Airlines With Free Checked Bags in 2026: Who Still Gives You One

Here is the blunt version, because it is the answer most people arrive looking for: as of 2026, no major US airline includes a free checked bag for every passenger on a standard domestic economy ticket. Southwest was the last carrier where everyone got free bags, and that ended for tickets bought on or after May 28, 2025.

That does not mean free checked bags are gone. It means the free bag has moved. It now comes from one of four places: elite status, a co-branded airline credit card, a premium cabin or bundled fare, or an international route. This guide walks through each airline, who actually gets a bag for $0, and how to be one of them.

Every fee below is the current 2026 figure as of August 2026. Several carriers raised bag fees in April 2026, so numbers move — always confirm on the airline’s own baggage page before you fly. Where a figure comes from the airline’s own page it is marked as such; where the airline’s baggage page blocks outside access, the figure is corroborated across the airline’s newsroom and multiple independent sources, and that is noted too.

The short answer, by airline

Airline	First checked bag (domestic economy)	Free for everyone?	Cheapest path to a free bag	Source
Southwest	$45	No (ended May 28, 2025)	Co-branded card or A-List status	Southwest newsroom / multi-source
Delta	$45	No	SkyMiles Amex (Gold and up)	Delta card page
American	~$35–$40	No	Citi / Barclays AAdvantage card	Citi AAdvantage
United	$45 online	No	United Explorer Card	Chase United
Alaska	$35	No	Alaska Visa card	Alaska Visa-bag FAQ
JetBlue	~$45 (Blue Basic/Blue)	No	JetBlue Plus Card or Mosaic	JetBlue fees
Hawaiian	$45 (HI↔mainland)	No domestic; 2 free on most international	Hawaiian World Elite Mastercard	Hawaiian baggage

Carry-on bags remain free on all of these airlines in standard economy. This guide is about the checked bag, which is where the money is.

Southwest: the free-bag airline that stopped

For 54 years, Southwest’s “Bags Fly Free” was the one genuinely different thing about checking a bag in the US. Every passenger, every fare, two free checked bags. That is over.

Southwest ended the policy for tickets purchased on or after May 28, 2025. The first checked bag launched at $35, then rose to $45 first bag and $55 second bag for tickets bought on or after April 9, 2026.

Who still flies free on Southwest:

• A-List Preferred members: two free checked bags.
• A-List members: one free checked bag.
• Rapid Rewards co-branded credit cardholders (Plus, Premier, Priority, or the Performance Business card): one free checked bag, for the primary cardholder and up to eight others on the same reservation.
• Choice Extra and Business Select fares: two free checked bags included in the fare.
• Active-duty military: all bags free, with no cap.

If you fly Southwest a few times a year and always check a bag, the co-branded card is the cleanest fix — one free bag per direction for you and your travel companions usually clears the card’s annual fee inside two or three round trips. (These figures are corroborated by Southwest’s own newsroom announcement and multiple independent outlets; Southwest’s live baggage page blocks outside access, so confirm the exact current fee at booking.)

Delta: free bag through the Amex cards or status

Delta charges $45 for the first domestic checked bag as of 2026, raised from $35 on April 8, 2026. There is no fare that includes a free bag in standard Main Cabin without status or a card.

The reliable free-bag routes on Delta:

• Delta SkyMiles American Express cards — Gold, Platinum, and Reserve (plus their Business versions) — waive the first checked bag for the cardholder and up to eight companions on the same reservation. Delta has announced that from June 4, 2026, its fee-carrying SkyMiles cards move to up to two free checked bags; confirm that this is live before relying on the second bag.
• Medallion status: Silver and Gold get one free bag, Platinum and Diamond get two.

The Delta first-checked-bag-free card page is one of the few official baggage pages that loads for outside readers, and it confirms the card benefit.

American: it’s the card or status here too

American charges roughly $35–$40 for the first checked domestic bag in Main Cabin as of 2026. Basic Economy pays slightly more per bag. No standard economy fare includes a free checked bag.

Your free-bag options:

• Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select: first bag free for the cardholder and up to four companions on the reservation.
• Citi AAdvantage Executive: first bag free for the cardholder and up to eight companions.
• Barclays AAdvantage Aviator cards: similar first-bag waiver.
• AAdvantage status (Gold and above): first bag free, with higher tiers extending the allowance.

The catch that trips people up: on most of these cards you need to pay for the ticket with the card and have your AAdvantage number on the reservation for the waiver to apply. American’s own baggage page blocks outside access, so the fee figures here are cross-checked against the Citi card pages and independent sources; confirm the live number at booking.

United: the Explorer Card is the workhorse

United charges $45 for the first checked bag prepaid online, or $50 at the airport for domestic economy as of 2026.

Free-bag routes:

• United Explorer Card (Chase): first checked bag free for the primary cardholder and one companion on the same reservation, as long as you buy the ticket with the card. Higher-tier United cards extend the benefit.
• MileagePlus Premier status (Silver and above): free checked bags, with the allowance rising by tier.

