<p>ST – I’m amazed she only had one bag to check! D would have had 1 just for toiletries. :)</p>
<p>Daughter uses a wheeled duffle as a carryon and backpack. She spent 1 month in Equador, (islands to jungle) using this and it included hiking and some diving gear.</p>
<p>Yes, I don’t understand why she can’t just pay cash at the counter. Most of the time I travel, I just pay for bags when I check in at the airport (for some reason, a lot of times the site won’t let me check in online, even in the 24-hour window).</p>
<p>Yes, this is about the age that I got my Ds onto my credit card. With strict instructions on when they are allowed to use it, which they have always followed with no issues. But when I think about things like flights getting diverted or delayed, and them maybe needing to take cabs or buy extra meals, or even pay more for a change in a flight, it seemed like a good idea to get them a card. I realize that doesn’t help today. 
But glad you found a solution.</p>
<p>My older son does fine with our credit card. My middle child does NOT. His idea of “emergency” is “OMG, my stomach is rumbling so I need to buy $50 worth of food! NOW!” His part of the CC bill was hundreds of dollars. Needless to say, I took the card back from him.</p>
<p>Glad it got resolved, slithey. Maybe the reason the check-in process didnt have an option to pay for the bag is because you used mileage points and they didnt have a cr card attached to the reservation? Dunno. Just a thought.</p>
<p>Actually, our kids learned the “pack light” lesson at a very young age. One of my kids traveled for a full year using only a small carryon for his clothing/toiletries…ok…that was a boy. BUT DD just completed a 6 week trip and packed all of her needed items for the trip in an internal frame backpack that met carry on requirements. Oh…and this included her computer. She did have a checked bag but it was for.the two years worth of souvenirs and gifts she was bringing home.</p>
<p>Call me cheap…but we won’t pay for our kids to unnecessarily check bags. With the cost of checking bags, it’s good to learn how to pack lightly and take what you really need.</p>
<p>When youngest went to Africa for three weeks in high school, everyone was limited to a carry on because they used their checked baggage allotment for the donated computers they were bringing.
It helps to be heading for a climate that is warm, although since they had a long layover in Amsterdam, they still had to bring some warm clothes since it was February.
The plus was, they had all that room on the way home for souvenirs!</p>
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<p>It is not just the baggage fees or hassles regarding baggage fees, but also the possibility of misrouting of, loss of, theft of or from, or damage to checked baggage.</p>
<p>Misrouting checked baggage seems to be pretty common if you have to change flights after your flight is cancelled or severely delayed.</p>
<p>Not having checked baggage also means fewer delays collecting it at the end, or missing your connection if you have to wait to collect your checked baggage to show to customs between your flights (typical for international to domestic connection arriving in the US).</p>
<p>My d once called me from the check-in when her credit card did not work and I gave my credit card # to the agent over the phone. This was on Jet Blue and it was not during busy holiday season however.</p>
<p>Our S has the opportunity to check bags for free but always prefers to roll his aboard so it won’t get lost en route. I also prefer to carry my luggage aboard but H likes to check his bag. So far (knock wood), we have never lost our luggage, but it has been delayed a few times.</p>
<p>An extra advantage of NOT checking luggage is that if you want to catch an earlier or later flight, you have everything with you and the agents are MUCH more likely to work with you than if they have to find your bag. Traveling light is an art–so glad S has mastered it and the rest of us are trying hard to emulate him & keep up!</p>
<p>I am also MUCH more comfortable now that my kids have CCards. I got them on a special lower limit card with me when they first went away to college. The limit is high enough so that they COULD charge to rent a car, buy a plane ticket, make car repairs, pay things related to school or other emergencies as they arise. It has been good for my peace of mind, knowing they COULD charge their way out of a jam. A few times, with my permission, D has charged meals for her & friends so she could get cash from them so she didn’t need to use ATM when she didn’t have cash. Both of my kids have been very responsible with CCs and only charged very minimal things on it.</p>
