You’ve seen it done overseas. You’ve noticed a few kiosks offering the service in the international terminals. You’ve seen the bags come down the carrousel covered in blue plastic and wondered “Why?”. Why would you shrink wrap your luggage?
Luggage wrapping isn’t as common in the United States as it is abroad, but it’s not just done to make your bag look tacky. Ok, that’s my initial thought, though there really are some good reasons to cover your checked bag in 10 yards of thin plastic.
Reason 1: Protects Against Theft
We will always recommend that anything of value should be brought in your carry-on, but if you have to check something of value, wrapping your luggage may prevent sticky fingers. It may not be endemic in North American or European airports, but has been widely reported in some Asian and African airports. One FlyerTalk member told the story of his belongings being pilfered at the Johannesburg airport. Wrapping up your luggage isn’t a guarantee that your stuff will be left alone, but it is a deterrent.
Reason 2: Tattle-Tales on Tampering
If someone does go through your bag, you’ll know it. You might not be able to do anything about it, but at least you’ll know your bag got someone’s curiosity peaked.
Reason 3: Keeps Your Bag Together
On one trip, I discovered my bag’s main zipper would no longer stay put. The bag wasn’t busting at the seams, but the zipper would continually open just enough for me to worry. For my return trip home, I used a TSA lock and a key ring to keep my bag together. On another trip, I realized my bag had a small rip in it just before a flight. Wrapping your luggage in plastic could solve both of these problems, keep everything in its rightful place, and give you some piece of mind.
Reason 4: Prevents Any Stowaways
If you’re the paranoid type, wrapping up your luggage could prevent any unwanted items from finding their way into your baggage. There are a very few and rare cases where passengers became drug mules unknowingly, and we’re not here to fear monger, but if you worry about it, then you may want to protect your bags.
Reason 5: Protects Against Damage
A thin layer of plastic surrounding that nice, new bag of yours can help keep it looking great. Luggage handlers don’t wear white gloves and treat every bag like the Stanley Cup. And if rain and snow have you concerned as you wave goodbye to your checked bag, certainly your bag will be outside in the elements and get soaked before it’s loaded on the plane. Keep your luggage scuff-free and dry by wrapping it.
So Why Wouldn’t You?
Even though there are a handful of reasons to wrap your luggage, there are still some downsides. When we asked for your thoughts on our Facebook page, not a kind word was said about the service. It does cost money, some see it as a waste of plastic, and have we mentioned that it looks really tacky?
If you still would like the piece of mind offered by a luggage wrapping service, they are easy to find. Since every location is different, it’d be best to search for what is offered at your local airport. For example, search “luggage wrapping at O’Hare (ORD)”. If the service is offered, you should be able to find a terminal and location of the service to make it easy to locate.
Secure Wrap is one of the most prevalent companies out there. In the U.S., they operate out of JFK, IAH, and MIA, but in total they operate out of 52 airports in 17 countries. They also offer lost luggage assistance and extra insurance in case your bags are completely gone. And if TSA has to check the contents of your bag, they will rewrap it for free. There are other luggage wrap providers, so again, check your local airport to see what’s offered.
I have yet to get my wrap my luggage in plastic before a trip and it’s not in my immediate plans. There may, however, be certain circumstances where it may be a prudent decision for you (or me!)
Do you swear by luggage wrapping services? Do you have stories about the plastic wrap saving your trip? Share them in comments below. This will help others know whether it makes sense (or dollars, in this case) to shrink wrap their luggage. Safe travels to you!
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About The Author
Carol Margolis
Carol Margolis is a travel-loving consultant, speaker, trainer and innovator who works with corporate travel management, HR departments, meeting planners and the travel industry -- and, of course, travelers! She offers tactics and tools to help travelers who want simple, fun strategies for traveling smart. Carol is a frequent TV and radio guest, appearing on Good Morning America, CNN, Fox TV, in USA Today, New York Times, Reuters and much more. Follow her at both SmartWomenTravelers.com and BusinessTravelSuccess.com. .
Seen it done… but never have I tried the service. I think the obvious question is – what about TSA? If they randomly open bags is this expensive precaution a waste of time and money? Would wrap call attention to the bag and make it more likely to be searched?
Barry, from what I’ve seen, some companies offer a free “re-wrap” if the TSA opens your bag for an inspection. They can still x-ray through the plastic, so your luggage being wrapped shouldn’t have any bearing on whether it’s “randomly selected” or not.
