Woman traveling to New York refuses to pay $50 per checked bag at United. So she gets creative—and viewers applaud her genius
After paying hundreds of dollars for an airplane ticket to your destination, tacking on checked baggage fees can be hard on your wallet. But one woman shares a hilarious hack she used to get a two-for-one deal on hers through United Airlines. Viewers of the now-viral video are stunned it worked.
In a video with over 60,000 views, travel TikToker Olive Juice (@olivedajuice) shows two large suitcases tapped together in her home before the flight. She packs cardboard around them and adds another layer of tape to make the two suitcases look like one large parcel.
On-screen text reads, “POV: United Airlines wanted to charge me $50 per bag so I got creative.”
While she doesn’t know if United Airlines check-in agents will accept the contraption, she tries anyways. And she’s in luck.
She shares a picture of the luggage on the conveyor belt, going through the security scanner.
“OMG they actually accepted it,” she writes in on-screen text. “Made it safe and sound! Puerto Rico to New York.”
How did her United luggage hack work?
According to United Airlines’ website, the first checked bag is $40, and the second is $50. The bags must be under 50 pounds (lbs) each for economy travelers in order to avoid paying overweight fees on top of the original cost.
The TikToker shares in a comment that the total weight of the taped-together bags was just under 50 lbs, allowing her to skip the second bag fee and any overweight charges.
However, there’s one part of the policy that she may have simply been lucky to avoid.
The airline’s website notes that checked bags need to be less than “30 in x 20 in x 12 in.” By tapping the two bags together, the size may have surpassed the limit, but was overlooked by check-in agents.
So, there’s no guarantee it would work again. If agents catch on to an oversized bag, United passengers can expect a $200 fee tacked on, too.
Viewers are stunned it worked
In the comments of the viral TikTok, other travelers can’t believe her bags made it safely to their destination.
“Holy crap that’s so smart what,” one remarks.
Another writes, “I wish I saw this before flying back home. I just spent $300 at the ticket counter for my extra bags.” The TikToker responds, “Noooooo sometimes they have those plastic wrapper things at the airport which are soooo good for this!!!”
“Outsmart the system i likey,” a third says.
Some say they plan to try the hack for themselves.
“They charged me $100 per bag girl you so lucky definitely doing this,” a commenter writes.
A second comments, “Ugh God is real bc he put this on my fyp right before my trip. Ty girly.”
@olivedajuice I crack myself up #travelhacks thank you @United Airlines ♬ nothing beats a jet2 holiday – A7-BBH | MAN
The Mary Sue reached out to Olive Juice via TikTok direct message and comment and to United Airlines via email for further comment.
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