Credit Cards With Free Checked Baggage

Checked bag benefits are among the big reasons why so many folks open airline cards. But these benefits aren't always very clearly explained. Do you have to use that credit card to receive a free checked bag? Will you still get a free bag if you book an award flight through a partner? Do others in your reservation also receive free checked bags? This ToP Guide to credit cards with free checked baggage.

Checked Bag Credit Card Benefits by Airline

Below we list out all the US co-branded credit cards with free checked baggage for each major airline. We also break down the free checked bag benefits for each since they can be nuanced.

American Airlines

American Airlines offers a slew of co-branded credit cards between Citi and Barclays. Not all cards offer free checked bags, and the ones that do vary in the number of companions who can also check a bag for free. Here is the list of American Airlines credit cards that offer this benefit, with the number of companions who can check a free bag when traveling with the primary cardholder:

• Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard – 4 travel companions
• Citi/AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard – 8 travel companions
• CitiBusiness/AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard – 4 travel companions
• Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Silver Mastercard – 8 travel companions
• Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Red Mastercard – 4 travel companions
• Barclays AAdvantage Aviator World Elite Business Mastercard – 4 travel companions

The American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp Mastercard, Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Blue Mastercard, and the Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Mastercard do not offer free checked bags as a benefit.

The terms for the free checked bag benefit are the same across all of the American Airlines co-branded cards. Here is a breakdown of the terms:

• Payment with the card is not required. This means the benefit should apply to award flights booked through a partner if the additional requirements below are met.
• Benefit is limited to the primary cardholder, not authorized users.
• Your card account must be open at least 7 days prior to travel, and you must add your AAdvantage number to the reservation at least 7 days prior to travel.
• If the card is closed before travel, the benefits will be cancelled.
• Applies only to domestic American Airlines itineraries. Not valid for travel on codeshare flights booked with an American flight number but operated by another airline (like Alaska).
• Travel companions traveling with the primary cardholder must be listed in the same reservation.
• Benefit does not apply to overweight or oversized bags.
• You cannot combine this benefit with any existing AAdvantage program benefits, or with First or Business class benefits, including any waiver of baggage charges. This means you cannot stack this benefit to add free checked bags that you already receive via American or oneworld elite status or if you are traveling on a ticket that already includes a free bag. You also cannot stack this benefit by having multiple American Airlines co-branded cards.

For additional information, review this page on American's website.

Alaska Airlines Credit Cards That Offer Free Checked Bags

Alaska Airlines offers one personal and one business co-branded credit card, both issued by Bank of America. Both the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature and the Alaska Airlines Visa Business offer a free checked bag for the primary cardholder and up to 6 travel companions on the same reservation. Here is a breakdown of the terms:

• Payment with the Alaska Airlines credit card is required to qualify for this benefit. It is unclear whether paying taxes and fees on an award booking made through a partner, such as American, would work here. Alaska agents have confirmed that it would, but we still recommend tempering expectations.
• Credit card must be open at the time of travel.
• To qualify for the first checked bag free benefit, you must credit your flight miles to Alaska Mileage Plan. Companions traveling with the cardholder may credit flight miles to other programs.
• Benefit is limited to flights operated by Alaska Airlines (or operated for Alaska by Horizon, SkyWest, or PenAir). If your flight connects to or from another airline, standard baggage fees will apply.
• Not applicable for guests who already receive 1 or more free checked bags (meaning this benefit cannot be combined with other free bags).
• This benefit is not applied retroactively and does not entitle the cardholder to refunds for checked bag fees.
• New cardholders will be eligible for this benefit approximately within 2-3 weeks after account opening. Cardholders upgrading from another Alaska Airlines credit card, will be eligible for this benefit approximately within 4-6 weeks after being upgraded.

For additional information, review this FAQ on Alaska's website.

Delta Air Lines Credit Cards With Free Checked Baggage Perks

Delta has a lot of personal and business card options, all issued through American Express. All of the following Delta cards offer a free checked bag for the primary cardholder and up to 9 guests on the same reservation:

• Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card
• Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express Card
• Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card
• Delta SkyMiles Gold Business American Express Card
• Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business American Express Card​
• Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business American Express Card

Neither the Delta SkyMiles Blue American Express Card nor the Delta SkyMiles Business American Express Card offer a free checked bag.

