Southwest Baggage Fees in 2026: What Each Bag Costs and Who Flies Free

Southwest charges $45 for the first checked bag and $55 for the second on Basic, Choice, and Choice Preferred fares, as of October 2026. A third bag costs $150. Choice Extra and A-List Preferred include two free checked bags, and your carry-on and personal item are free on every fare.

Southwest is no longer the airline where bags fly free. This page lists every fee in one place, shows which fare or status removes it, and flags the size and weight rules that add the surcharges people do not see coming. All figures come from Southwest’s own checked baggage fee page, which we read on October 12, 2026.

Southwest checked bag fees by fare and status

These are the US mainland fees for itineraries ticketed or changed on or after April 9, 2026. Bookings ticketed earlier at the old $35 and $45 rates keep them until you voluntarily change the trip.

Fare or status	First bag	Second bag
Basic	$45	$55
Choice	$45	$55
Choice Preferred	$45	$55
Choice Extra	Free	Free
A-List Preferred	Free	Free
A-List	Free	See Southwest’s page
Rapid Rewards credit cardmember	Free	$55
Active-duty military with valid ID	Free	Free
Southwest Groups	$45	$55

Fees as of October 12, 2026. The table covers US mainland flights only.

Two details matter here. The second bag is where a credit card stops helping: cardmembers get the first bag free and still pay $55 for the second. And Southwest’s page prints the A-List second-bag price in a way that is ambiguous, so we have not guessed at it.

What changed and when

The change happened in two steps. SAN reported that Southwest began charging for checked bags on May 28, 2025, ending its long-running bags-fly-free policy. In April 2026 the airline raised both fees by $10, according to Airline Geeks: the first bag went from $35 to $45 and the second from $45 to $55.

The cutoff is the ticketing date, not the flight date. A trip you ticketed in March for travel in June still carries the old fee. If you change it voluntarily after April 9, 2026, the new fee applies.

Extra fees for heavy, large, and extra bags

Southwest’s table adds a surcharge on top of the standard bag fee when a bag is too big or too heavy. These do not change by fare, so a Basic and a Choice Preferred traveler pay the same.

Item	Extra fee on US mainland flights
Third checked bag and beyond	$150 per bag
Overweight, 51 to 70 pounds	$100, plus the standard bag fee
Overweight, 71 to 100 pounds	$200, plus the standard bag fee
Oversized, 63 to 80 inches	$200, plus the standard bag fee
Oversized and overweight	$200, plus the standard bag fee

Fees as of October 12, 2026.

Southwest’s baggage policy page sets the standard limits at 62 inches (length plus width plus height) and 50 pounds per bag. A customer may check up to 20 pieces per flight, including free allowances. Sports equipment and musical instruments have their own, often waived, oversize rules, so check the page before assuming a surfboard or cello case costs $200.

Carry-on and personal item

Southwest still includes both for free on every fare. The fee page says the carry-on must not exceed external dimensions of 10 x 16 x 24 inches, and the personal item has to fit under a seat or in an overhead compartment. If you are weighing Southwest against a carrier that charges for carry-ons, our carry-on size limit guide compares the standard dimensions.

Hawaii interisland flights cost less

Southwest’s interisland Hawaii schedule has its own, lower fees. Non-resident passengers pay $30 for the first bag and $40 for the second on or after April 9, 2026, up from $15 and $20. A third bag is $50. Hawaii residents get the first two bags free.

Is Choice Extra worth it for the bags alone?

Sometimes, and mostly only when you also want the seat. Choice Extra includes two free checked bags and an Extra Legroom seat, so it can beat a cheaper fare once you add up what the cheaper fare charges.

Here is one real sample from AwardWallet’s October 8, 2026 seat-pricing report, on Chicago Midway to Pittsburgh. Choice Extra cost $145 more than Basic one way. On Basic, two checked bags add $100, and an Extra Legroom seat ran $47 to $53 on top of that. That puts the two options within a few dollars of each other.

That is one route on one day, and seat prices rise on longer flights. Run your own numbers in the booking flow before you assume the premium fare is a bargain. Our guide to airlines with free checked bags shows the cheaper ways to avoid a bag fee elsewhere.

How Southwest compares

Here is where to compare it with the other large carriers. See our guides to Delta baggage fees, United baggage fees, and American baggage fees, or the checked bag fees by airline table for a side-by-side view.

One honest limit applies. The fee table on Southwest’s page is dense and prints some rows ambiguously, and the figures above are a snapshot from October 12, 2026. Check the page on the day you book.

Frequently asked questions

How much is the first checked bag on Southwest? $45 on Basic, Choice, and Choice Preferred for itineraries ticketed or changed on or after April 9, 2026. It is free on Choice Extra, for A-List and A-List Preferred members, for Rapid Rewards credit cardmembers, and for active-duty military.

How much is the second checked bag on Southwest? $55 on Basic, Choice, and Choice Preferred, and also $55 for Rapid Rewards credit cardmembers. It is free on Choice Extra, for A-List Preferred members, and for active-duty military.

Does Southwest charge for carry-on bags? No. A carry-on and a personal item are free for every ticketed passenger, with the carry-on limited to 10 x 16 x 24 inches.

Are Southwest bags still free for Getaways packages? Yes. Southwest’s page lists the first and second checked bags as free for each person on a Getaways by Southwest booking.

What size and weight can a Southwest checked bag be? Up to 62 inches in total size and 50 pounds. Bags over those limits trigger the oversize and overweight fees in the table above.

Sources

• Southwest checked baggage fees, fetched October 12, 2026
• Southwest checked baggage policy, fetched October 12, 2026
• Airline Geeks, April 8, 2026
• SAN, 2025
• AwardWallet, October 8, 2026