Don’t want to pay the fee? Fly Southwest, which doesn’t charge bag fees. Or get a co-branded credit card for one or two airlines, which often will give you a checked bag for free.
If time is the bigger issue — as in the wait for your bag to come off the carousel — you can send your clothing ahead, but that may cost you more to ship than the bag fee. You can Google “luggage shipping” and come up with the names of several shippers.
Luggage Forward lets you calculate that cost before committing. A 50-pound bag ordered at least five days in advance will set you back $99 — one way — for a U.S. flight.
