No More Digging Out Your Credit Card for the Desk Agent With United

No one enjoys getting to the airport and suddenly having to take care of additional things before you can even get through security—United Airlines is helping to ease the burden by allowing you to pay for your baggage fees online before you get to the airport the day of your flight.

This month, United Airlines added a feature that no other major airline offers yet: You can pay for your checked bags any time after you purchase your ticket. That means before you check-in online, and before you get to the airport at all, allowing you to skip that frustrating extra step of having to stop at a kiosk or desk before you’re even able to get through security.

“The impetus is to allow our customers to be able to interact with us and purchase things when they want to,” Linda Jojo, the airline’s executive vice president of technology and chief digital officer, said at the Boyd Group International Aviation Forecast Summit, reported by USA Today. “It’s a great option.”

Unlike budget airlines like Spirit and Frontier, you still won’t be able to pay for your bag when you’re purchasing your ticket online; you’ll have to wait until you’re officially ticketed. And also unlike budget airlines, the cost of your checked bags will remain the same no matter when you pay for them. Plus, if you pay for a checked bag before you check-in and then later decide you’re not going to check one, you can get a refund.

[Featured Image: Shutterstock]