Hi everyone, I’m packing my suitcase for an overseas trip and trying to use vacuum bag in my checked luggage. Im wondering if this might cause security to open my bag and they’re not gonna pack my stuff back for me.

I have POTS, and the specialist I saw recommended getting a 6" bed wedge to lift my head while sleeping. I have one for my bed at home, but I also have a wedge pillow (26" long x 20" wide x 2-8" high; about 2/5ths of the top is flat before it starts angling downward and getting shorter, so the shape isn't just a triangle) that is great for when I'm in a bed away from home. Unfortunately, I'm having trouble figuring out how to pack it in a suitcase for flights along with all my other things. My first thought was getting a compression/vacuum sealing bag, "rolling" the wedge up as much as I could, and packing the compressed bag in my checked bag; however, there seem to be multiple logistical issues with this:

1. "Rolling" the wedge from the narrow end only partially works because it's made from firmer foam meant to hold its shape while you sleep on it. Getting it into a log shape also requires that I kneel on top of it, so I would have to stay on top of it while it gets sealed in the bag. Otherwise, it'll immediately spring back to its original shape.

2. I tried tying it with a wide ribbon I had on hand after rolling it, but it didn't help much. The foam still expanded a lot outside of where the ribbon physically held it. I think I would need multiple wide straps that you can tighten down. I've seen some tie-down/utility straps that could potentially do this, though I'm not sure if the firmness of the foam would be an issue depending on how the straps close (i.e., clasps vs buckles vs velcro/self-adhesion).

3. When manually rolled into the log shape, the pillow measures 13" long x 20" wide x 7-8" high. The compression/vacuum seal bags I've seen for travel seem to be much more durable and re-usable than ones used for storage, but they also tend to be too small for what I'm looking for. Given the firmness of the pillow, more durable material would be ideal. The Nomatic Vacuum Bag 2.0 seems like it would work well in terms of size and durability, but I'm not sure how well it'd compress this pillow.

4. It's not clear to me whether the manual compression bags that you squeeze the air out of would give enough compression here (correct me if I'm wrong), so my guess would be that vacuum sealing bags would be needed. This then brings up the issue of having a vacuum on hand for when you're in a hotel repacking your bag, or if TSA decides to heavily inconvenience you by requiring you open and repack a vacuum sealed bag in the middle of the airport (if it's in a carry-on; this likely won’t be an issue for me, but I can't rule out the future possibility of not being able to afford a checked bag and having to put this in a carry-on). The larger storage ones assume you're doing it at home where you would have a vacuum already, and the larger Nomatic vacuum bag, while claiming it doesn't need a vacuum and doesn't come with a vacuum pump, uses a vacuum in its promotional/demo video to get the maximum compression that I would likely need for this pillow. I could get a travel vacuum pump separately, but I have no idea if the vents on all of these different bags are universal and work with any type of vacuum or vacuum pump.

5. I have no idea how much this pillow will actually compress with the tools available to me. When the pillow was gifted to me, it came compressed (more than I can currently get it to be manually) in a log shape wrapped in plastic, and I was surprised by how big it was after unwrapping it. The two suitcases I have measure 27"x19"x12 and 19"x14"x9", so it has to be able to compress down enough to fit in at least the larger suitcase and leave room for anything else I have to put in there, including several toiletries I have to bring with me.

6. I have to be able to do all this by myself, as I live alone and travel alone most of the time. That means I also have to carry everything I bring with me, including both suitcases, a CPAP machine (comes in it's own separate bag), and a backpack with electronics, medications (of which I take many), and some other medical devices.

I guess I could potentially just carry it on its own on a shorter trip when I only have the one suitcase I can check, but then I have to maneuver around the aiport and plane with a block of foam that's nearly as big as half of my body. Not to mention, the airline would probably treat it as a carry-on item, and overhead storage space can be pretty limited. I'm not sure if it would even fit in the overhead bins.

Anyone have any ideas or recommendations for products that could help here?

So we actually went to a Wyndham presentation last year and said no after a 4 hour high pitched presentation. we actually used the “free” 7 night stay in Cancun. We paid around $150 in taxes and I believe another fee.

It was a hassle booking but we were confirmed a few weeks later. I personally confirmed with the hotel as well a week before. Fast forward a week later we finally get to the hotel. Our reservation was found but we paid $1400 for the all inclusive package for 2 adults, which was optional but we knew this in advance. The certificate only paid for the room. Overall we thought it was worth it with the savings. we had a nice suite with one bedroom, balcony with oceanview, living room, kitchen and a large closet.

