US Domestic Air Travel
What your airline actually owes you when a flight is canceled. What a fare truly costs after the fees. Which booking tool wins, and which loyalty program is worth paying for. No airline spin.
Four pillars
Rights & Protections
What you are legally owed when a flight is canceled, delayed, or overbooked. What airlines must provide versus what they choose to. How to claim it at the gate.
Fees & True Cost
What a flight actually costs after baggage, seats, and carry-on charges. Side-by-side fare comparisons in real dollars, including budget-airline true cost.
Booking & Search
When to book and which search tools to use. Flexible date searches, price alerts that work, and the 24-hour rule explained step by step.
Programs & Loyalty
TSA PreCheck, Global Entry, and CLEAR compared. Airline miles versus flexible points. How to use loyalty programs without getting trapped in them.
Featured
United baggage fees, as of July 2026: the first checked bag is $50 domestic ($45 online), and Basic Economy gets a personal item only. Here is how to pay less.
Verdict: Your first checked domestic bag is $50, or $45 if you prepay online, and standard fares include a free carry-on. Basic Economy gets a personal item only, and a full-size carry-on at the gate costs $65.
Read the pieceAmerican Airlines baggage fees, as of July 2026: the first checked bag is $50 domestic, carry-on is free in every cabin, and here is how to pay $0.
Verdict: Your first checked domestic bag is $50 and your carry-on is free in every cabin, but Basic Economy now pays $5 more per checked bag.
The personal item is free. The carry-on is the trap, and every bag costs more the later you pay. Frontier's real baggage fees and how to pay less.
Verdict: The personal item is the only free bag. The carry-on is the paid trap, and every bag costs the most at the gate.
Global entry vs TSA PreCheck: get PreCheck for domestic trips, Global Entry if you fly abroad since it includes PreCheck. Current prices and where CLEAR fits.
Verdict: Domestic flyers get TSA PreCheck; anyone flying internationally gets Global Entry because it includes PreCheck; CLEAR is an optional add-on, not a replacement.
Find the cheapest days to fly with real pricing patterns, booking windows, and tools that actually work — no fluff, no affiliate spin.
Discover the exact days and times that give you the lowest flight fares. Follow our data‑backed list and book smarter.
A full refund is federal law. Cash for the delay usually is not. Here is exactly what US airlines owe you, and what to ask for at the gate.
Verdict: You are always owed a full refund. You are almost never owed cash for the delay itself.
