United Airlines · fees checked 2026-10-22
United Airlines fees: bags, seats and card fees
What United Airlines's fares include and what the extras really cost, from United Airlines's own website. Prices in AUD per person. Anything United Airlines doesn't publish, we say so rather than guess.
Basic Economy fare includes
a 7 kg cabin bag, a 23 kg checked bag
no free seat choice, a meal
Checked bag
from $172
online, Australia – U.S. (trans-Pacific); at the airport from $172
Choosing a seat
not published
Paying
no card fee published
free: No card fee is published on united.com/en/au; not verified in the booking flow
Every United Airlines fee
See real prices on United Airlines| Fare type | Cabin | Checked | Seat | Meal | Change | Cancel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic Economy (transpac) | 7 kg | 1 × 23 kg | paid | ✓ | no | credit |
| United Economy | 7 kg | 1 × 23 kg | not published | ✓ | free | not published |
| Extra | Australia – U.S. (trans-Pacific) |
|---|---|
| Checked bag online, 23 kg per direction | $172 |
| Checked bag online, 23 kg per direction | $430 |
| Checked bag at airport, 23 kg per direction | $172 |
Paying: no card fee published. Free: No card fee is published on united.com/en/au; not verified in the booking flow.
- Across the Pacific even Basic Economy includes a carry-on and one checked bag, but you can't choose a seat without paying and you can't change the flight (uaBasic).
- Cancel a Basic Economy ticket after the first 24 hours and you only get a partial travel credit, not cash (uaBasic).
- A second checked bag between Australia and the U.S. costs AU$172 each way, and a third AU$430 (uaBagCalc).
- If you connect onward in the U.S. on the same ticket, the bag fee is charged once for the whole one-way journey, not per flight (uaCheckedBags).
Sources
uaBagCalc · United: Checked bag fee calculator (Any flights) · checked 2026-10-22 · Run for SYD-LAX, MEL-SFO, SYD-IAH, Economy, General member, departing 10 Dec 2026, AUD. Economy and Basic Economy: 1st bag AU$0, 2nd AU$172 (standard and prepaid), 3rd AU$430; 23 kg, 157 cm per bag.
uaBasic · United: Basic Economy · checked 2026-10-22 · Carry-on free across the Pacific; one free checked bag on 'most' trans-Pacific flights; seat assigned by United (pay to choose); food same as Economy; no changes; cancel after 24 h = partial travel credit. United Economy: free carry-on and 'change your flight after booking with no fees'.
uaCheckedBags · United: Checked bags · checked 2026-10-22 · Economy bags max 23 kg. The fee from your starting point to your last stop applies for connections. Bag fees between the U.S. and Asia/Europe etc. rose for tickets bought from 12 May / 21 Jul 2026.
uaCarryOn · United: Carry-on bags · checked 2026-10-22 · Carry-on 23 x 35 x 56 cm plus personal item 22 x 25 x 43 cm. No weight limit stated.
Bands: Australia – U.S. (trans-Pacific) (up to 15,000 km, e.g. SYD-LAX, SYD-SFO).