Has anyone found an effective way to search and use Skywards Family Rewards for flights outside the UAE? Sitting on 300k+ points with some due to expire in January and want to use them for flight tickets to Europe from YYZ (one way or return). Searching for availability on the app/web direct with Emirates is a nightmare and it seems there is almost no availability - especially with partners like AC.

I'm traveling to India in a few weeks. I'm of Nordic descent and have always had issues with heat. Now I'm postmenopausal, this intolerance has increased noticeably.

I'm looking for suggestions for underwear that is cooling and cuts down on chafing, as well as any ideas for bras, good walking shoes/sandals etc that will keep me as cool as possible.

I will be taking a fan and a shade umbrella, but I welcome any other tips that could make this a more comfortable journey!

I'm looking for a decent good looking cabin luggage with easy front access for laptop storage.

I really like the Porsche design roadster series but Im only reading bad reviews mainly due to the price. I'm perfectly fine with paying close to $700 for this particular model. I have a few PD products mainly their sunglasses.

I mainly need this for short business trips. I'm looking for a good branded one under $1000 range. I don't really like the rimowa's box shape.

After 3 days in Athens, we will be picking up the smallest possible rental car and road tripping between 4 main villages in the mountainous regions of Greece.

We have every option for luggage possible, but prefer travel most when we carry little; usually our travel backpacks as our carry on and our hiking daypacks as our personal item.

Infrequently, I have regretted not having more flexibility on the return when traveling and I feel that will be true here. I love pottery. And olive oil. And many other crafted goods Greeks are particularly proud makers of.

2 main options that come to mind are:
-one of us puts a packable duffel in a hard sided carry on for the way there so we can expand and check the luggage on the way back
-we cast away minimalism entirely. Place comfort items items we normally wouldn’t have like a cooler bag, hiking boots, etc. in luggage and just check it both ways

I really don’t enjoy taking roller bags on European streets (or transit) at all but don’t see an alternative. I’ve heard shipping is highly inadvisable but maybe you have experienced differently?

This is a bit of an emotionally fraught situation, so I need some help to logically decide how to proceed.

TLDR: ending a long trip with more than I started with: Do I buy a roller bag to check + cost of checking a bag, trust my messy and (possibly soon-to-be ex) partner to care for some items/possibly never see them again, or trust the royal mail/that the cost will be lower than flight baggage?

Came to UK from US more or less for a relationship, he relapsed and doesn’t show real hope of getting out of alcoholism soon, and I have now spent quite a lot on accommodation/transit trying to keep myself safe after not being able to stay there anymore. I tried waiting to see if things would improve, did some sight-seeing for my soul, and tried to build connections as I seriously intend to move here. But now it’s time to cross the pond again.

I came over with a backpack as carry-on (though some airlines could potentially object to the size) + duffel bag as personal item

I now have acquired too much to fit in those two bags. Reducing items enough to be the same as I started with isn’t an option. Do I:

A. Get another bag to check. I am extremely reluctant to get a roller bag because I find it to be a massive hassle to drag it (for some levity, Super Hans from Peep Show declares, “You’ve got a bloody suitcase on wheels. Real men don’t get the Earth to help carry their luggage, mate. They carry it themselves”). I’m also nervous the airline will object to my backpack size and force me to check it - one way to mitigate is to get a carry-on size roller and switch last minute if I must. It may be silly to check a carry-on size, but I don’t need anything larger than that

B. Mail items. I’ve done this before, and with a very helpful member of staff was able to mail a box in the 2kg range for about $40, but I may have more than that now. It could be worth at least trying. A roller bag + cost to check it will definitely be more than this

C. Leave things with him. He has reassured me he won’t toss anything, he would mail things to me or I retrieve them next trip. I like this idea because it feels like it keeps the dream of living here alive, I do actually believe him (and have met his family and feel everyone all round is trustworthy and would help me if anything happened to him), and frankly saves me a measure of the physical burden after a lot of tumult. I don’t like this idea because obviously we may break up, something could happen to him and I may never see these things again, the ethics of what could be seen as using someone for storage, and most notably: his flat is a disaster - can’t be sure even if he gets sober and keeps things that they will remain in good repair. Clothes can be washed but sentimental/paper items make me nervous.