For a couple who checks one bag each, the Explorer Card covers both bags each direction, which is the single most common reason travelers pick it up.

Alaska: lower base fee, easy card waiver

Alaska has one of the lower base fees among the majors — $35 for the first checked bag as of 2026 (some newer tickets show $45, so check your fare). It also has one of the most generous card waivers.

• Alaska Airlines Visa Signature card: the “Free Checked Bag” benefit gives the cardholder and up to six guests on the same reservation their first checked bag free. This is confirmed on Alaska’s own Visa-bag FAQ.
• Mileage Plan MVP status and above: free checked bags.

Six guests is unusually broad — for a group booked on one reservation, one Alaska card can zero out a lot of bags.

JetBlue: it depends on the fare bundle

JetBlue does not charge a flat fee — it prices bags by day and by peak period, so the first checked bag on Blue Basic and Blue fares lands around $45 as of 2026 (roughly $39 prepaid off-peak up to about $49 close-in or peak). Higher JetBlue bundles include a checked bag.

• Blue Plus and higher fare bundles: first checked bag included.
• JetBlue Plus Card (Barclays): first checked bag free for the cardholder and up to three companions.
• Mosaic status: free checked bags.
• On transatlantic routes, JetBlue includes the first checked bag on all fares except Blue Basic.

If you want the exact number for your date, JetBlue’s fees page is the source of truth because the price genuinely changes with the calendar.

Hawaiian: free bags mostly live on international

Hawaiian charges $45 for the first checked bag between Hawaii and the mainland, and $30 inter-island, as of 2026 (raised April 10, 2026). The free-bag story here is different from the mainland carriers:

• Most international routes include two free checked bags in economy.
• Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard: two free checked bags, now extending to eligible Alaska-network flights as the two airlines’ programs merge.

If your trip is a long-haul international Hawaiian flight, you likely already have your free bags without doing anything.

Where free bags still exist for everyone

Strip away status and cards, and free checked bags survive in three places:

1. Premium cabins. First and Business fares on every major US airline include checked bags. If you booked one, you are covered.
2. International long-haul economy. Most transoceanic economy tickets include at least one free checked bag, and often two — this is standard across the industry, not a perk.
3. Bundled or higher domestic fares. Southwest’s Choice Extra and Business Select, JetBlue’s Blue Plus and up, and similar bundles fold a checked bag into the ticket price. You are paying for it, but it is not an add-on fee at the counter.

Should you get a co-branded card just for the bag?

For a lot of travelers, this is now the real question, and the math is simpler than it looks.

Most airline cards waive one checked bag per direction for you and often several companions, and most carry an annual fee in the $95–$150 range. A single checked bag now runs $35–$45 each way. So:

• Two round trips a year, checking one bag, traveling solo: roughly $140–$180 in bag fees — the card’s annual fee is close to break-even on bags alone, before you count any other perks.
• Traveling as a couple or family on one reservation: the card usually covers everyone’s first bag, so break-even arrives fast. A family of four on one American or Southwest card can zero out four bags per direction.
• You rarely check a bag: skip the card. The annual fee is not worth it for one bag a year.

The honest framing traveler forums have landed on since the Southwest change is that the free checked bag has quietly become a credit-card and status game across every airline, not a fare feature. Southwest was the last exception, and now the decision of which airline to fly comes down to network, reliability, and which co-branded card you already carry — not the bag policy, because on that front the majors now look nearly identical.

Frequently asked questions

Which airlines give free checked bags to everyone in 2026? For standard domestic economy, none of the major US airlines do. Southwest was the last, and it ended free bags for all passengers for tickets bought on or after May 28, 2025. Free bags for everyone now exist only in premium cabins, most international economy routes, and bundled higher fares.

Does Southwest still have free checked bags? Only for some passengers. A-List Preferred (two bags), A-List (one bag), Rapid Rewards credit cardholders (one bag), Choice Extra and Business Select fares (two bags), and active-duty military still fly bags free. Everyone else pays, starting at $45 for the first bag as of 2026.

What is the cheapest way to get a free checked bag? For most people, a co-branded airline credit card. One free bag per direction for you and often several companions usually pays back the card’s annual fee within two or three round trips if you check bags regularly.

Do any airlines still include two free checked bags? Yes, but conditionally: Southwest A-List Preferred and its Choice Extra / Business Select fares, most international long-haul economy tickets, Hawaiian’s international routes and World Elite Mastercard, and (from June 4, 2026) Delta’s fee-carrying SkyMiles Amex cards. There is no standard domestic economy fare that includes two free bags without status, a card, or a bundle.

Is the carry-on still free? Yes. On all the airlines above, a carry-on and personal item are free in standard economy. The fees in this guide apply only to checked bags. For the size limits that decide whether your bag counts as a carry-on, see our guide to the carry-on size limit.

For more plain-language guides to what a US flight actually costs, browse the FlightsInUSA blog.