How to Avoid Carry On Luggage Fees (Even If You’re Overweight)

traveling carry-on only can save you money and is weirdly liberating but airlines are getting sneaky with stupidly expensive carryon fees so you need to be even sneakier to avoid them you never know what going to go down at the airport so if you want to know how to avoid carry on luggage fees you need to plan for three stages before the airport when you arrive at the airport in a code red situation if you get called out stick to the end for an off-the-wall Last Resort trick that I've seen work multiple times to these fees before you start packing you need to do some prep work check your Airlines weight and size requirements because they can vary a lot if you have separate connecting flights on different airlines research them all and don't make assumptions and be careful because some Airlines have a total weight limit that includes both your carry-on and your personal item combined and the wording that they use isn't always exactly clear while you're in research mode check what the overweight fees are for your airline just to have an idea of the potential consequences if you don't take these next tips seriously armed with your limits now it's time to weigh you can just use a normal scale and weigh yourself with and without your bag but it's also handy to grab one of those luggage scales on Amazon if you're going to be traveling frequently and you're worried about the airlines discovering your overweight bags if I know my weight's going to be an issue I generally pack my heaviest stuff in my personal item Which is less likely to get weighed although it can still happen once you get to your gate you can always rearrange your stuff if you want to but whatever you do try to avoid the check en counter at all costs this is where you're most likely to get smacked with fees that means always trying to check in online or using the Airlines app to get either digital or printed boarding passes beforehand it also means not having any check bags because if you have checked bags then you'll likely need to go to the check en counter where they might weigh your carry-on as well if you don't think you can survive without the space of a checked bag use the clever tips in this video to maximize your personal item space instead you can also minimize your odds of problems by using a compact lightweight carry-on ideally in lowkey colors backpacks don't draw as much attention as rolling luggage and they also normally weigh way less for example the carry-on rolling suitcase ranked number one by the New York Times weighs 7.8 lb while this 4 L Tortuga backpack that I use as my full-time carry-on only weighs 4.5 lb a 3 or 4 lb difference might not sound like a big deal but with carryon limits as little as 15 lb simply choosing a backpack over a rolling suitcase allows you to pack roughly 25% more weight of your actual stuff I like this bag because it's Compact and it doesn't really draw attention so even if it does happen to be overweight Airline attendants don't really notice it and are less likely to weigh it there are are certainly lighter bags out there but you want to be careful about going too light or you'll lose durability and could end up with a broken carryon apart from using the right carryon you can also avoid luggage fees by wearing a fanny pack a sling pack or one of these fancy Scotty vests these vests are specifically designed with 20 30 even 40 Pockets to outsmart Airlines at their annoying luggage restriction games some of these vests and coats even have a pocket that fits an entire laptop obviously it only makes sense if you plan to use it over five times or so at this point the cost of Saved baggage fees outweighs the cost of the jacket the next piece of our anti- luggage fee strategy is to arrive at the airport with plenty of time to spare I know it sucks especially if it's super early in the morning but having a Time cushion allows you to fix problems if they arise which I'll show you how to do in a sec if you arrive late you'll be dressed and frazzled and you're more likely to pay their outrageous fees just so you don't miss your flight now that I have a credit card that includes free lounge access I actually look forward to arriving early to the airport not being in a rush makes the entire airport process less stressful and in the end you get free food now if you weren't able to check in online the kiosks are your next best option and if that's not an option either you have no other choice but to prepare for battle at the check encounter if you know you're over weight and you're traveling with a group you could try going one at a time and leaving one person behind leaving some of your stuff with them I've never had to resort to this but if you bought your tickets as a group I don't know if the check-in agents would wonder or care where your travel partners are but it seems like it's worked for other Travelers in the past so it may just depend on the airlines policies the same idea applies if someone brought you to the airport to see you off you could just leave some of your stuff with them and then pick it up after you have your boarding pass but what happens if they discover that your bags are overweight or oversized don't panic yet simply tell them that you need to rearrange some things step out of line to find a quiet corner and initiate the code red protocol code red level one is to Simply wear more of your heavy stuff layer up as many shirts sweatshirts and coats as possible wear your heaviest shoes hang your headphones around your neck put heavy stuff in your pockets there are some pretty hilarious videos of people doing this right in front of the checking counter but I would not recommend trying to provoke or show up the attendant they probably won't think it's very funny but in the end who are they to tell you how warmly you're allowed to dress I realized how ridiculous are the sounds because in the end the same amount of weight is entering the airplane but sometimes stupid rules call for stupid workarounds even if you wore all your clothes and strapped ankle weights around your legs you'd still probably weigh less than other people on your flight that that's why I don't buy it when trolls leave hateful comments claiming that these overweight luggage tricks are a safety risk your neighbor might weigh 100 lb more than you so what's the risk in carrying 5 lbs extra in your backpack if you want to be extra clever like my wife Diane you can even cram clothes into your neck pillow and wear around your neck she found a seamstress in Thailand who added a zipper to her old travel pillow for $2 but if you don't have a tie seamstress on speed Di I'll link to a travel pillow designed specifically for this purpose also if you're traveling with someone else and they're underwe you can ask the airline workers if you can weigh your bags at the same time to see if they even out if they're being a brat and won't let you weigh them together just go to the bathroom and move some of your stuff into their bag cold red strategy level two is to start throwing away cheap stuff that weigh a lot like an old pair of shoes or a bulky sweatshirt decide for yourself if it makes sense in your situation but it may make more sense to lose a easy to replace $20 item than to pay a $100 overweight fee cold red level three requires some sneaky creativity you could bring a food bag like a big McDonald's bag and fill it with stuff instead of food that said if they ask about it don't lie to them a bag like this is something you'd want to pack in your carry-on before leaving home just in case but if you don't have one you could try to find a restaurant in the airport that looks like they have taken way backs packing the wrong way can also increase your odds of getting smacked with luggage fees and you may not even realize you're doing anything wrong luckily I ran some experiments to determine the best way to pack your carry-on luggage according to science so watch that video next it may change the way you think about packing all right guys leave me some of your best carry on Packing Tips below and I'll see you in the next one bye-bye

Channel: Project Untethered

Views: 136,109

Keywords: carry on luggage, packing hacks, travel hacks, flight, minimalist packing, travel light, two-week travel, packing tips, minimalist travel, carry-on packing, travel essentials, lightweight travel, minimalist luggage, backpack travel, essential travel items, efficient packing, packing guide, travel minimalism, packing for two weeks, carry-on only, travel with less, minimal travel gear, packing strategy

Id: 39UK3nR55qI

Length: 8min 1sec (481 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 15 2024