it. But if you don't want to pay the $10-$20 fee just to book a reservation over the phone, call anyway to get the information and then just politely excuse yourself from the conversation and book the same deal online.
WI-FI FEE - Think about whether it's really worth it. On a typical three-hour flight, with up to 30 minutes spent taxiing to the runway, getting in the air and getting to the flying altitude, and another 30 minutes to descend, land and taxi to the gate, you're not getting three hours worth of Wi-Fi.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
