Passengers can pay 30% more for a flight on a budget airline if they check in a bag and use a credit card, according to consumer publication Which? Holiday.

Prices from four of the UK’s major budget carriers – easyJet, Ryanair, bmibaby and Jet2 – were compared on flights to four destinations, including extra charges for paying with a credit card and checking in one item of luggage.

The following figures are based on two passengers booking on a credit card and checking in one item of luggage between them.

The survey found that Ryanair charges an extra £50 on all routes for checking in a bag and using a credit card – representing an increase of between 8% and 29% on the advertised fare.

Flights to Paris and Malaga with bmibaby went up by 25% and 23% respectively with these charges.

EasyJet was found to have the lowest luggage and card charges of the four airlines, with an average of £26-£38 being added to the initial price.

Jet2 recorded the highest individual extra charge, £92.16, on a flight to Rome, but this was only 10% above the advertised flight price.

Rochelle Turner, head of research for Which? Holiday, said: “It’s hard to believe that any airline could justify increasing the ticket price by almost a third just for checking a bag into the hold and paying on a credit card – two services that not too long ago were included in the headline price.”

An easyJet spokesman said: “At easyJet, you only pay for the service you use and only those who choose the voluntary extras are charged for those extras.

“Handling hold baggage does increase costs to the airline which is why we pass this on to the passengers.”