Load Off Your Shoulders: Luggage Tips for Traveling
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© 2012 by Aurelio Locsin.
Like all smart travelers, you pack light so that your carry-on can avoid the airline’s ever-growing baggage charges. But despite your best intentions, sometimes a long trip such as a cruise requires that you bring luggage. This increases the chances that your possessions may be lost or stolen. Here are some tips to minimize those disasters.
Buy garish, wildly decorated luggage.
Durability and visibility should be your main concerns when choosing a bag, not fashion. A sturdy hard case colored in shocking pink with purple flowers will stand out in a sea of black and dark brown bags on a carousel. Such bold colors minimize the chance that anyone accidentally picks up your baggage. Thieves also avoid such pieces as being too noticeable.
Decorate your drag bags with stickers.
You can buy stickers at a craft shop or educational store. They can make your drab bags stand out so you can easily find them. Look for patterns that are large, simple, brightly colored and reflective. Cover all areas of the bag because you never know what side will be visible.
Keep a copy of the receipt.
Put copies of the bag receipt with your bag, with your travel documents, and with a friend or relative. Also put digital versions on your smartphone or in a public filespace that you can access with the Internet. If your carrier damages your bag, they need that receipt to reimburse you for the cost of the bag. Otherwise, they pay you a fixed amount that may not cover the cost of replacement.
Check replacement policies.
Browse the replacement policies of your carrier, which are listed on the ticket or on its websites. You may be surprised to learn that they cover only the depreciated cost of your possessions if you have receipts for them, or pay a few cents per pound of luggage weight, if you don’t have receipts.
Check with your homeowners insurance to see their replacement policies. Most cover items lost or stolen on trips, but only after you pay your deductible. If none of these coverages prove adequate, you can also buy trip insurance, which is typically offered when you buy your ticket.
Put identification inside and outside your bag.
This increases the odds that your bag eventually gets back to you. But never put your home address, or thieves may take advantage of your absence to travel to your house. Instead, put the address of your workplace, or of a friend or relative who will still be at home during your trip.
Put a copy of your itinerary inside and outside your bag.
This information should include the addresses and phone numbers of where you are staying, and the dates you’re going to be there. If your carrier recovers your bag during your trip, they can try and send it to where you are, so you can still use it.
Take pictures of all the items that you pack.
Leave copies of with trusted friends or relatives. Also keep copies with you, separate from the bag, and upload digital versions to a public file space that you can access from your smartphone or an Internet cafe. Not only will these photos help you track your possessions, you can use them as evidence of what you own if your luggage is lost or stolen.
Watch your bags.
Do not leave your bags unattended even for the few seconds it takes to make a phone call or buy a snack. If you eat a meal at the airport, keep your luggage on a chair away from the public path. As an additional precaution, loop the shoulder strap around a chair arm or table leg.
Until your carrier takes physical possession of your belongings, you are responsible for them. If they get lost or stolen before you check them in, then you have no recourse except with your insurance.
If you have additional luggage tips, please put them in the Comments box below.
Alocsin's Travel Hubs
- Finding the Best Airline Seats When Flying Economy Class
Find the best seats on any airplane based on your preferences. - Frugal Flying: Short-Term and Long-Term Strategies for Finding the Lowest Airfares
What are the best strategies to use for lowering your airfare? - Train Lovers’ Southern California: What to See If You Revere the Rails
If you love railroading, then Southern California offers many attractions you'll enjoy. - Discover the Secrets of Comfort in Airline Economy Class Part 1
Airline economy class frightens with the nightmare of tired and hungry passengers packed into sardine-can quarters on lengthy limb-numbing ordeals. Following a few easy tips can elevate the experience to something more comfortable. - Discover the Secrets of Comfort in Airline Economy Class Part 2
This is a continuation of part 1 of Discover the Secret of Comfort in Airline Economy Class. This part 2 covers tips you can follow after you’ve boarded the plane.
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I think this is great information. Haven't traveled in a while but when I do, I'll know how not to be the new sob story on the news. Thanks for sharing!
I have a bright pink bow permanently tied to my suitcase so it's easily identified on the luggage carousel.
It has served me well - when my suitcase was mis tagged on a flight and ended up on a later flight, it was the bow that later helped me to identify it with the airport baggage handlers and get it returned to me, albeit two days later :)
Superb traveling tips!! Impressive lay-out with your hub!! Voted UP!
