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Home > Travel Tips to keep your luggage safe

There’s an art to travelling. For those that travel regularly, it may all be second nature. But for those of us who only fly maybe once or twice a year, here are some helpful tips on how to enjoy a stress free journey.
  1. Make sure your Bags Reunited membership is up to dateCheck all your details are correct and that you have a credit ready. That way you are covered, should the worst happen.
    • Check all your holiday documents are in order
      • Passports: These usually need to have six months to run from the date of your entry into another country.
      • Travel insurance: This is compulsory and needs to cover you until your return to your home country. If you are travelling in the European Union, apply for a European Health Insurance Card. You can pick up a form at a Post Office.
      • Visas: Check if you need them for your destination and make sure you apply in plenty of time. Also check whether you will have to pay a “visitor tax” on arrival at your destination. Turkey, for example, does levy a charge on each tourist or visitor which must be paid in Sterling on arrival.
      • Health: Make sure you know what vaccinations are required or recommended for the country you are visiting. You can check by visiting www.fco.gov.uk, or www.hpa.org.uk.
    • Make sure your luggage is up to the job
      • Make sure you protect everything with a Bags Reunited label. Print off as many as you need and put one in your bag, one on your bag and one in your wallet.
      • You can use Bags Reunited labels on small, individual items as well, such as iPods or cameras. That way, if they go missing, they have the best possible chance of being returned to you. And remember, by using your labels, you are dramatically cutting down on security risks to you and your luggage as your address is not there for all to see.
      • Check what size and weight of hand and hold luggage you are allowed to take on board. An overpacked bag can land you with an excess luggage charge and literally burst its seams, strewing your holiday essentials in its wake.
      • Check all your luggage’s fastenings are working and always use locks, keeping the keys handy in case your cases are inspected.
      • Personalise your bag – it makes it easier to spot in the baggage reclaim area. A brightly coloured ribbon works just as well as those embroidered name straps you can buy.
      • Keep all your valuable items, such as travel documents, cash, traveller’s cheques and jewellery in your hand luggage. Travel stores offer products such as money belts to conceal valuables.
      • Anything that could be considered a possible weapon, such as scissors, knives or even tweezers, needs to go in your luggage destined for the hold.
      • Make an inventory of items packed in each bag. This will help the airlines to find your luggage.
      • Put extra identification and a copy of your itinerary, which you can print out from your Itinerary page on the Bags Reunited site, inside your bag.
    • On the move
      • Always check the label on your airline luggage has the correct final destination, otherwise it could be off-loaded at a stopover point. If you don't know the three-letter ID for your city, ask the check-in agent.
      • When you get your bag tag stubs with the UPC bar code, put them in a safe place immediately. They are your receipt and proof that your bag was checked in. When you collect your bags at your destination, check the numbers match – if they don’t, the bag is not yours.
      • Never leave luggage unattended and always keep an eye on it. If you must put it on the floor, hook your feet through any strap to keep it secure. Opportunistic thieves can strike at any time.
      • Head straight for the baggage claim as soon as you can on arrival otherwise or you may find items have already disappeared when you get there.
      • Once you have collected your luggage make sure it stays with you throughout the transfer to your hotel. See that it is put on your coach, brought into your hotel and taken to your room.
      • When you have unpacked at your destination, make sure you use either the room safe or hotel safe for your holiday money, important documents and other valuable items. And don’t use those “Please Clean Room” door hangers as it alerts people that you are not in the room.
    • If the worst happens
      • If your luggage does not arrive in the baggage claim area, find the baggage agent on duty immediately. Your luggage may have already arrived, particularly if you had a stopover.
      • If it has gone missing DO NOT leave the airport until you have filled in all the necessary paperwork for the baggage agent. Be as detailed on the forms as possible and get a phone number in case you need to follow-up.
      • Tell the agent which bags are registered with Bags Reunited so they can contact you via our site if necessary. When you have access to the Internet, log-on to your profile on Bagsunlimited.com and report your bags or other items missing. That way if someone finds them, they can contact you as quickly as possible.
      • Try not to let any missing luggage ruin your precious time away. Remember that by joining Bags Reunited and using your uniquely coded luggage label, you and your luggage have a much better chance of being reunited!