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16 Items You Should Never Pack In Checked Luggage
Packing for a trip is an art form, isn’t it? You’ve got to fit your entire life into tiny little bags while pretending you’re a minimalist. But here’s the thing – checked luggage? It’s basically a black hole with a zipper.
Once you hand it over, who knows what’s going on behind those airport curtains. And trust me, there are certain things you should never, under any circumstances, throw into that abyss. I mean, unless you enjoy playing travel roulette with your valuables or personal sanity.
Stick around, and you’ll thank yourself later.
Oh, and when you’re done reading, drop a comment on MSN. If anyone has a lost luggage horror story, it’s absolutely you, right?
Cash And Credit Cards
Handing over cash and credit cards in a checked bag? Bold move, friend. Here’s the thing – if that bag goes missing (and by “if,” I mean “when,” because baggage claim waits for no one), you’re basically funding a stranger’s vacation.
Airlines? They won’t cover the loss. They’ll politely shrug while you’re left plotting revenge on luggage mix-ups. Plus, do you really trust your leather wallet to survive the underbelly of the plane, where bags face more abuse than an expired gym membership? Keep your cash, credit cards, and dignity safely on your person. You don’t want to explain to your bank why your card is suddenly buying jet skis in another country.
Jewelry And Valuables
Want your grandmother’s ring to star in its own adventure movie? No? Good, then don’t pack it in a checked bag. Luggage handlers are hardworking people, but your bag isn’t exactly being escorted under lock and key… it’s one bad toss away from disaster.
And thieves? They’re like magicians but less entertaining, because poof – your diamond earrings are gone! Airlines won’t take responsibility either, even if your receipts are laminated and handwritten by the Queen herself. If it’s shiny, pricey, or sentimental enough to make you cry on a Monday, keep it within your reach.
Electronics (Laptops, Cameras)
Electronics and the cargo hold go together about as well as cats and water. Your laptop probably doesn’t enjoy extreme temperatures, jolts, or being stacked under someone’s 80-pound souvenir snow globe. And surprise, surprise – airlines don’t cover electronics in lost luggage either.
And if your expensive camera finds its way into sticky fingers, well, there goes your chance at travel photography greatness (or just documenting your cat at home). Also, fragile stickers are more like decoration for bags; no one’s reading them. Keep your precious gadgets where you can see them, and don’t force your laptop to learn acrobatics in your absence.
Medications
Raise your hand if you enjoy playing the “How Long Can I Survive Without My Important Pills?” game. No one? Exactly. Checked bags and medications don’t mix, because once that bag takes off on its solo mission to Aruba while you’re grounded in Denver, you’re left scrambling for a Plan B.
Pharmacies are great, but not all medications are replaceable at the drop of a hat. Plus, nothing will test your patience at an airport like explaining why you urgently need a prescription while digging through travel insurance policies. Keep your medications close and save yourself the headache… you might not even have the aspirin to deal with it if your bag is halfway across the globe.
Keys
Few things say “welcome home” like realizing your house or car keys are somewhere between Terminal B and a mysterious warehouse full of unclaimed luggage. Tossing keys into a checked bag is the ultimate shortcut to realizing you didn’t plan enough for your trip’s grand finale – getting home.
Lost luggage is bad enough, but losing access to your car or house? That’s next-level chaos. You’ll either befriend a locksmith at 3 a.m. or become shockingly good at sleeping on your own porch. Save yourself the drama by keeping keys in your carry-on or your pocket. Life’s complicated enough without ending your trip stranded on your driveway, staring at your suitcase like it owes you an apology.
Fragile Items
Packing fragile items in your checked luggage is the ultimate gamble… you’re basically challenging airport baggage handlers to an extreme round of “Will It Survive?” The answer is usually no. Those water bottles marked “fragile” or the bubble wrap fortress you built around that souvenir vase? Not gonna save it from the conveyor belt rodeo or suitcase Tetris happening in the cargo hold.
Turns out, your great-aunt’s antique tea set would be safer in a toddler’s hands during a sugar rush. Keep anything breakable in your carry-on, where you (the paranoid protector) can ensure its survival.
Lit Lighters Or E-Cigarettes
Here’s the thing about throwing lighters or e-cigarettes into your checked bag – they’re basically tiny, portable fire hazards. It’s not that the airlines are being dramatic here; having those items confined to baggage compartments mixes about as well as pineapple on pizza (look, don’t fight me).
Toss one of these bad boys in your checked luggage, and congratulations… you’re now onboard with the “spontaneous combustion roulette” team. Just don’t. Instead, if you really can’t travel without your vape or lighter, carry them on. Security might make a face at your metallic contraption, but at least you won’t be the reason the plane gets an impromptu stopover because somebody smelled burning luggage.
Expensive Cosmetics Or Perfumes
You know what sounds fun? Spending $120 on a luxury perfume only to have it leak all over your suitcase, turning everything into a designer-scented disaster zone. Oh, wait, no, it doesn’t. Checked luggage is a black hole of chaos for your fancy cosmetics and fragile perfumes.
