Get The Most Out Of Airline Baggage Policies With These Hacks

Fees, fees, fees. There's a fee for everything these days, especially for things that never had a fee before. Convenience fees. Processing fees. Application fees. Some of the most egregious of the bunch are the never-ending fees you pay for air travel.

Not too long ago, almost every airline let you bring two checked bags for free. Seat selection fees were a laughable prospect — seats were doled out based on who booked first. And those extra legroom seats? Seats used to be bigger. They've been shrinking in pitch so quickly that maybe someday bare minimum legroom will come at a premium by default. There are even whisperings of airplanes going with standing seats, and other nonsense, to tighten the screws even more on the consumer.

While we can't provide any assurance that the situation will get better, we can offer some tips on how to make the most of the migraine that is flying. Specifically, ways to leverage those stingy baggage allowance policies so you get the best bang for your buck. Join us as we examine some tried-and-tested baggage hacks you can put to use on your next flight.

If you're struggling to get the checked luggage weight down to something reasonable, then consider relocating a heavy item or two to the carry-on. For domestic flights, carry-on weight limits are next to nonexistent. You could theoretically have a bag full of raw bullion and no one would stop you. Plus, your most fragile items are often the heaviest (such as electronics) so you get to keep them out of the occasionally careless hands of baggage handlers.

International flights often impose a 20 to 25-pound weight limit on carry-on, but with experience as a guide, they rarely weigh carry-on bags either at the check-in counter or at the gate. Things are too hectic, and airports too understaffed, so airline personnel will be on the lookout for only the most flagrant violations.

Your personal item is also in this nebulous void of not having weight limits. So your backpack or purse can become a repository for any end-of-the-road reshuffling you need to do to manage luggage weight. Just double-check that your personal item is actually a personal item in the airline's eyes — some budget airlines have begun to crack down hard on defining what exactly a personal item is and is not.

Remember in the mid-'00s when goth kids were wearing those loose-leg pants with enormous pockets running down the sides? In the current year, they might have had the right idea for bringing more onboard the plane. Pockets, like personal items and pillowcases, are yet another means of bypassing conventional baggage restrictions. Cargo pants and shorts let you carry tons of small items on your person for free — as long as you don't mind offending the gods of fashion.

Another solution — a not-so-fashionable clothing item that's less likely to make nearby fashionistas grind their teeth — is a travel vest. It's a vest with a ton of hidden, internal pockets that make your baggage-skirting efforts much less obvious, one that's more likely to gel with your outfit. Keep in mind that whichever method you choose, it's going to rear its ugly head in the TSA line once you have to remove your pockets' contents — unless you remembered to renew your TSA PreCheck membership. Travel vests are ideal for storing your valuable electronics while already on the plane.

You thought we'd run out of storage mediums that are exempt from weight limits? You thought wrong. There's yet another: your duty-free bags. See, airports work very hard to make you spend as much money as possible while waiting for your flight, as Mental Floss can attest. Duty-free is one of their many cash cows. It would really ruffle the feathers of tired travelers if they couldn't bring their expensive mineral waters and overpriced perfumes onto the plane, so duty-free doesn't count as baggage at all.

You can probably see where this is going. To sneak extra luggage onto your flight, use the duty-free bag hack. You might try asking for a free bag from one of the duty-free stores or — if that doesn't work — buy one small, cheap item and then use the rest of the bag as you please. Just be aware that your duty-free bags don't get diplomatic immunity; airline staff may search them, and they may check their contents against your receipt. We really only recommend this gamble in the event of an overflowing bag, or a flight where you know they'll check-in your carry-on.

To roll or to fold: That is the question. One travel blog might tell you that folding your clothing is the most efficient way to pack; another says no, rolling is clearly superior. CNET put both methods to the test and found that rolling clothing is the most space-efficient of the two, allowing for an additional three items' worth of space. Only a few articles like bulky sweaters, structured clothes, and formalwear don't benefit from rolling.

Plus, rolling makes it easier to grab clothes you need without digging through — and disrupting — an existing pile. It also makes it easier to organize things into packing cubes since you can fold the garment in half before rolling to get a thicker — albeit shorter — roll. Then there's the added benefit of wrinkle prevention, except for some button-down garments that might get more wrinkled than if you'd just folded them.

Looking to get an extra checked bag without paying a cent? There may be a solution that's normally a pain in the rear for most travelers. You've probably noticed in recent years how airlines seem determined to force later boarding groups to check their carry-on bags at the gate. Most believe it to be an issue of overhead carry-on space — a problem that might not be so bad if some clueless individuals stopped using the overhead bins to stow items that belong under their seats. Others argue it's a way for airlines to speed up the boarding process.

Whatever the actual reason, it presents a chance for you to check your carry-on completely free of charge on busy flights, especially international ones. Unless you're using the carry-on to keep your fragile and valuable items, that means one less bag to worry about until you arrive at your destination. If the airline doesn't require you to check your carry-on, ask them for a complimentary gate check. Most are dying for volunteers and will be overjoyed if you beat them to the punch.

Your fears that baggage handlers beat your luggage senseless are warranted. Year after year, we get some video of them hurling SwissGears like they're trying out for the shot put. One potential solution to this is to use their own system against them. When at the check-in counter, ask the attendant to put fragile stickers — or tags — on your checked bags.

Now, this does not bestow your bag with some holy shield of protection against abuse. Some baggage handlers ignore the fragile sticker entirely. They're on the lookout for items that look fragile, such as guitar cases. It's still worth a shot, but make sure your fragile sticker was issued by the current airline. Old stickers get ignored.

You can also look for luggage that actually protects its contents. Get rid of that soft-sided suitcase and upgrade to a hard-shell one, since handlers are no more gentle with the former. Also, make sure your suitcase has plenty of handles — ideally one on the top and side. Baggage handlers are trying to work quickly, so if they can't reach a handle, they'll just throw your bag however is easiest and least strenuous. If everything we've just said makes you even more anxious, then it might be time to get some baggage insurance.

For most, the issue isn't that you have too much stuff, just that you're struggling to get the weight distribution right across multiple bags. This isn't helped by the fact that you've probably only got a bathroom scale for weighing your suitcase, forcing you to play the hop-on, hop-off game. And unless you've got someone to help, you then have to contort into a very uncomfortable position with a heavy suitcase to catch a glimpse of the scale readout.

Save yourself all that annoyance and inconvenience by buying yourself a portable luggage scale. You can find them at online retailers for as little as $10. They make it easy to weigh your suitcases, and they're lightweight, perfect for bringing along during your travels without adding too much extra weight. Plus, you'll be better able to account for unexpected souvenirs before coming home. These luggage scales come in digital and analog options in the event you'd rather go battery-free.

Baggage policies vary wildly from airline to airline, and some are more miserly than Ebenezer Scrooge. Take Frontier and Spirit Airlines as two examples. Despite being low-cost airlines — ones you'd expect to save money on — they both charge an arm and a leg for carry-on and checked baggage. Meanwhile, other affordable airlines like Southwest give you two free checked bags on most of their flights. Even if an airline does allow you to bring on a carry-on or personal item, they may be incredibly draconian in enforcing the size requirements — Ryanair being one example. A too-big carry-on bag will cost you on other airlines like EasyJet.

The solution? Get an airline that treats you right with better baggage policies. In particular, be on the lookout not just for airlines with free carry-ons and checked bags, but above-average weight allowances. Qatar and Singapore lead the pack by allowing you a meaty 30 kg for checked bags, a huge increase over the vast majority of airlines. So before you book a ticket with an airline, factor in their baggage costs. That budget airline might not be so budget, all things told.