TravelSkills

News and Tips For Your Trips

Shipping your luggage is shockingly expensive

Baggage fees mean Southwest prices are usually lowest--unless you carry everything on. (Image: Jim Glab)

Paying airline fee for checking bags might be your cheapest option. (Image: Jim Glab)

Most frequent travelers reading this rarely check bags when on the road for business– and if they do, fees are likely waived due to elite status or credit card.

But for holiday trips home, bag contents frequently expand to include winter coats, formal wear, gifts and plenty of other extraneous items– especially if kids are involved.

Shipping bags via FEDEX or UPS sounds like a great idea until you look at rates. Shipping luggage is not cheap– or fast. To get rates that come close airline fees, you must ship via ground which can take three or five days to get across the country. And distance makes a big difference when it comes to rates. Plus there’s the time cost of schlepping bags to a FEDEX or UPS facility.

To test this, I checked with FEDEX to determine how much it would cost to ship a standard carry on-sized piece of luggage (10″x 14″x 22″) weighing 25 lbs. from a FEDEX store in Atlanta to New York City, Boulder, Colo. and San Francisco.

Then I compared it to airline baggage fees.

Regional- Atlanta to New York City:

$185 each way – Standard overnight delivery

$90 each way – Two-day delivery

$30 each way — end of second day home delivery

$27 airline checked bag fee (each way)

Long distance- Atlanta to Boulder, Colo.:

$198 each way – Standard overnight delivery

$132 each way – Two-day delivery

$33 each way – Three-day (ground) home delivery

$25 airline checked bag fee (each way)

Transcon- Atlanta to San Francisco:

$200 each way – Standard overnight delivery

$145 each way – Two-day delivery

$40 each way- End of fourth day (ground) delivery

$25 airline checked bag fee (each way)

Don’t miss: Time is right for a new credit card. Why? 

Since major airlines charge $25 for the first checked bag (except Southwest) and $35 for the second would you pay to ship your bag, or just check it with the airline and hope for the best?

Please leave your comments below.

For me? I learned long ago how to live out of a carry on! If on the rare occasion I have to check a bag, the fee would likely be waived due to my elite status.

What about you?

ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here

In the market for a new credit card? See our “Credit Card Deals” tab to shop around! It helps us help you!

.

Don’t miss out! Join the 150,000+ people who read TravelSkills every month! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!


Print pagePDF pageEmail page
Editorial Disclaimer: This editorial content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuer. Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of the credit card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer. This site may be compensated through the credit card issuer Affiliate Program. Responses in the comments section are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.”