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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: fees

fees stories: 18 news summaries
TRAVEL

For $249 Annual Fee, United Will Waive Bag Charges

Fee covers two bags per flight, and up to 8 passengers booked at same time

Oct 5, 09 9:32 PM CDT
(Newser) - Fly United frequently, or planning to use the airline for the next couple family vacations? For a $249 annual fee, United will waive fees for your first two checked bags—and it covers up to eight people traveling on the same booking. With a $20 charge for the first bag... More »

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airline industry • United Airlines • air travel • fees • baggage

Debit Card Overdrafts Bring Banks Billions

Fees make credit card shopping look like the smarter thing to do

Sep 9, 09 9:29 AM CDT
(Newser) - Debit card overdraft fees are helping to pay banks’ bills in the recession—and they're hitting customers hard, the New York Times reports. “Banks will let you overspend on your debit card in a way that is much, much more expensive than almost any credit card,” says an... More »

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bank • debit card • credit card • fees • regulator • overdraft fee

 Southwest 
 Adds $10 Fee 
 to Board Early 

Airline with no assigned seats starts charging for first dibs

Sep 2, 09 4:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - Southwest Airlines doesn’t assign seats, but now it will start charging for the privilege of finding the best one, the Dallas Morning News reports. For an extra $10, the new “EarlyBird Check-in” allows passengers to board first, or at least right after the Business Select and Rapid... More »

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airline industry • air travel • Southwest Airlines • boarding pass • airline passengers • fees • seating

Wall Street Rakes in $1B in Fees on AIG Breakup

Morgan Stanley set to pocket $250M in  'advisory services'

Aug 6, 09 7:18 AM CDT
(Newser) - The crumbling of AIG forced taxpayers to take on 80% of the company, but breaking the insurance giant up is turning out to be a bonanza for lawyers and banks. The Wall Street Journal calculates that firms will pull in $1 billion in fees from AIG and the Fed—one... More »

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insurance companies • Bank of America • Goldman Sachs • Morgan Stanley • IPO • AIG • fees • financial crisis • Wall Street bailout

Baggage Fees Soar as Fuel Prices Drop

Budget-conscious passengers cram overhead bins

Jun 22, 09 10:37 AM CDT
(Newser) - When airlines instituted new baggage fees, they said it was to offset high fuel prices. Since then, even though energy prices have fallen, the fees haven't gone anywhere but up. In the first quarter, airlines pulled in $566 million in fees, putting them on pace to double last year’s... More »

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airline industry • Southwest Airlines • fees • airlines • baggage

(Newser) - Ryanair’s CEO isn’t joking about ripping two of the three toilets out of his planes and charging for the use of the remaining one, the Guardian reports. “We are serious about it,” said Michael O’Leary, nicknamed “Michael O’Really” by industry skeptics. “... More »

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Europe • airline industry • Ryanair • bathroom • airplane • fees • Michael O'Leary

Fee Hikes at Bailed-Out Banks Spur Investigation

Interest rates as high as 30% raise questions about program's effectiveness

Apr 13, 09 7:08 AM CDT
(Newser) - Congressional overseers of the TARP program are investigating the lending practices of several of the banks they bailed out in response to complaints that the banks are raising interest rates and fees, the Wall Street Journal reports. Despite receiving billions in taxpayer dollars, Bank of America last week nearly doubled... More »

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Citigroup • Bank of America • loans • credit card • fees • consumer credit • interest rates • Elizabeth Warren

 Cash-Strapped Cities 
 Get Creative With Fees 

Governments turning to extra charges to fill budget holes

Apr 11, 09 8:04 AM CDT
(Newser) - Cities across America are taking a page from the airlines and charging for things that used to be part of the service, the New York Times reports. "Accident response fees" charging at-fault drivers for the cost of cleaning up crash scenes are catching on, and Washington, DC is considering... More »

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parking ticket • municipal services • US cities • fee increase • fees • municipal government

 Carry On! 
 Fewer Checked 
 Bags Cut 
 Lost Luggage 

Airlines lost 1.3M fewer bags last year as new fees convinced passengers to carry on

Mar 2, 09 2:05 AM CST
(Newser) - Through their relentless fees, airlines have managed to put the task of transporting often-lost luggage in much safer hands. Last year—as passengers carried aboard the baggage they previously checked for free—airlines lost 1.3 million fewer bags than in 2007, the Chicago Tribune reports. The 33% improvement was... More »

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airline industry • luggage • American Airlines • Southwest Airlines • fees • baggage handling • lost baggage • airlines

