ATLANTA -- A new bill in Congress would require airlines to clearly disclose all the extra fees they tack onto our tickets, and that includes luggage fees.

Consumer advisor Clark Howard said rather than pay extra luggage fees at the airport, you should not check a bag. He hasn't checked a bag since 1979.

But, if you really can't fit all of your items into a small carry-on, Clark found that in some cases, it can be cheaper to ship your bag than to take it to the airport.

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WEB EXTRA: Airline Baggage Policies: Airtran's Baggage Policy | Delta's Baggage Policy | United's Baggage Policy | Continental's Baggage Policy | U.S. Airways's Baggage Policy | U.S. Airways's Baggage Policy | FedEx Rate Comparison | UPS Rate Comparison

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Clark's consumer team did some research and found that if you have one standard-sized checked bag, there's not much difference between checking a bag and shipping it.

The big difference comes if you have an overweight or oversized bag.

Clark's team planned a hypothetical trip to Disney World and packed a hypothetical suitcase with 55 pounds of stuff. That makes the bag overweight and subject to overweight charges.

At Airtran, the cost to check that bag would be $65. At Delta: $113.

But if you shipped it UPS ground, the cost would be $34.69, And at FedEx, a mere $30.67.

Clark said there's one more reason to consider shipping rather than checking a bag. If you check a bag with the airlines, Clark said the airline has tons of exclusions in what it will cover if the bag is lost.

Clark said it's easy for you to find the cheapest deal on getting your luggage somewhere. All it takes is a little homework.

First, weight and measure your bag so you know if it's overweight or oversized. (For instance, at Airtran, if the bag is more than 61 inches and 50 pounds, it's not standard sized.)