American joins the bag-fee increase parade

American Airlines joined other carriers in announcing an increase in its fees for checked bags, effective Aug. 14. A first checked bag will now cost $20 and a seocnd one $30. American is not giving a $5 discount to passengers who check in and pay bag fees online, as US Airways and others are doing. American has a long list of exceptions for those who don't have to pay the bag fees on its Web site,

» READ MORE: www.aa.com

,, using a homepage link that says "Important changes to checked bag charges."