Secret 'Holiday Fees' Are About to Make Flying That Much Worse

It's a difficult task to actually make holiday travel worse, but never fear, Spirit is here with its friend Frontier to compound the stress until you have a Griswold-worthy breakdown. The already fee-ridden airlines are adding another big "Bah-humbug" to their steep baggage penalties just in time for the holidays: the aptly named "holiday fees."

Spirit did this last year, so it'll come as no surprise to regular customers (why are you a regular customer?) that the airline's charging an extra $2 to already existing checked luggage fees from the period of December 16, 2015 to January 4, 2016. Upon booking, you may not even notice the increase unless you play around with baggage calculator, trying out different dates and checking out the fees.

Frontier is also pulling a fast one with minimal warning, adding fine print to its fees page, which details fees up to $10 extra for checked and carry-on luggage. These extra fees apply throughout the holiday season and also run into the peak Spring travel season. The exact periods run from November 19, 2015 to January 5, 2016; February 11, 2016 to April 4, 2016; and June 9, 2016 to August 16, 2016. It wouldn't at all surprising to hear these airlines also plan to leave a lump of coal in your seatback pocket.

When forced to book with one of these budget carriers to make tasting mom's turkey financially feasible, be sure to note the little extras. Otherwise, you might have to start a collection bucket like those Salvation Army people with ringing bells every winter.

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Kara King is a New Writer at Thrillist and airlines are the reason she has trust issues. Send news tips to news@thrillist.com and follow her at @karatillie.