WARNING to golfers checking in at PHX
 

Do not pack non-golf items in your golf club carrier!

I did, and essentially got triple-charged for an overweight bag the other day while returning home from a seven-week business trip to PHX.

As you might imagine, I had quite a bit of luggage because of the seven-week stay and I packed several books and other articles into the golf bag along with the clubs. The bag weighed 78 lbs. and I was prepared to pay a $50 overweight charge on it. (My other suitcase was 68 lbs, so it wasn't possible to repack.)

But the PHX ticket counter agents, who might be the surliest people on the planet, charged me $150 because they claimed the golf bag was oversized in addition to being overweight. Now, this made zero sense to me. If you're allowed to have a golf bag as one of your checked pieces, how could it be oversized? She said the weight makes it oversized. (But the dimensions didn't change...and they're already charging me $50 for it being overweight....so, huh?)

Anyway, they offered no additional explanation, refused to answer my questions and wouldn't allow me to appeal to a supervisor. So I paid with my corporate card.

I called the customer service line, and after talking to three agents, I finally got a native English speaker to review the excess luggage policy with me. Apparently, the agents processed it correctly since a golf bag exceeds the 62-inch rule, but an exception is made as long as the bag includes only clubs, golf items and ONE pair of shoes. Since I used it to pack additional items, it defaults to a piece of standard luggage and is thus oversized. OK....I guess that makes sense...but it woudl have been nice if the PHX agents explained it that way!

Long story short, I am out $150 and have little chance of getting it refunded upon appeal.

I thought I would sound out a warning to anyone who packs other stuff in their golf caddy (and there are a lot of golfers who go to PHX). If it weighs more than 50 lbs, the nasties at PHX will ding you!

I wish they gave us "crappy service" recognition coupons with our elite packs...I know a couple I could hand out right now!

(p.s. Yes, I know, as a 1P I get to check three items weighing up to 70 lbs each for free...and I should have packed a third small duffel instead of using the golf bag for other stuff. Obviously, I know to operate that way next time.)

Yeah, the PHX CS...:td: They actually used to be good, but I think ever since TED showed up several years ago, they have become...well....like TED:eek:

Good for the CS. It's pretty sneaky of you to be putting non-golf items in a golf bag and show up expecting it to be treated as a golf bag that is exempt from size rules. We did this at FL.

Well sounds to me like they processed it correctly by chance? They assumed you had non golf items in the bag so then they hit you for the overweight? It sounds to me by the way you describe the rules, if I had an extremely heavy golf bag, golf caddy and golf shoes that were overweight on their own it would be OK to take it overweight with no fee?

I regularly pack my golf bag with Clubs, shoes and clothes (golf shirts in large ziploc bags) up to 49 lbs. and have never been questioned. Thank you for the heads up at PHX.

PM me if you want to see my "not going the extra mile certs" ;)

I've never had good experiences in PHX. Horrible TAs, GAs....even the rental car people (I know this isnt UA but was part of a bad experience) are just aweful in PHX. They just threw my whole golf bag off their transit bus. I was not happy.

Add to that that its a US hub and I'm gonna try my hardest to avoid PHX ever again...

It was "sneaky" if I was trying to put one over on them. I wasn't. I expected to be charged $50 for the overweight bag, but not $150 because all the sudden it's oversized too.

Just giving fellow FTs a heads-up, is all.

The rules on the Web site give a limit of 50 lbs. for a golf club carrier

So as long as it's under 50 lbs, I assume you could put golf shirts, other items, etc. in there without drawing suspicion.

I do think it's funny that they spell out you can include one pair of shoes...as if they'll zip it open and start poking around...:confused:

It is frustrating that if you had an empty duffel, you could have pulled it out, stuffed things into it and paid nothing. I would have argued and said, so what if I go to the travel store and buy a duffel for $50 and move some stuff...are you sure that's necessary for me to go through that hassle? Now that's assuming I was quick enough on my feet to think of that backup plan.

Supposedly, similar rules apply to ski equipment. You are allowed one pair of skis, boots, and poles in your ski carrier/bag. I've never had my bag examined though.

I've got a SportTube which can carry 2 pairs of skis in a hard-sided case. I've often wondered if they would raise a stink if I carry my skis, and my fiance's, in the same carrier. If she's traveling with me, it would seem better for UA to allow that, given that it reduces 'packaging' weight, i.e. only one case instead of two. But for some reason, I can imagine that UA wouldn't see it that way.

You're contradicting yourself. You state at the beginning that the agents did explain it....up to 70 lbs maximum would be a $50 charge....you had 78 lbs = $150. Bijou Terner sells bags for $10 - that would have saved you $140 by stuffing the 8 lbs into a cheap bag. UAL didn't rip you off.

Shows how different everyone's experiences are. I go through PHX a few times a week and have encountered maybe one or two bad experiences. Overall I have nothing but ^^^ for the PHX people.