I do not have status and would like to get out of the baggage fee based on flying an international itinerary, but it would be somewhat jinky. How strict are they with what constitutes an international itinerary? Can you string itineraries together? I've done it before with two AA flights (Itin #1: MSP->ORD, Itin #2: ORD->Int'l). I showed up at the counter, explained I had a later international flight on AA, and it wasn't a problem.

Itin 1: NYC -> Int'l -> NYC on Lan Airlines
Itin 2: NYC -> RNO arriving on Horizon
Itin 3: RNO -> DTW (home) on AA

Keep in mind this is one big trip, so all flights pick up where the last one ended up. Do I have a chance of getting out of the fee?