Guide to Alaska Airlines Baggage and Other Fees

Ben Nickel-D’Andrea
By Ben Nickel-D’Andrea 
Updated
Edited by Mary M. Flory

Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This influences which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money.

MORE LIKE THISTravel

It’s easy to assume that extra fees apply only to those pesky low-cost carriers that need to gouge customers with miscellaneous charges to recoup the revenue from selling deeply discounted tickets, but that isn’t really the case.

Regular airlines also impose a series of fees or charges for ancillary services they offer to us passengers. Let’s look at some of those fees for Alaska Airlines, and even some tips on how to avoid them.

Baggage fees

You should always check the baggage fees and rules when you purchase a ticket — not just to confirm how much baggage you’re allowed to travel with, but also to find out how much it’ll cost you.

On Alaska Airlines, you are allowed a carry-on bag for free, regardless of the type of fare you’re ticketed in.

The standard fee for checked bags is $30 for your first bag, $40 for a second and $100 for a third.

Who gets to avoid this fee:

  • Alaska Airlines Visa® credit card holders get their first checked bag free.

  • Elite-level Mileage Plan members get their first and second checked bags free.

  • Passengers confirmed in first class at check-in get their first and second checked bags free.

  • Active duty military personnel and their dependents on travel orders get up to five free checked bags.

Overweight and oversized bag fee

If you’re planning to check a bag that’s 51 to 100 pounds or exceeds 63 linear inches, you should be prepared to shed $100 to have them checked.

Who gets to avoid this fee:

Only active duty military personnel and their dependents get some flexibility. They’re able to avoid the overweight free for bags up to 70 pounds, but anything over that will still incur the $100 fee. There are no exceptions for oversized baggage.

Change and cancellation fees

Alaska eliminated change and cancellation fees for all fares except Saver fares (basic economy) in 2021. This means you can change your existing booking to another date without paying extra, as long as the cost of the two tickets is the same. If the new ticket is more expensive, you’ll only have to pay the difference in fares.

If you cancel a nonrefundable ticket, you'll receive a credit towards future travel. If you cancel a refundable ticket, you'll receive a refund to your original form of payment.

Travelers who book Saver fares will get 50% of the fare (plus full taxes and fees) back in travel credit when canceling at least 14 days prior to travel. If you cancel within 14 days of departure, you're not eligible for a refund or travel credit.

Partner award booking fee

You will be charged a partner award booking fee of $12.50 any time you use your Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles to book an award ticket on a partner airline. This is applied each way, for each award ticket — that is, you can’t book four tickets at the same time in order to save money.

Who gets to avoid this fee:

Literally nobody.

Call center service charge

If you call Alaska on the phone to book a new reservation, it will cost you $15 per itinerary, regardless of whether you're booking a revenue ticket paid in cash or an award ticket on Alaska or its partners. That means if your itinerary is round-trip for five people, you’ll pay $15 total.

Who gets to avoid this charge:

  • Mileage Plan Elites with MVP Gold or MVP Gold 75K status.

  • Anybody who books online at alaskaair.com.

  • If you are booking an award on a partner that cannot be booked on alaskaair.com, you can get this fee waived.

Unaccompanied minor fee

This $50-$75 fee — depending on whether it’s a direct/nonstop or with connections — is what you are charged on top of your regular ticket for your kid to fly on their own. This service covers proper identification for your child to carry while in transit, a meal on flights over two hours and an entertainment tablet on coast-to-coast flights or to Hawaii. You can use this service for kids ages 5 through 17; it's mandatory for ages 5 through 12, but optional for 13- to 17-year-olds.

Who can avoid this fee:

MVP Gold or MVP Gold 75K members are exempted from this fee, though it's worth noting that the minor needs to be an elite member — so only mini frequent flyers are exempt.

Pet travel fee

Traveling with your pet will set you back $100 on any ticket on Alaska, for either bringing your pet into the cabin or into the baggage hold. I will clarify that only dogs, cats, rabbits and household birds are allowed in the cabin. Consult Alaska Airlines’ website for restrictions on breeds, carrier sizes and blackout dates during which you’re not permitted to travel with pets in baggage.

Who can avoid this fee:

Passengers who don’t fly with pets… but seriously, there are no waivers for pet fees.

Fees across U.S. airlines

In NerdWallet's most recent analysis of airline fees, we compared seat selection, checked baggage and overhead carry-on baggage fees charged by the major U.S. airlines on typical one-way fares.

Note: This analysis is based on 2023 data and does not take into account recent baggage fee price hikes across multiple airlines. Our next analysis will happen in the fall of 2024.

Here's how they stacked up:

Frequently asked questions

Alaska Airlines charges $30 for the first bag and $40 for the second ($70 total for two checked bags) each way. It does not charge for overhead carry-on bags.

No, for most fares, including international tickets, you do not get free checked bags with Alaska Airlines. This excludes first class tickets.

Yes, all passengers get one free overhead carry-on and one personal item. This also applies to Saver fares.

There are three ways to avoid baggage fees on Alaska Airlines: Carry the Alaska Airlines Visa® credit card, have Alaska elite status or purchase a first class ticket.

The bottom line

Sometimes the price you see when looking on a search engine isn’t necessarily the price you pay. Fees can add up if you’re not careful. Take some time and make sure you’re familiar with all the different charges you might run into and how you can avoid them, before you go about changing your mind — and your ticket — or adding extra services you might not need.


How to maximize your rewards

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2024, including those best for:

Travel Cards from Our Partners
Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card

on Chase's website

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
5.0
NerdWallet Rating
Rewards rate

1x-5x

5x on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases.

Points

Intro offer

60,000

Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

Points
Chase Freedom Unlimited Credit Card

on Chase's website

Chase Freedom Unlimited®
5.0
NerdWallet Rating
Rewards rate

1.5%-6.5%

Enjoy 6.5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel; 4.5% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and 3% on all other purchases (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year). After your first year or $20,000 spent, enjoy 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and unlimited 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.

Cashback

Intro offer

$300

Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cash back!

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

on Capital One's website

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
4.7
NerdWallet Rating
Rewards rate

2x-5x

Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day. Earn 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options.

Miles

Intro offer

75,000

Enjoy a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel.

Miles
See more travel cards
Get more smart money moves – straight to your inbox
Sign up and we’ll send you Nerdy articles about the money topics that matter most to you along with other ways to help you get more from your money.