Is a Checked Bag Free on Delta? Fees, Weight and Waivers

Kiwitours EditorialUpdated September 15, 2026 · 10 min read

Traveler walking through an airport terminal corridor with checked bags

The short answer

There is no free checked bag on Delta for most travelers. Checked bag fees on Delta run $45 for the first bag and $55 for the second on domestic flights, since April 8, 2026. Carry-on and personal item stay free on every fare, including Basic Economy. SkyMiles Medallion status and Delta’s co-branded Amex cards still waive the fee for one bag or more.

You are packing for a Delta flight and trying to work out what a bag actually costs before you reach the airport. The number in your memory from the last trip is not the number on Delta’s site today.

This breaks down exactly what stays free, what Delta now charges for a checked bag, and which status or credit card still avoids the fee. Every figure below is checked against Delta’s own baggage pages as of September 2026.

What to check before you fly Delta

Your fare: Basic Economy pays the same checked-bag fee as Main Cabin on Delta, unlike the carry-on rules on some other airlines.
Your SkyMiles Medallion tier or Delta SkyMiles American Express card, since each waives a different number of bags.
Whether you booked before or after April 8, 2026, since the fee that applies follows the ticket date, not the travel date.
A luggage scale, since Delta weighs and measures separately and rounds against you at the counter.
Your bag tag number or e-ticket reference, needed to track a checked bag once it leaves your hands.

Is a checked bag free on Delta?

No, not for a Main Cabin or Basic Economy passenger paying the standard fare. Every checked bag on those tickets costs money, and the price rose on April 8, 2026, the first increase to Delta’s domestic bag fees in two years.

Premium cabins keep a different allowance, and SkyMiles Medallion status or an eligible Delta Amex card can waive the fee regardless of fare, both covered below.

Is a carry-on free on Delta, even in Basic Economy?

Yes, on every fare, for every passenger, with no route exception. Delta charges nothing for the cabin bag or the personal item, and the April 2026 fee changes touched only checked bags.

That keeps Delta out of the carry-on fee conversation entirely, unlike United, where the overhead bag disappears on most domestic Basic Economy tickets. The only limits on Delta’s carry-on are size and your own ability to lift it into the bin.

Carry-on bag

One bag, up to 22 x 14 x 9 inches (56 x 36 x 23 cm), including wheels and handles, fits in the overhead bin. Delta publishes no weight limit for it, the same approach every US major uses.

Personal item

One item that fits under the seat ahead of you, a laptop bag, purse or small backpack. It does not count against the carry-on allowance and never has a fee attached.

Delta's free carry-on bag and personal item are sized differently but both cost nothing on every fare.

Note: Basic Economy boards last on Delta, so overhead space can run out before that group reaches the cabin. A bag gate-checked for that reason still travels free. What is not free is a bag that never qualified as a carry-on to begin with.

Delta keeps the full carry-on bag on every Basic Economy ticket, while United drops to a personal item only on most domestic routes.

Delta checked bag fees, before and after April 2026

Which bracket applies depends on when the ticket was bought, not when the trip happens.

Bag	Before April 8, 2026	On or after April 8, 2026
First checked bag	$35	$45
Second checked bag	$45	$55
Third and later bags	$150	$200

Size and weight limits held steady through the increase. A standard checked bag is still capped at 50 pounds (23 kg) and 62 linear inches (157 cm), length plus width plus height, the same figures Alaska and Hawaiian use domestically. Delta One and Delta First passengers get a 70-pound (32 kg) allowance per bag instead.

See checked baggage by airline for how Delta compares against Southwest, Alaska, Hawaiian and three international carriers.

Delta's first and second checked-bag fees each rose $10 on April 8, 2026.

Which SkyMiles Medallion tiers and credit cards still fly free?

Free checked bags survived for Medallion elite status and Delta’s own co-branded Amex cards, and the benefit stacks differently depending on which one applies.

Silver Medallion members get one free checked bag. Gold Medallion members get two. Platinum and Diamond Medallion members get three, and every tier raises the weight allowance on those bags to 70 pounds (32 kg) on domestic and international Delta-operated flights.

Basic Card Members on the Delta SkyMiles Gold, Platinum or Reserve Amex get a free first checked bag once the card arrives from American Express. The benefit covers up to eight companions on the same reservation. Since June 4, 2026, those same Basic Card Members also get the second bag free on domestic Delta flights.

