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What’s it cost to fly with your pet?
Pet ownership isn’t cheap to begin with, but when it comes to flying…HOLY SMOKES – It’s a lot of paper to bring fido along. Some airlines charge you by the segment, others a one-way fee. Some allow you to check your pet ( I couldn’t do that personally) and some don’t. They all have their own policy. So what’s it cost to fly with your pet?
| Airline | Cabin Fee | Checked Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska Air | $100 per segment | $100 |
| Allegiant | $100 per segment | $100 |
| American Airlines | $125 each way | $200 |
| Delta | $125 one way in U.S. $75 one to Brazil $200 outside U.S. | Can not check pets, must be flown as cargo |
| Frontier | $75 one way | Can not check pets |
| Jetblue | $100 one way | Can not check pets |
| Southwest | $95 one way | Can not check pets |
| Spirit | $110 each way | Can not check pets |
| United | $125 each way unless stopover is more than 4 hours, then another $125 | ? |
| Virgin America | $100 Main cabin/not allowed in premium | Can not check pets |
Should Elites get this charge waived?
Right now I carry Executive Platinum status with American and Alaska’s MVP75. Both are top tier and both charge me to bring my dog along. However…I’m turning my back on AA and going after Alaska’s status for next year. If American were to waive all pet fees for top tier elites…I’d reconsider that decision. Yes, the chart is worse. Yes, the points aren’t as valuable. But, I’m getting upgraded every time I fly and if I didn’t have to add on $125 each way every time I brought my dog, or find a someone to look after her…I’d value that enormously.
My bag fees, award redeposit fees, phone booking fees are all waived. Would pet fees be too much to ask?
Pet owners treat their pets like they are part of the family. If airlines kept the current restrictions for the number of pets in cabin, size, etc I’d be fine with it. But if they correlated the cost to fly with your pet with the elite status you carried, it would go a long way with me, and I believe a long way with many people in my situation.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.