Delta Caves On Bag Fee, A Little

Delta Air Lines has announced that it will waive its $25 fee for the first checked bag for customers who hold certain Delta-affiliated American Express cards, the Associated Press reports.

The waiver, already in effect for elite members of Delta’s frequent flier program, will be extended June 1 to holders of the American Express gold, platinum and reserve SkyMiles cards. It will apply to up to nine people on the same reservation.

 I had the gold card for years, but ditched it because I was sick of the annual fee and the declining value of the miles it earned. The bag fee waiver would be an incentive to re-enlist if it didn’t feel like extortion. I hate extortion.

It will be interesting to see what the other carriers do in response. Meanwhile, remember that Southwest Airlines will take two checked bags at no extra charge, and JetBlue will take one.

Spirit Airlines To Charge For Carry-Ons

There are already so many reasons not to fly Spirit Airlines that it seems like overkill for the management to add another.

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Continental To Charge For Exit Rows

Continental Airlines will begin March 17 to charge a fee for passengers who sit in exit rows that provide extra leg room, as the Chicago Tribune reports.

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Resort Fees Should Be Illegal

What if a store advertised a refrigerator for $600 and when you showed up to buy it the cashier added a $50 store admission fee and told you it was to cover your parking, bathroom privileges and the right to use your cell phone in the store.

You’d be outraged. Maybe you’d call the state consumer protection department.

So why do hotels get away with essentially the same thing?
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Passport Fees Expected To Increase Soon

If you’re looking to renew or apply for a passport, do it now because it looks as if the cost will be going up as soon as next month, according the the Los Angeles Times’ Daily Travel & Deal Blog.

The State Department has published a notice of its intent to raise passport fees by $35. That will increase the cost of a new passport to $135 and a renewal to $110. The State Department says $15 of the increase will pay for the cost of processing applications and $20 for increased border security.

The application fee for a passport card, which allows limited land border crossing and port entries, will rise from $20 to $30.

Also, if it looks like you’re going to need more pages in your passport for visa stamps, get them now. It used to be free but will cost $82 when the new fees go into effect.

The Latest On Checked Bag Fees

George Hobica over at Airfarewatchdog.com has updated his very handy chart of bag fees on domestic airlines.

Still free for the first bag: Southwest and JetBlue. Still free for the second bag: Southwest.

Keep this in mind when you compare airfares.

Vegas Hotels Lead The Way In Fees

If what happens in Vegas really stayed in Vegas we wouldn’t have to worry about the spread of some pretty pernicious hotel fees. But we probably should.

Like banks, airlines and car-rental companies, hotels lately have been tacking new fees onto all sorts of things. Las Vegas might be the leader in this, and the wise budget traveler wants to watch out for the tricks:

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American Airlines: Give Us $8 Or Freeze

Some days it’s hard to say which airline I hate most, but today I’m going with American Airlines.

American is going to start charging $8 for a blanket and pillow, as the Dallas Morning News reports. You get to keep the blanket and pillow. Woo-hoo. Because clearly the problem is not that airliners are cold and uncomfortable. It’s that we don’t own enough cheap bedding.

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All Aboard For Higher Bag Fees

All five remaining legacy airlines — Delta, United, US Airways, Continental and American — have jumped on board with higher fees for checked luggage.

The going rate is now $25 for the first checked bag and $35 for the second. Some airlines (not American) knock a few dollars off the fee if you pay in advance on the Internet, the Wall Street Journal notes.

Please note this: Southwest Airline still charges no fee for up to two checked bags per customer. That’s worth $120 round trip, at the going rates. JetBlue allows one bag at no extra charge.

Keep it in mind when you compare fares.

Beware The Resort Fee

I got an email yesterday promoting rates as low as $47at New York, New York on the Las Vegas Strip. But the the real cost would be $55.99.

That’s because the hotel is charging a resort fee of $8.99. (Add $1.08 tax on the resort fee and $5.64 tax on the room rate and it all adds up to $62.71.)

Hotels, like airlines, are looking for revenue where they can get it. And resort fees, once charged only at high-end beach and vacation hotels, are just another source of revenue.

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