Delta Baggage Fees: What a Bag Actually Costs in 2026

Delta Air Lines baggage fees start at $45 for the first checked bag on a domestic flight, and $55 for the second, as of July 2026. The third bag jumps to $200. Those are the numbers most people come here for, so they are the first thing on the page.

Your carry-on bag and one personal item are free on every Delta fare, including Basic Economy. Delta does not charge for a full-size carry-on the way the budget carriers do, and it does not strip the carry-on out of Basic Economy the way United does. On Delta, the carry-on is free whether you booked Delta One or the cheapest Main Basic fare.

Everything after this explains the parts that trip people up: what “domestic” actually covers, when an overweight bag adds $100 at the counter, how Delta stacks three separate fees on one bag, and the ways to get the checked-bag fee down to zero. Every dollar figure below is taken from Delta’s own published baggage pages, verified for this article on July 9, 2026. Delta lists these as the current fees for all tickets issued on or after today, so if another site shows you a $35 or $30 first bag, that figure is out of date.

What a checked bag costs on Delta right now

For travel within the United States, Delta charges $45 for the first checked bag and $55 for the second, as of July 2026. These are the fees for Delta Main and Delta Comfort customers without Medallion status, a Delta SkyMiles American Express Card, or an active-military exception. The fee applies per person, each way.

A standard checked bag is one that weighs up to 50 pounds (23 kg) and measures up to 62 linear inches (length plus width plus height). Stay under both limits and you pay only the fee above. Go over either one and Delta adds an overweight or oversize charge on top, which is covered further down.

Delta One and Delta First fares carry a higher 70-pound weight allowance per bag, and premium cabins plus Medallion members get free checked bags, so the standard fee mainly lands on Delta Main and Delta Comfort passengers. You pay for these bags during the 24-hour check-in window on delta.com, in the Fly Delta app, or at an airport kiosk. Delta does not publish a separate cheaper “online” rate the way American and United do, so $45 is the price whether you pay at check-in or at the counter.

Your carry-on and personal item are free, including on Basic Economy

Delta lets you bring one carry-on bag and one personal item at no charge on every fare, and that includes Main Basic, which is Delta’s name for Basic Economy. This is worth stating plainly because it is the opposite of Frontier, where a full-size carry-on costs money, and the opposite of United, where domestic Basic Economy gives you a personal item only. On Delta, the carry-on is free across the board.

The size limits are firm. Your carry-on bag cannot exceed 22 x 14 x 9 inches or 45 linear inches total, and those measurements include handles and wheels. Your personal item, such as a purse, laptop bag, or small backpack, has to fit under the seat in front of you.

Here is the honest caveat, and it is about the aircraft, not the fare. On Delta Connection regional flights with 50 seats or fewer, overhead space is limited, so a full-size carry-on is gate-checked into the cargo hold, free of charge, and returned to you at the aircraft door on arrival. That gate-check is free, but you lose the bag until you land, so keep medication and valuables in the personal item you carry to your seat.

The full domestic checked bag fee table

This table covers travel within the United States, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as of July 2026. It reflects the standard fee for Delta Main and Delta Comfort passengers without status or a co-branded card.

Bag	Main Basic	Delta Main / Comfort	Delta Premium Select / One / First
Carry-on + 1 personal item	Free	Free	Free
1st checked bag	$45	$45	$0
2nd checked bag	$55	$55	$0
3rd checked bag	$200	$200	$200
4th through 10th checked bag	$200 each	$200 each	$200 each

The fees apply per person, each way. If you want a broader picture of what an airline does and does not owe you when something goes wrong, our guide to what US airlines owe you for a canceled or delayed flight covers the refund rules that sit alongside these fees.

One note on scope. “Domestic” here means travel within the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. International routes carry their own allowances, and many of them include a free first checked bag in Delta Main that domestic routes do not. If your itinerary crosses a border, run it through Delta’s Baggage Calculator rather than assuming the domestic number. One extra rule catches people out: all passengers traveling to or from Key West, Florida, are limited to one checked bag, and that limit overrides every exception.

Overweight and oversize fees, and how they stack

This is the part where Delta is stricter than American, so read it before you pack. Delta charges a separate fee for each limit you break: one for the extra bag, one for going overweight, and one for going oversize. Delta states it plainly on its own excess-baggage page: a single bag that is an extra piece and overweight and oversize is hit with all three fees, each way. American, by contrast, charges only the higher of the overweight or oversize fee. On Delta, they add up.

