--- title: 'Most-hated-fees contest: The championship round' description: Well, here we are, folks. It's time for the frustrating-fee finals. The summation of our surcharge smackdown. Following up on a story in the July… authors: - name: timestaff url: https://money.com/author/timestaff/ articles: 459 covers: - Personal Finance - Banking - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes former_staff: true published: '2010-06-25T20:42:00.000Z' modified: '2020-07-07T10:22:25.000Z' section: Personal Finance word_count: 272 canonical: https://money.com/most-hated-fees-contest-the-championship-round/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Most-hated-fees contest: The championship round](https://money.com/img/logo-social.png) Well, here we are, folks. It's time for the frustrating-fee finals. The summation of our surcharge smackdown. Following up on a story in the July issue of Money about [15 irritating fees — and how to avoid them](http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2010/moneymag/1006/gallery.reader_fees.moneymag/index.html) — the More Money blog has asked readers to pick what they think are the most frustrating surcharges out of all the fees levied by banks, airlines and other companies that people do business with. Over the past two weeks, through five initial heats and two semifinal matches, visitors to the blog have voted for their least-favorites, narrowing down the field of [15 outrageous fees](http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2010/moneymag/1006/gallery.reader_fees.moneymag/index.html) to the two finalists going head-to-head today. Now it's time to vote for one of these two championship contenders: - **Being charged for not charging:** A few credit-card issuers are levying fees on customers for not spending enough. Citibank, for example, charges certain cardholders $60 if they don't charge at least $2,400 within a year. (For more about this fee, [click here](http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2010/moneymag/1006/gallery.reader_fees.moneymag/index.html). Also note that the Federal Reserve Board last week [issued a rule banning these fees](http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/press/bcreg/20100615a.htm), effective August 22.) - **Handing over big bucks to check baggage:** Most airlines are charging between $15 and $45 for your first checked bag on domestic flights, and at least $25 for your second. It can cost even more if you don't prepay online. (For more about this fee, and how to fight it, [click here](http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2010/moneymag/1006/gallery.reader_fees.moneymag/10.html).) Cast your ballot below for the fee you find more outrageous, and help us crown The Most-Hated Fee of All. You can add your comments as well. *Follow the More Money blog on Twitter at [http://twitter.com/moremoneyblog](http://twitter.com/moremoneyblog)*. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/most-hated-fees-contest-the-championship-round/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Personal Finance", "item": "https://money.com/personal-finance/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Expenses", "item": "https://money.com/expenses/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Most-hated-fees contest: The championship round" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/most-hated-fees-contest-the-championship-round/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/most-hated-fees-contest-the-championship-round/", "name": "Most-hated-fees contest: The championship round", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2010-06-25T20:42:00.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/most-hated-fees-contest-the-championship-round/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/most-hated-fees-contest-the-championship-round/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2020-07-07T10:22:25.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "Most-hated-fees contest: The championship round", "articleSection": "Personal Finance", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://money.com/img/logo-social.png", "width": 300, "height": 300 } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "timestaff", "url": "https://money.com/author/timestaff/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/timestaff/#author" } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2010-06-25T20:42:00.000Z", "description": "Well, here we are, folks. 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