Status or card	Carry-on + personal item	1st checked bag	2nd checked bag
Main Cabin, no status	Free	$45	$55
Silver Medallion	Free	Free	Standard rate
Gold Medallion	Free	Free	Free
Platinum / Diamond Medallion	Free	Free	Free
Delta Amex Basic Card Member (+8 companions)	Free	Free	Free since June 4, 2026

Medallion elite status and the Delta SkyMiles Amex cards each waive a different number of checked bags.

What an overweight or oversized Delta bag costs

Weight and size are checked separately, and a bag can pass one and still fail the other. Both are charged on top of whatever the base checked-bag fee already is.

Bag condition	Extra fee
Up to 50 lb, 62 in	Included in the base fee
51 to 70 lb	$100
71 to under 100 lb	$200
Oversized, 63 to 80 in	$200

A bag at 100 pounds or more, or larger than 80 linear inches, is refused outright rather than surcharged. International oversize fees vary by route: transatlantic and North Africa itineraries charge up to $300, while several Asia routes charge closer to $175. Delta carry-on weight limit covers how the cabin-bag side compares if you are connecting onto a different carrier.

Delta charges rising fees for an overweight or oversized checked bag and refuses one at 100 lb or 80 linear inches.

When do you need to check a bag for a Delta flight?

At least 45 minutes before a domestic departure and 60 minutes before an international one, measured at the counter, curbside desk or kiosk rather than at security.

A handful of airports set an earlier cutoff. New York JFK requires 60 minutes even for domestic bags, and St. Thomas and St. Croix require 60 to 90 minutes depending on the route. Delta will not accept a checked bag more than six hours before departure, either.

Delta requires a checked bag at the counter 45 minutes before a domestic flight and 60 minutes before an international one, with a longer cutoff at a few airports.

How do you track a checked bag on Delta?

Every Delta checked bag carries an RFID tag, and the Fly Delta app turns that into a live status feed. Open the app, go to More, then Track My Bags, and enter the bag tag number or the e-ticket file reference.

On US routes, the app also shows a map view: pins mark each scan point along the bag’s route, and a suitcase icon marks the last confirmed location. Each bag on a multi-bag reservation is tracked separately, so you can confirm all of them loaded before you leave the gate area.

Your bag fee looked wrong, or the bag never showed up

Ask which limit it failed, weight or size, since a bag can clear one and still fail the other.
Confirm your SkyMiles number was on the reservation, if you expected a free bag and were charged anyway. Elite and cardmember benefits attach to the account, not the payment method.
Check the ticket date against April 8, 2026, if the fee looked lower than expected online. Older bookings on unchanged itineraries can still carry the earlier price.
Open Track My Bags in the Fly Delta app before assuming a bag is lost. Most delayed bags show a location within the first few hours.
File a delayed-baggage report at the airport if the app shows no scan past your arrival airport, before you leave the baggage claim area.
Contact Delta afterward if a fee still looks wrong once you are off the aircraft, rather than disputing it again at a later checkpoint.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Delta charge for a checked bag?

$45 for the first bag and $55 for the second on domestic flights, since April 8, 2026. A third bag costs $200. Premium cabins, Medallion status and eligible Amex cards can waive some or all of that.

What's the weight limit for a checked bag on Delta?

50 pounds (23 kg) in Main Cabin and Comfort+, and 70 pounds (32 kg) in Delta One, Delta First, or for Medallion elite members on any fare.

Can you track where a Delta bag is?

Yes. The Fly Delta app shows real-time RFID scan updates from check-in through the arrivals carousel, plus a route map on US flights, using the bag tag number or e-ticket reference.

Does Basic Economy on Delta pay the same checked bag fee as Main Cabin?

Yes. Delta charges Basic Economy the same $45 first-bag and $55 second-bag rate as Main Cabin, unlike some airlines that add a Basic Economy surcharge.

How many free bags does Diamond Medallion status include?

Three free checked bags per person, each with a raised 70-pound weight allowance, extending to up to eight companions on the same reservation.

What happens if a Delta checked bag is over 50 pounds?

An extra $100 applies between 51 and 70 pounds, and an extra $200 between 71 and just under 100 pounds, on top of the base checked-bag fee. Delta refuses bags at 100 pounds or more outright.

In short

Delta kept its carry-on bag and personal item free on every fare, including Basic Economy, while every checked bag now costs more than it did before April 2026. The first bag rose to $45, the second to $55, and a third bag to $200.

Silver through Diamond Medallion, and the SkyMiles Amex cards, still avoid some or all of the checked-bag fee, with a heavier 70-pound allowance included. Size and weight limits held steady through the increase, and RFID tracking in the Fly Delta app covers a bag from check-in to the carousel.

Rules change without much notice. If something here no longer matches what you were told at the counter, tell us and we will correct it.