Checked bags

Save time at the airport by prepaying for your bags. If you’re traveling on a United or United Express flight within the U.S., you can use your miles to pay the baggage fees before check-in.

If your flight is canceled, you can request a refund for any checked bag fees. Visit our refunds page to find out more.

United Business^®, United First^®, and United Polaris^® business class seats come with free checked bags. If you upgrade to one of these cabins before you check your bags, you won't have to pay for them. If you're still assigned to United Economy when you check your bags, then you will have to pay bag fees.

Some customers don’t have to pay fees for checked bags. This only applies to United- and United Express®-operated flights. If you’re eligible for different types of exemptions, the larger one will apply.

MileagePlus Premier members

If you’re a Premier member, you and up to nine others on the same itinerary can check bags for free. Use this chart to see what each status level provides.

There are currently some exceptions to the following destinations. Please see the complete rules and details of the MileagePlus program.

Space is limited. We charge more if your bags are oversized, overweight, or you have extra bags. If your bag is both oversized and overweight, each charge will apply.

We can’t accept oversized, overweight, and extra bags on flights to certain destinations and on flights during certain times. Check the list of destinations that don’t allow overweight, oversized, or extra bags.

If you plan to check oversized, overweight, or extra bags, keep the following in mind:

Oversized bags

We can’t accept bags that measure (length + width + height) more than 115 inches (292 centimeters).

Overweight bags

We can’t accept bags weighing more than 100 pounds (45 kilograms). Musical instruments and assistive devices are exceptions. We’ll accept musical instruments up to 165 pounds (75 kilograms) and all assistive devices.

Extra bags

We only accept extra bags if there’s space available. Assistive devices don’t apply, and we’ll gladly accept them for free.

To qualify as a bag, your item:

• Must be fully enclosed.
• Must be made of a material that withstands normal handling.
• Must meet all size and weight requirements.
• Can’t be multiple bags secured together to create a single checked item.
• Can’t have protrusions, sharp points or removable straps.
• Can’t contain items prohibited in the cargo hold, such as lithium batteries or personal vaporizers.

For most trips that include a connection, your checked bags will follow you to the last stop on your ticket. You'll need to go to baggage claim and re-check your bags if:

• You have a layover
• You make a connection that involves an overnight stay
• Your connecting flight departs more than 12 hours after you arrive at the airport
• You’re connecting to a trip on a separate ticket and the flight is not with a Star Alliance™ partner airline
• You’re traveling internationally but connecting to a domestic flight in your destination country

Usually, we keep checked bags on the same flight as the traveler. If we can't, we send your bags on the next flight with available space.

If you check a bag with our partner airlines for the first segment of your trip, they decide what bag fees apply. There may be an exception if United's code is used for the first flight on the ticket.

Fee waivers for MileagePlus Premier members or United MileagePlus Chase card members may not apply on our partner airlines.

For details and information about each partner airline, you can visit their website.

United follows the U.S. Department of Transportation regulations when setting bag fees.

• The airline for the first segment of your trip will set the bag fees for your entire trip. If you decide to make a change to your trip and use a different airline, the policies of the new airline will apply. The flight number assigned to the first segment of your trip will come from the first airline you used for your trip. If this airline is not United or United Express, different fees may apply.
• Bag fees are based on the date of ticketing and on the ticketed cabin. They're also based on the traveler's status or membership on the date of travel. Checked bag fees apply at any point where you check a bag.
• For a trip that includes one or more connections, checked bags go to the final stop on the ticket. The fee for checking a bag from your starting point to your last stop will apply. If your connection is to a different airline, you must recheck bags with the new airline. Checked bags can go to your last stop if your new flight is Star Alliance member airline operated.
• If you chose to have a layover, your checked bags will go to your layover point, where you can collect them. When you resume travel, you may check your bags again. Fees may apply.
• Certain airports may reject your luggage based on size, weight or number of bags.

Active U.S. military personnel and their dependents.

The benefits below apply only on United- and United Express-operated flights.

Dependents of active U.S. military personnel also share these benefits if they’re traveling on the same reservation.

When travel is due to military orders, dependents can travel alone. When a dependent travels on their own without proof of military orders, the normal allowance and fees apply.

Basic Economy tickets only include one personal item. They do not include carry-on bags. If you decide to travel with a carry-on bag, you must check it in the airport lobby for a fee starting at $35. If you bring a carry-on bag to the gate that won't fit under the seat, you need to pay a $65 fee to check it.