Not only do items tend to “disappear” (read: we don’t question baggage thieves with good taste), but the temperature swings down in the cargo hold could make even the toughest products revolt. Want to avoid living out the rest of your trip makeup-free with scented socks? Keep those bougie beauty products in your carry-on.
Eyeglasses And Contact Lenses
Ever tried getting through a busy airport while blind? It’s a special kind of energy you don’t need in your life. And if you tuck your prescription glasses or contacts into your checked baggage, you’re just tempting fate.
Bags get lost faster than you can say “gate check,” and then it’s you, blurry airport signs, and bumping into strangers. Contacts? Probably gathering dust in some baggage warehouse. Glasses? Smashed into a Picasso painting by your shampoo bottle. Solution? Keep those precious vision aids on you like they’re the last slice of pizza at your cousin’s wedding.
Lithium Batteries
Lithium batteries don’t just spark joy; they spark literal fires if mishandled. And guess what? Shoving them into checked baggage is an international “nope” because cargo holds aren’t designed to handle sudden combustion.
That power bank your phone clings to for dear life? Keep it in your carry-on if you don’t want to star in a mid-air disaster drama. Airlines (and the FAA) take these things seriously, so paying attention here isn’t optional. Your devices’ batteries staying by your side makes for a much safer flight and one less thing to stress about. Because, let’s face it… an in-flight movie’s awkward enough without worrying the fire alarm might interrupt the snack cart.
Tickets To Events Or Attractions
You’ve waited months, maybe years, to see that Broadway show or attend the championship game, and now you’re about to bet all your chips on the checked luggage lottery? Bold move. Problem is, paper tickets don’t grow on trees, and some electronic ones have quirks that don’t play nice with “Oops, my bag’s in Bermuda” scenarios.
Lose these, and even the nicest customer service rep won’t conjure up entrance to that once-in-a-lifetime experience. Keep them in your carry-on, along with your passport and other essential paperwork. It’s one thing to misplace sunglasses, but handing over a fortune for scalped replacements (not to mention convincing anyone you’re not the sketchy one) is another story entirely.
Specialty Sports Gear
Planning an epic climb or underwater adventure? Well, good luck pulling it off with rental gear that’s either designed for someone else or looks straight out of the last century. Those perfectly broken-in climbing shoes or your prized, high-tech dive computer aren’t just gear – they’re your lifeline.
If your checked bag decides to tour the world solo, you’re left staring at a rental option that screams, “Don’t even think about trusting me at 200 feet.” Sure, some stores might accommodate, but only if you’ve got time to spare and don’t mind burning through travel funds.
Heirlooms And Sentimental Items
Your grandmother’s locket, your dad’s old watch, or that slightly lopsided painting your kid made – they’re worth more than all the airline’s lost baggage reimbursement policies combined. Stowing these treasures in your checked luggage is basically giving fate a license to toy with your emotions.
If someone offers you $100 in compensation for a family heirloom, go ahead and laugh… then cry because that’s all you’re getting. Heirlooms aren’t replaceable, period. Keep them close, tucked safely in your carry-on, so you can keep the family drama limited to Thanksgiving dinners.
Original Art Or Creative Work
You’re not just carrying colored pencils or canvases – you’re lugging around your magnum opus, your deeply personal brilliance. That sketchbook or journal might not mean much to anyone else, but it’s the culmination of your midnight brainstorms, your coffee-fueled creativity, and probably a few bad doodles.
Now imagine it being flung around an airport conveyor belt, only to arrive bent, torn, or just missing. If you’re an artist, losing your work feels like losing a piece of yourself, and don’t expect the airline to reimburse “priceless genius.” Play it smart… the world deserves your art, and a checked bag definitely doesn’t deserve your talent.
Hearing Aids And Accessories
These little gadgets might as well be called life-savers on steroids. Without them, conversations turn into charades, and every sound becomes the auditory equivalent of staring into a fog. Now, imagine trusting these delicate, expensive miracles to a checked bag. Spoiler: your bag loves to take scenic tours of Los Angeles while you’re stuck in Chicago.
Hearing aids aren’t just pricey; they’re fragile. One bump in the wrong direction, and you’re left with a pile of plastic sadness. And sure, airlines will shrug sympathetically, but good luck convincing them that replacing your hearing is worth more than an economy ticket.
Hard Drives Or USBs With Important Data
Your entire life’s work, two million cat photos, and that one oddly specific Excel file you spent hours perfecting – all living on a portable pocket-sized time bomb. Hard drives and USBs are basically treasure chests of digital gold, but trust the airline to treat them like rocks.
If you’re thinking, “Eh, my suitcase is padded,” prepare yourself for the ultimate heartbreak when your baggage mimics a tumbleweed across the tarmac. Data loss isn’t just frustrating, it’s catastrophic. Especially when that master thesis or business proposal decides it’s had enough of this cruel world. And thieves? Oh, they love a USB buffet. So keep this tech jackpot close.
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