Airlines debut new fee

“There’s a new snag at the airport catching fliers by surprise: the gate-service fee,” said Scott McCartney in The Wall Street Journal. The new fee is being used by United and American “to discourage travelers who buy their cheapest fare, Basic Economy, from bringing a carryon bag that doesn’t fit under the seat.” With these cheap fares, passengers don’t have the right to store their bags in an overhead bin. If you try to bring anything that won’t fit under your seat, either on purpose or because you didn’t know about the restriction, you’ll have to check it at the gate. That means you’ll have to pay the standard baggage fee, usually $25 for your first checked bag, plus an additional $25 penalty. Altogether, the fees could wipe out the savings from buying a bargain fare. likely to trust debit cards than credit cards, a mistake that could cost them. “A bad guy who gets ahold of a debit card can access real money from a real account,” said Matt Schulz, a senior analyst at CreditCards.com. “If you’re missing $500 for two days, it can cause some real hardship if you have bills due at that time.”