When searching for the best airfare prices, many people fail to look beyond the face value of the airfare. For business travelers making a daytrip, price and flight times are the chief concerns. For a family of four booking a weeklong vacation, it pays to do a little more homework before purchasing those flights … unless, of course your family or four will be wearing little more than swimsuits for the entire week. 

Baggage fees can sometimes negate the cost savings attained on an airfare. To uncover the true cost of airline travel, you must research a little deeper, pull out your calculator and start adding up the extra fees. We did a brief cost comparison of baggage fees across a number of major and discount airlines to better understand when it pays to go discount. 

Baggage fees are a massive revenue stream for all airlines and often help the discount carriers offset the savings they provide travelers on base airfares. So, it pays to do your homework, anticipate luggage requirements when researching flight costs and reserve that precious cargo space when booking. And if your family of four enjoys snacking on peanuts and washing them down with a cold drink, don’t forget to include these incidentals in your calculations as the snack and beverage service on many discount airlines is an extra expense.

Know someone keeping an eye out for flight deals? Be a hero and share this infographic.