Keep in mind that this is just for TSA. Customs (in any country) can rip off the plastic to take a look in your bag, but by then, hopefully you’re already at your destination.
I had a spell where four suitcases broke in three weeks. I truly understood the need to plastic wrap then.
I still don’t, though, because I am one of those people who likes easy access to the pockets. I do use zip ties on all zippers, except the main one, which would be locked with a TSA-approved lock. Like plastic wrap, zip ties don’t stop people from getting into it, but it deters a quick stash, and if cut, I would know someone went through it.
Four suitcase fails in 3 weeks — yes, a very bad spell! I agree with you on the access to the pockets. Hope your bad luggage spell is behind you now!
Carol,
As usual, you are full of wonderful ideas! Thanks. I will try the plastic wrap the next time I check luggage. However, I am a convert to carry-on only, even when I’m gone for 5 weeks in Italy.
Leaving for 1 week in England and then 2 weeks in Italy . how do you travel with only a carryon. I’d love to be able to do that on this trip. Thanks
Hi Jeann – What time of year are you traveling? (I assume this summer but asking to be safe!) I’ll get a list put together for you and email you the link when done. Carol
Oh my goodness, Thank you! I’ll be in the Lake District, England the last week of June and Florence and Tuscany the first 2 weeks of July. If I could travel with a carryon and large under the seat bag I would love to do that – what freedom!
How exciting! I love, love, love Florence and Tuscany!
I’m so excited! My first visit to italy and a long time dream come true to be in Florence.I’ve been reading books about the Rennaissance, the history, and the artists as well as a fabulous tour guide book among several “To Florence con Amore” -90 Ways to Love the City” by Jane Fortune.
We are on a 3-month European/UK holiday. Carry-on only — and I’m a plus size! The only person who gets bored with your clothes is you. Also, it’s cheaper to buy toiletries at your destination than to pay for checked luggage.
I hope you’re enjoying your 3-month holiday, Geri! And yes, I agree about it being only us who gets bored with our clothes. What’s your favorite place so far?
Vienna, Limerick, Bath, and Barcelona are tied.
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It is an interesting idea… we did it once, about 10 years ago when the whole Schapelle Corby smuggling marijana into Bali had just happened, everyone in Australia was doing it and we got caught up and weren’t very experienced travellers. Honestly that wasn’t really a good reason to wrap and we felt silly as everyone stared at us when we walked through the airport in Vietnam. Though if my bag looked like it was going to malfunction I would do it, but that is really the only reason, there is never anything of real value in what we check and I love the banged up look of our bags, so we’d rather save the money for another trip 😉
hi there what about new smart lugage with gps tracking wi-fi enabled a scale a 10,000 mha battery or 15,000 mha batery wont wont that cost lost of money too replace smart luguage if gps scale wi-fi blue tooth or batery needs replacing
On a recent trip to Italy I bought a lot!! My suitcase zipper was stretched to the limit. Have the case shrinkwrapped really put me at ease.
Now I have a que…I am traveling from Germany to US, again I bought too much. Can I have a medium box shrink wrapped as checked baggage?
Thanks.
Smart! I can totally relate to a stretched-to-the-limit luggage zipper so it makes sense to shrink-wrap it just in case the zipper breaks.
As for shrink-wrapping a box — I don’t see why not. Whether it’s a box or a bag shouldn’t matter and in either case, the shrink-wrap may be removed by airport security if they want to check out the contents of the item. And in some cases, the item is re-shrink-wrapped. It depends on whether the shrink-wrap company also their wrapping machine down in the luggage handling area.
I just returned from touring southern Africa and one of my tour mates has 2 pair of sneakers and a stuffed animal souvenir stolen from her suitcase at Johannesburg airport during our travel. She had TSA locks which were removed and replaced by the thief. On my trip home I spent $5 (US) for the shrink wrap at Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. The luggage and I went through Johannesburg, including an 8 hour layover, on our way back to JFK and all arrived without an issue. I figure it is a deterrent and if you are going to steal you will pick the easiest bag. Nothing is fail safe, but it was peace of mind for me and I will do it again next time.
Thanks for letting us know, Eileen!
How do you get the plastic off?
I cut it off. The hotel front desk had a scissors I could use.
We are shipping a suitcase well in advance of our trip and wonder if there is any way to get wrapping done that is NOT at the airport as that is a long journey for us to make.
If there’s a nearby UPS Store or similar, they may have all you need to ship luggage (box, packing material).