I'll have to remember this the next time I travel. Though I admit I've actually contemplated wearing 5 outfits at once just to avoid the baggage fees. :D
I havent traveled long distance before but I am planning a trip cross coutry this summer...I will need luggage and hopefully I wont lose it! You can bet your paycheck I will buy the most colorful garish luggage possible (because thats just my personality) AND I will put my itinerary inside and outside my bags - so THEY can find me if we get parted :) Awesome Hub!
Walk down the hallway of a cruise ship about the time everyone leaves their luggage out to be picked up at the end of the cruise. Are you kidding? Look at all the black and blue luggage out there. I love the color red, but now red is a standard luggage color, too. Besides crocheting,knitting or just plain tying a strip of colorful, fuzzy yarn and attaching it to the handle of your luggage, put a big "X" of duck tape on the back of the luggage. The tape comes in all kinds of colors and designs, now, so you can spot your luggage as it comes onto the airport carousel. How many times have you grabbed a bag that you thought was your own?
Voted up, useful, and interesting. Alocsin, these are some great tips for sure. I never thought about buying bright colored luggage, but when I now think about it, it makes sense. Valuable tips and a great informative article. Well done. Enjoy the day my friend and see you around.
Great advice. I would keep a copy of your important stuff (passport, credit cards, etc) hidden in some pocket in your main luggage since, when you check in to your hotel, it's the least likely thing to get stolen. If your backpack/handbag gets stolen, those copies will come in useful for cancellation and replacement.
Great advice! I also learned the hard way that you need to file a claim for damage or loss BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE AIRPORT! Do they think we unpack our bags right at the carousel? An airline destroyed a bag I had (it was crushed), but it didn't disintegrate until I got it to the hotel & opened it.
Advice we can all use when we travel. I like your idea of purchasing wild crazy looking luggage that will identify your belongings quickly in a sea of bags, boxes and luggage coming off a conveyor belt. I tie bright shoestrings around our luggage handles which make them easy to spot. I also would suggest buying durable but inexpensive luggage. They do get tossed around and are quickly damaged.
Alocsin great advice! I have similar cautions on my page but never thought of brightly colored luggage. I tend to be a bit conservative and stick to animal tags. I love your idea I will look for colorful bags from now on and like the RealHouseWife says "Save the pennies and go for durable and different:)" Thanks everyone for sharing.
Angie
Alocsin, these are great tips. I see that you are truly a savvy traveller. Voted Up and useful.
All of those who commented already praised your useful ideas...so I will just second them. Great advice for those new to traveling, or a good reminder for those who may not have thought about all of these things. Better to be safe than sorry! Up, useful and this one needs to be shared! Also tweeted so that more can learn from this.
Thanks to everyone.
Love your ideas AND your photos!
Brightly coloured bags with stickers on it. It is a bright idea. I encountered some problems while travelling with kids becuase of too many pieces of luggage.
Thanks for the tips
Thanks for SHARING.
Very informative hub. As a traveler, I second the tips of yours. Voted up and SHARED.
Nice tips. :) I always travel light after the incident with my mom luggage which was loaded on a different plane. She did got it back after 3 weeks. I have this mentality if you can buy it easily (affordable) then there is no need to pack it.
These are great tips. i have been decorating my luggage so I can find it, but I hadn't been taking photos of my belongings. I will from now on.
This hub will come in handy for my trip to Puerto Rico!!! Voted up!!!
I hope you write a hub about your PR trip.
Hi, perfect hub for this time of year when people are beginning to go on their vacations, great tips, I especially like the multi colored bags that nobody are likely to steal, voted and shared! nell
I love the idea of photographing the contents--Thanks!
RealHousewife Level 8 Commenter 3 months ago
All great advice - and I learned it the had way! Lol I travel as much as I can...so you hit on a few nerves because I've encountered a few issues!
I wanted to add one thing if you don't mind!
Do not spend a ton of money on fancy designer luggage! The handlers throw it around - it gets tossed during the flight too! I can always tell when someone isn't seasoned and they show up with their fancy light colored bags that look beautiful. After one trip - the grease and grime begins to show! Lol. Save the pennies and go for durable and different:)
I'm going to TX is a couple weeks so this time I'm going to make a big X with the new fancy colored duck tape;)
Excellent hub for travelers!