Here is a breakdown of the terms:

• Payment with the card is not required. This means the benefit should apply to award flights booked through a partner if the additional requirements below are met.
• Benefit is limited to the primary cardholder (which Amex refers to as the basic card member), not authorized users.
• Reservation must include the primary cardholder's SkyMiles number.
• Benefit does not apply to bags that are overweight or oversize under Delta's applicable rules.
• The first checked bag fee waiver will only be applied on flight segments which originate on a Delta or Delta Connection carrier when you check-in with Delta for both a Delta marketed and Delta operated flight. Codeshare flights are not eligible.
• New cardholders and those upgrading from another Delta SkyMiles card product will be eligible for the checked baggage fee waiver benefit after receiving their card from Amex. Offer terms and conditions subject to change.

For additional information, you can review this page on Delta's website.

Hawaiian Airlines

Hawaiian offers a personal and a business credit card, the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard and the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Business Mastercard, both issued by Barclays. Each card stands out for a different reason. The personal card offers two free checked bags, which is quite unusual. In contrast, the business card does not offer any free checked bags–also unusual.

Here is a breakdown of the free checked bag terms for the Hawaiian personal card:

• All ticket purchases (original and exchanges) must be made with the credit card. Tickets purchased from third parties (i.e., travel agencies, etc.) are not eligible. This means the benefit should not apply to award flights booked through a partner, since you have to book directly through Hawaiian.
• You must be a current primary cardholder upon check-in to be eligible.
• Benefit is limited to Hawaiian Airlines-operated flights and only for travel between North America and Hawaii and between Neighbor Islands (interisland). International flights are excluded.
• Authorized users do not qualify for the free checked bag benefit.
• The primary cardmember must provide their HawaiianMiles Program Account number associated with the Card Account within their reservations any time prior to check-in.
• Pualani Platinum, Pualani Gold and Premier Club Primary cardmembers will receive an additional 2 free checked bags in addition to their existing membership baggage allowance.
• Applicable overweight and excess baggage fees will apply.

For more information, refer to this page on Hawaiian's website.

JetBlue Airways

JetBlue offers two personal cards and one business co-branded card, each issued by Barclays. The Plus and the Business cards include a checked bag benefit, while the no annual fee JetBlue Card does not.

• JetBlue Card
• JetBlue Plus Card
• JetBlue Business Card

Here is a rundown of the free checked bag terms for the JetBlue credit cards:

• All ticket purchases (original and exchanges) must be made with the credit card and the primary cardholder's JetBlue loyalty account number must be entered at the time of booking.
• If the card is closed before travel, the benefits will be cancelled.
• The primary cardmember and up to 3 travel companions on the same reservation each receive their first checked bag free on JetBlue-operated flights that do not otherwise include their first checked bag free.
• This benefit will not be available for travel on codeshare flights booked with a JetBlue flight number but operated by another airline.
• Your card account must be open at least 7 days prior to travel, and you must add your TrueBlue number to the reservation at least 7 days prior to travel.
• Applicable overweight and excess baggage fees will apply.

For additional information, check out this page on JetBlue's website.

United Airlines

United offers a number of co-branded credit cards issued by Chase. Some cards stand out for offering up to two free checked bags. Here is the list of United Airlines credit cards that offer this benefit, with the number of bags the primary cardholder can check for free.

• United Explorer Card – first checked bag
• United Quest Card – first and second checked bag
• United Club Infinite Card – first and second checked bag
• United Business Card – first checked bag
• United Club Business Card – first and second checked bag

The United Gateway Card does not offer a free checked bag as a perk.

Here is a summary of the free checked bag terms for the United credit cards:

• The primary cardholder must use their United credit card to purchase their ticket (this purchase requirement is waived for flights completed during the 90 days following the account open date) and include their MileagePlus number in their reservation. In theory, this means you could received a free checked bag if you booked a United award flight through a partner like Aeroplan, as long as you paid the taxes/fees with your United card and added your United number to the reservation. But in practice, this does not usually work.
• You must be a cardholder at the time of check-in to be eligible for free checked bags.
• This benefit is available to the primary cardholder and one traveling companion on the same reservation.
• Authorized users are only eligible if they are on the same reservation as the primary cardholder (meaning authorized users will count as one traveling companion).
• First standard checked bag free is only available on United- and United Express-operated flights; codeshare partner-operated flights are not eligible.
• Service charges for oversized, overweight and extra baggage may apply.
• Cardholders who are already exempt from other checked baggage service charges will not receive an additional free standard checked bag (meaning this benefit cannot be combined with other free bags).
• The terms state you should allow 2 weeks after card opening for your first free standard checked bag to be available on eligible United reservations.

For additional information, review this page on United's website.

Credit Cards With Free Checked Baggage: ToP Thoughts

Checked bag fees can add up if you travel a lot or if you travel with multiple companions. While we generally do not recommend opening a credit cards with free checked baggage solely for this benefit, the free bags perk can help you choose between one airline card or the other.