<p>actually I should amend my earlier post as Jet Blue does not charge for baggage… in this case the charge was because the bag was overweight as this was end of semester/move out of dorm time, not a vacation. We had picked up most of d’s stuff earlier, she was sharing storage space with two friends and bringing the rest of the stuff home and so her bag ended up being overweight, so she did have to pay.</p>
<p>I can’t seem to master the “carry on only” trick. It would be one thing for my D when she is coming home because she doesn’t have to bring a lot of toiletries. We have them here. But when I have traveled for work and wished I could just carry on, I can never fit all of my liquids/gels/lotions into one 1 qt. ziplock bag. I would love to know how people do that. My contact solution alone uses a significant chunk of that space. Then the shampoo/conditioner, makeup, lotion, etc. To have enough for a week on business, it just won’t fit. What’s the secret? Do most people just buy it there? Use all the stuff provided by the hotel?</p>
<p>I try to buy small-sized items. We generally take our chances and don’t bring our own shampoo or conditioner, just use whatever the hotel supplies (knowing we could buy something if we can’t tolerate what the hotel offers). H brings travel solutions for his contacts. I bring a 3 ounce lotion & travel size toothpaste. I don’t use a quart ziplock–usually I use a zippered clear plastic bag that is AROUND the same size. If things don’t all fit into one ziplock (especially medications like cough medicine), I have been known to have TWO clear plastic bags and have NEVER had any TSA hassles about it. I don’t wear makeup, so don’t have to worry about that filling up my clear plastic allowance & most places DO offer travel size cosmetics as well. You can buy tubes that you can fill at Whole Foods and many other places.</p>
<p>I use bar shampoo. It works so well I don’t need conditioner, but my lotion also can be used as conditioner/ styling cream.
I do bring a small bottle of contact solution which is enough for in transit and if I have to I buy it at the destination.
I also collect small containers and fill them at home, & i have never had any trouble with having more than one bag as long as none of the liquid containers were larger than 3oz.</p>
<p>Also, some cosmetic counters offer free sample size containers with sample foundation that you can try. I’ve gotten a week’s worth of foundation in a very small sample container at a Macy’s Clinque display from a helpful salesclerk (about the size of a stack of 4 quarters). Neither I nor my family members have trouble fitting their liquids into a small zippered or ziplock container for TSA (except if I am also bringing liquid meds, which take up more space & are not counted as part of your luggage allowance).</p>
<p>I agree, sample sizes of everything. I have sample sized bottles of contact solution, I use a mineral powder foundation so that doesn’t need to go into the bag nor does any of the rest of my makeup-eyeliner, blush, etc. are not on the list of what needs to be packed in baggies, we don’t bring shampoo/conditioner. We either use what the hotel has or buy some when we get to our destination. We have small bottles for hair gel, etc. that we refill as needed. Last time we flew, I forgot to pull out my liquid bag and no one said anything :D. I actually had 2 bags for one flight not long ago and no one said anything. If we have liquid medicines or whatever, we put those in a separate baggy and pull that out as well. I’ve used gallon sized bags when I didn’t have any quart bags with no issue either. I also think that the bags they provide at the airport are larger than a ziplock quart bag.</p>
<p>Another shout out for mineral make up, which doesn’t have to go in the quart-sized bag. The tiny sample jars that Sephora gives out are perfect for eye cream and face cream. The small hotel-size shampoo and conditioner bottles last well over a week. Sunscreen is the only thing that can be challenging if I need more than facial coverage for a week or more.</p>
<p>We usually buy sunscreen at our destination, and just deal with the high cost. Although on my last trip I bought 3-oz travel bottles and filled a few with sunscreen. When I travel with my husband, I give him some of my liquid bottles (like the sunscreen) since he travels with far fewer liquids than I do.</p>
<p>I’ve also mastered the art of carry-on backing. About a year ago I bought ExOfficio underwear, which washes and dries really quickly. It’s expensive, but means bringing much less underwear, freeing up more bag space. I also keep a look out when I’m shopping for good travel items – like warm sweaters that are not bulky.</p>
<p>Of course, when we’re driving somewhere I bring six times what I need and fill the car trunk.</p>
<p>Prescription medications do not need to go in that one quart bag. They can travel in their own bag. I divide my make up…ONLY the liquids/gels go in the quart bag. Everything else gets its own spot, usually in my purse/tote bag. Contact solution comes in travel size bottles.</p>