Originally Posted by
ashill
Well, Alaska and Delta do pay you to check bags if they don’t deliver them within 20 minutes. In my experience, AS does a good job of that. (I haven’t checked a bag with a Delta since they copied AS’s policy.) Because AS reliably delivers my bag without making me wait long, I’m far more inclined to check a bag (though I still usually don’t).
Delta's takes about 2 minutes. I did it in the time it took me to pick up my bag from carousel at ORD and walk to the CTA station. It's a simple web form where you enter your bag tag number and flight details. If it took longer than 20 minute it'll then credit your FF account with 2500 miles (essentially a refund of your checked bag fee in miles, but works even if you didn't pay the fee).
FWIW, the one time I used it my bag was only a minute late. And hasn't happened since. These days my bag beats me to the carousel, even when I'm sitting towards the front.