$700K in Fees Could Bring Panetta Scrutiny

CIA nom got speaking, consulting money from troubled banks

Feb 4, 09 4:03 PM CST
(Newser) - President Obama’s nominee to head the CIA could be the next to come under scrutiny after the Wall Street Journal reported today that Leon Panetta has made more than $700,000 in the past year in speaking and consulting fees—with some coming from troubled banks and an investment... More »

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CIA • consulting • fees • Leon Panetta • Obama administration • President Obama • Obama Cabinet

Hudson Survivors Nearly Charged Cancellation Fees

Passengers Spirit put on downed jet had uphill battle in getting out of return ticket

Jan 19, 09 3:21 PM CST
(Newser) - An airline that canceled its own flight and placed passengers on US Airways 1549 will not, after all, charge them for canceling their return trip, WTIC-TV reports. “I need your credit card number,” a passenger on the jet that ditched in the Hudson River recalls a representative of... More »

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US Airways • plane crash • Spirit Airlines • Hudson River • LaGuardia Airport • fees • flight cancellation • Flight 1549 • Hudson crash

 American Readies 
 Piecemeal Pricing 

'Unbundling' divides trip cost with fees for food, extras

Oct 6, 08 12:18 PM CDT
(AP) - American Airlines is about to accelerate the trend of breaking the cost of a trip into an airfare plus many smaller fees. Starting next year, American plans to imitate the a la carte pricing structure pioneered by Air Canada, airline officials say. There are likely to be a few basic... More »

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airline industry • American Airlines • airline ticket prices • Air Canada • fees

(Newser) - Surfers may be a laid-back lot, but they're riding a wave of anger at airlines that have begun charging upwards of $150 to check their boards, the LA Times reports. It's a gnarlier price hike than those levied on any other kind of sporting equipment, surfers note, calling for... More »

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airline industry • surfing • surfboard • fees

 Let the Carry-On Wars Begin 

Checked-bag fees will lead to a crush in the overhead bins

Jun 17, 08 4:35 PM CDT
(Newser) - With United, American, and US Airways all instituting charges for both first and second checked bags, a carry-on crunch is coming, the Wall Street Journal reminds us. Expect the baggage police to start heading off patrons flouting the cabin limit at security screenings. Airlines hope to to fight overcrowding in... More »

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cost cutting • US Airways • United Airlines • American Airlines • fees • fuel costs • baggage handling • airlines

 United Adopts $15
 Checked-Bag Charge

Carrier joins American; industry passing oil costs to consumer

Jun 12, 08 11:02 AM CDT
(AP) - United Airlines will follow rival American Airlines in charging $15 for a first checked bag. The new fee was announced today, 3 weeks after American set the precedent. United says the fee affects customers who buy tickets beginning tomorrow for domestic flights Aug. 18 or later. More »

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airline industry • United Airlines • luggage • airline • American Airlines • oil price • surcharge • fees • fuel costs

FCC to Examine Cancellation Fees for Cable, Phone, Web

Agency responding to consumer complaints

May 31, 08 1:02 PM CDT
(Newser) - The FCC says next month’s hearing on cell phone cancellation fees may also include similar charges leveled by cable and Internet providers. Chairman Kevin Martin hopes the hearing will ease consumer tension over the fees, which were among cell phone users’ five most common complaints last year, the More »

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FCC • Verizon • cell phone industry • Sprint • Kevin Martin • fees • AT&T • T-Mobile

OPINION

AA Should Bag Boneheaded Luggage Fee

Or face more delays, lost baggage, and longer security lines

May 29, 08 6:28 AM CDT
(Newser) - American Airlines’ plan to charge passengers $15 to check a bag is likely to cost the carrier more money than it generates, Joe Brancatelli argues in Portfolio. “Not only will it infuriate flyers—who are already annoyed with American’s lousy operating efficiency and its recent maintenance snafus—it’... More »

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airline industry • luggage • American Airlines • flight attendants • airline delays • fees • lost baggage

Do New eBay Rules Sell
Out Sellers?

Changes are meant to reward big auctioneers, but may hurt others

Jan 30, 08 4:24 PM CST
(Newser) - Newly announced changes to eBay sellers’ fees do not always benefit auctioneers—and the backlash among them has already begun. “This is clearly not a straight fee decrease,” says the editor of AuctionBytes. Indeed, in some cases, sellers wind up paying as much s 33% more. More »

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eBay • auction • fees • AuctionBytes • Amazon.com

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