Shipping your luggage may save money

12:00 AM CDT on Sunday, August 31, 2008

Now that most airlines are charging fees to check luggage on domestic flights, are you better off shipping your bags? The answer depends on what airline you are flying, how many bags you want to bring and the size and weight of your luggage.

Delta recently instituted a $50 fee ($100 round-trip) for checking a second bag. They do not charge for the first checked bag. Continental also allows one free checked bag and charges $25 for the second.

American charges $15 each way for the first checked bag and $25 for the second checked bag under 50 pounds for domestic travel. American's fees are $100 per piece for the third through fifth bag and $200 per piece for additional pieces.

If you want to check oversize or overweight luggage, airline fees add up quickly. If your bag is 51-70 pounds, United will charge $125. If your bag is oversize, American will charge $150.

When we checked shipping rates, we found that ground was by far the most affordable and DHL was generally cheapest, with FedEx coming in a close second. Ground shipping for a 40-pound box from Dallas to Houston was $16.59 by DHL, $17.15 by FedEx, $18.21 by US Mail and $20.19 by UPS. If you're basing your decision only on cost, it's best to pay the airline's fee.

Shipping overweight items ahead will probably save you money. A 65-pound box from Dallas to New Orleans would cost $26.15 by DHL ground and $39.36 to Los Angeles. You would need to allow two business days for shipping to New Orleans and three business days for shipping to Los Angeles.

You can save money by shipping oversize items, which are typically anything over 62 linear inches (add the length, the width and the height to get the linear inches). For example, Continental charges $100 per piece and American charges $150 per piece. You could send a package by FedEx ground that was 70 linear inches, and 49 pounds, for $33.49 to New York.

Remember that Southwest still allows two checked pieces for free, and their fees for overweight and oversize pieces are also lower than the legacy carriers.

Check the baggage information for your airline before you book. If you've already purchased, take a look to decide whether you should ship ahead.

Tom Parsons is publisher of Bestfares.com.