Overweight fees for domestic travel, as of July 2026, work in two tiers:

Bag weight	Domestic fee (added to base)
51 to 70 lbs (23 to 32 kg)	$100
71 to under 100 lbs (32 to 45 kg)	$200
100 lbs (45 kg) or more	Not accepted

There is no gentle first tier here. Delta goes straight from the 50-pound free limit to a $100 surcharge. A bag that weighs 51 pounds is one pound over and costs you $100 on top of the $45 checked-bag fee, turning a $45 bag into a $145 bag at the airport.

Weigh it at home. A cheap luggage scale pays for itself on the first trip.

Oversize is just as blunt. A checked bag between 63 and 80 linear inches carries a flat $200 oversize fee on domestic routes, and Delta does not accept checked bags over 80 linear inches on flights within the U.S. and Canada. Like the overweight charge, the oversize fee stacks on top of the base checked-bag fee, and if the bag is also overweight, that fee stacks too.

How to pay $0 for a checked bag on Delta

The most reliable way to check a bag for free is to hold Medallion status or a Delta SkyMiles American Express Card, because both waive the first checked-bag fee for you and for the people on your reservation. Here are the four routes to a free bag, in the order most travelers can actually use them.

1. Carry a Delta SkyMiles American Express Card. An eligible Delta SkyMiles Amex Card gives the first checked bag free on Delta flights for the cardholder and up to 8 travel companions listed on the same reservation, for a total of 9 passengers. For a family of four, one qualifying card zeroes out four first-bag fees per direction. The waiver only covers bags that are not overweight or oversize, and only on flights that originate on Delta or Delta Connection.

2. Fly a premium cabin. Delta One and Delta First include free checked bags at a higher 70-pound weight limit, and Delta Premium Select includes up to two free bags domestically at 50 pounds each. If you are already in one of those cabins, you owe nothing for standard bags.

3. Hold SkyMiles Medallion status. Every Medallion tier waives the first checked bag, and the free allowance grows with status: Silver gets one free bag, Gold two, and Platinum and Diamond three, on domestic flights. Medallion members also carry a 70-pound weight allowance per bag before an overweight fee applies, instead of the usual 50. The benefit extends to up to 8 companions on the same reservation. A Silver Medallion member who also holds an eligible Delta SkyMiles Amex Card gets the second bag free too.

4. Fly a route that includes a free bag. Several international regions include a free first checked bag in Delta Main. That does not help on a domestic hop, but it is worth checking your specific route before paying.

How Delta compares

If you are weighing Delta against another carrier for a domestic trip, its $45 first checked bag is actually the cheapest of the legacy three: American and United both charge $50 for a first domestic bag. Where Delta pulls ahead is the carry-on. Delta, like American, includes a full-size carry-on on every fare, including Basic Economy, while United’s Basic Economy gives you a personal item only and charges $65 for a carry-on at the gate. Frontier, a true budget carrier, charges for the carry-on on every fare and prices bags dynamically by route and timing.

So the real comparison is not just the $45 checked bag, which undercuts the pack. It is that on Delta you keep your free carry-on no matter which fare you book. The one place Delta is harsher is excess baggage: it stacks the overweight and oversize fees on top of each other, where American charges only the higher of the two.

Frequently asked questions

Are Delta carry-on bags free? Yes. One carry-on bag and one personal item are free on every fare, including Main Basic (Basic Economy), as of July 2026. The carry-on must fit within 22 x 14 x 9 inches and 45 linear inches total, including handles and wheels.

How much is the first checked bag on Delta? $45 for domestic travel, and $55 for the second bag, as of July 2026. The third bag is $200. Delta does not offer a separate discounted online rate, so the price is the same whether you pay at check-in or at the airport.

Does Delta charge more for a bag over 50 pounds? Yes. A domestic bag between 51 and 70 pounds costs an extra $100 on top of the checked-bag fee. Between 71 and under 100 pounds it is an extra $200. Bags of 100 pounds or more are not accepted. If the bag is also oversize, that fee stacks on top too.

How do I get a free checked bag on Delta? Carry an eligible Delta SkyMiles American Express Card, which waives the first bag for you and up to 8 companions on the reservation, or hold SkyMiles Medallion status, or fly a premium cabin. Each waives at least the first checked bag. See the current Delta baggage overview to confirm your route before you fly, since these fees change.

Can I bring a carry-on on Delta Basic Economy? Yes. Unlike United, Delta includes a full-size carry-on and a personal item on Main Basic fares at no charge. The only limit is on Delta Connection regional jets with 50 seats or fewer, where a full-size carry-on is gate-checked into the hold for free and returned at the aircraft door.

For more plain-language guides to the true cost of a US flight, browse the FlightsInUSA blog.