How Much Does It Cost to Travel with Your Pet?

It just doesn’t seem right to leave your pet at home while you fly to Hawaii or drive down to Florida, especially if they would enjoy the destination as much as you do. It makes even less sense when boarding your pet costs an average of $50 per day. However, as more people travel with their pets, the industry is tightening up with rules, pet fees, and cleaning fees.

According to a reader survey conducted by The Points Guy and Airfarewatchdog, the primary reason travelers fly with their pet is because they can’t or won’t leave their pet at home. However, after paying multiple pet fees and, in some cases, post-travel cleaning fees, leaving your furry friend at home may be more cost effective.

Pet Fees on Airlines

One-way: $75-125

All three major US airlines, American, Delta, and United, transport cats and dogs, while Delta and United allow domestic birds and United allows rabbits. Each airline has age and breed restrictions for pets traveling in the cabin, and non-approved pets must travel below deck as a checked item.

All three major airlines charge $125 for a carry-on pet on domestic flights. Frontier Airlines charges only $75 one way, while Southwest Airlines charges $95 one way (and does not allow pets in cargo).

Travel by Train

Cost: $26 per segment, for a total of up to seven hours.

Amtrak, the country’s only long-distance intercity passenger train, allows cats and dogs weighing up to 20 pounds to travel with their owners. Amtrak allows one pet per customer and states that each train only accepts reservations for a total of five pets, so reservations should be made early to ensure your pet a spot.

Car Rentals

Cost: Generally free, but cleaning fees are expensive.

Rental car companies are wonderful about allowing pets to accompany their owners at no extra charge. Some companies, such as Enterprise, require pets to be crated while in the car, whereas Budget expressly states that pets are “invited to travel in your rental car, just as they do in your personal car.”

If this sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Rental car companies are notorious for charging exorbitant cleaning fees for pet hair, soilage, and damage. Kim Bruno told The Seattle Times that Budget charged him $285 for pet hair. According to Budget’s website, “Although Budget does not charge an additional fee for pets, pet owners will incur an additional charge for any damage caused by animals, or any special cleaning required as a result of shedding or accidents.”

Pet Fees at Hotels

Cost: $0-75 per night, plus a deposit or cleaning fee.

The key to staying overnight with your pet is to find a hotel that is pet-friendly. Westin Hotels & Resorts allows small to medium-sized dogs to stay overnight for free at 111 of their locations, while Best Western has over 1,600 pet-friendly locations, some of which accept cats and birds in addition to dogs. The Best Western charges up to $30 per day for each pet-friendly room, as well as a $150 refundable damage deposit per stay. Home2 Suites by Hilton accepts domestic pets of a certain size for a nightly fee that varies by hotel. According to BringFido, the pet fee at one Home2 Suites location was $75 per night.

Pet-friendly hotels exist, but pet owners must remain vigilant about cleaning up pet hair and crating their animals when they leave the room, as hotels will not hesitate to keep a deposit or charge your card on file an additional cleaning fee. “If you think upfront pet fees are bad, you don’t want to know about post-stay pet-related cleaning fees,” according to The Seattle Times.