Buying a flight in the U.S. feels a lot like ordering a $6 burger and ending up with a $20 bill—while the ticket price might look okay at first, airlines have plenty of secret fees that they’ll include. These are the ones you don’t even realize are there until it’s way too late. Let’s look at ten of the lesser-known fees that are worth avoiding and how to do just that. Hopefully, you’ll be able to save a little cash.
Featured Image Credit: AndreyPopov /Depositphotos.com.
Booking at the Airport Isn’t Always Bad
Here’s a weird one—some low-cost airlines add a secret fee when you book online, even though it looks cheaper, with airlines like Frontier calling it a “carrier interface charge.” This is essentially another way of saying “extra fee for using our website,” and if you go to the airport to buy your ticket in person, that cost disappears. It’s annoying, but it’s real, and it’s one of the rare times when buying face-to-face could save you money.
Flying Alone? You Might Pay More
Anyone booking a one-way trip by themselves might notice that the price jumps compared to booking two or more tickets at once, but that’s not a glitch. Some airlines just charge solo travelers more for absolutely no good reason. Sadly, there’s nothing you can really do about it besides test prices with multiple passengers before booking. You just have to pay the fee.
Airport Check-In Fee
If you’re flying with a low-cost airline like Spirit or Frontier and think you can just check in at the airport, newsflash—some of them charge you extra just for printing your boarding pass. It’s usually buried in the fine print, so checking in online could save you an unnecessary $25 slap for a piece of paper. You could avoid these fees by checking in through their app and taking a screenshot of your pass before you leave.
Credit Card Surcharge for Third-Party Payments
Booking through one of those travel sites means a weird “processing fee” may appear if you used a credit card, which usually isn’t from the airline itself but from the third-party site or a partner carrier. However, booking directly or using a debit card can often make that mystery charge disappear. Some sites charge this cost per ticket, not per booking, which could add up to quite a bit if you’re flying with others, and most people miss it because it’s not always shown clearly until the final payment screen.
Last-Minute Itinerary Change Fee
If you need to fix a name typo or change your return flight by a few hours, most airlines will charge you a “reissue” fee, which isn’t the same as a standard change fee. It’s kind of a loophole fee that you won’t see until you’re way into the change process, so always double-check your info before confirming the booking. Even something simple like changing the day but keeping the same route can cost you $50 or more.
Partner Airline Service Fees on Codeshare Flights
You might’ve booked a flight with a major airline, but it may be “operated by” someone you’ve never heard of, which means you’ll have to switch plans and fee policies, too. Customer service & baggage could all be different—always check the rules for the actual carrier flying the plane. For example, if your Delta flight is operated by SkyWest, Delta’s seat selection & baggage rules may not apply, and their fees could be higher.
Baggage Prices That Change on You
You might’ve thought the price for checking a bag was set in stone, but some airlines (like Spirit & Frontier) change bag fees depending on when you pay and where you’re flying. What’s worse is these prices aren’t always listed clearly until after you’ve already bought your ticket, with some routes being priced higher than others, even if the flight distance is shorter. As such, you should always look at the bag fee chart before booking and try different times, too.
Getting Charged For a Physical Ticket
No one’s really mailing plane tickets these days, although if you book over the phone, you might end up with a paper ticket—as well as a $25-$50 fee you didn’t ask for. This could also happen when booking with travel agents or through special group portals for events. You should make sure you have an e-ticket, especially because companies will sometimes automatically send the paper version without asking.
That Travel Credit Isn’t Fully Yours
So your flight got canceled, and they gave you credit for it, which is great until you go to use it and notice a portion of it is missing. That’s because some airlines take a “redemption fee” or “reissue fee” out of your travel credit when you book again, but you won’t see it when you cancel. It’s buried in the fine print, and there’s no easy way around it, with some carriers also making the credit only usable for the original passenger.
Dynamic Seat Prices
Seat selection on a lot of airlines runs on dynamic pricing now, and that means the seat you looked at earlier for $9 could cost $22 later on the same flight. It depends on stuff like when you’re booking & how many seats are left, as well as what row you’re picking, but it’s mostly stuff none of us know about. If the price changes, try refreshing the page or opening the seat selection on another device.
Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
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