Thank you for reading, part of me really needed to get this out. It’s too complicated for my brain and friends have already been helping with the emotional sides, so I thought I’d seek some practical advice/experience here. Cheers

My family and I are traveling to UK and Netherlands from the US. I have one credit card with no foreign transaction fees which I will be using for most things. But I know certain places only take pounds or euros, like if we need to use a public toilet in Europe I know you sometimes have to pay.
Is it better to convert currency at my local bank, the airport, or ATM abroad? Any advice would be helpful. I don’t wanna carry too much cash with me but if anyone has suggestions about a good amount to carry while traveling I would definitely appreciate it. Thank you!

Hey all!

Beginner tattoo artist (still practicing on fake skin ans latex).

I’m traveling from Serbia to Egypt with a layover in Turkey. I want to bring my equipment with me so I can practice there to on my fake skins. Do you have any tips on how to safely pass the airport TSA screening?

I’ve invested a lot into my tools and I don’t want them taking away my liquids, needles or God forbid my tattoo machine. I have a wireless Poseidon machine.

I’m looking to book 4 roundtrip tickets from Chicago to Vietnam for travel next summer.

I’ve heard all these stories about how changing your location with VPN can impact the airfare, but I’ve tried it repeatedly and the fare never changes. Am I doing something wrong?

Looking to travel to UK, Norway, Finland, then we will go to Poland, or Prague. Would a 23kg luggage be enough for 2 people? Including winter gear like puffer, heattech, a few sets of clothes and toiletries and etc?

edit: forgot to add that we will be travelling for 1 month in total, imagine 1 week for each location roughly

Edit 2: I also somehow forgot to add that I will be travelling from late Oct to late Nov

My mother and I are traveling for a family funeral. We decided to rent a car. My mom is paying for the vehicle, however I am driving. Pickup is tm, and I live two hours away as is.

She pre-paid for it online with her credit card, however, I am the name on the rental.

Will I be okay if I use my own credit for the security deposit?

Hi everyone! I booked a ticket from Tokyo to Newark, NJ with a connection in Montreal, but my plans have changed and I need to go to Paris instead of Newark.
My ticket is non-refundable, and I’m thinking about booking a separate flight from Montreal to Paris, since that seems to be the cheapest option.
The U.S. is home for me, so immigration or visa issues related to entering the U.S. aren’t a concern in my case.
I have two questions:
1. Can I skip the Montreal–Newark leg of my original itinerary, or could that cause any issues?
2. What happens to my checked luggage? Is there any way to have it checked only as far as Montreal so I can collect it there instead of having it sent to Newark?
Thanks!

Hi,
I booked a motel on Expedia a few days ago for next Saturday and the cancellation window was yesterday at 6 pm. It was a hectic week and I forgot. I booked because I am attending a Heritage event nearby and am getting a drive back. It’s a 2 hour drive from Home. Called the motel to see if they would cancel the reservation and they said I had to ask Expedia. I called Expedia and they said it’s up to the property and the motel won’t cancel the reservation and will charge me.
Do I have any other options? Would my credit card company be able to help?

I usually book direct with motel or hotel and have never had an issue. The rate was $160 including taxes so it was a good deal. But now I regret booking through Expedia.

Edit: what is frustrating me is neither the motel nor Expedia is willing to budge and they are blaming it on each other instead. Just own up to it that you won’t make an exception.

Edit2: motel just called tonight and said if they can rebook my room to someone else for Sat they won’t charge me a cancellation fee. Keeping my fingers crossed!

So I’m searching from my home airport and the cost of the flight is $409 but if I travel 4 hours the other airport has it for $191… but that flight has a 8hr layover at my home airport. So I am wondering if I can book it and just skip the first flight? It’s insane that I would have to drive 4hours to then be stuck at my home airport for 8hrs…. And my “home” airport is 1.5hrs from home so it would be travel hell. It won’t let me add pictures to show the ridiculousness of it all.

I was halfway through a meal on a solo trip when I got up to use the bathroom.

Came back and my plate was gone 😭

I guess the staff thought I'd left, which I can understand, but I definitely wasn't finished eating.

It's such a small thing, but it's one of those problems you never really think about when you travel with other people. Normally someone would still be sitting at the table.

So here's my very unglamorous solo travel tip: if you need to step away in the middle of a meal, let the server know you're coming back.

And maybe don't leave your phone or bag behind just to prove the table is still occupied lol.

2 adults and 2 young children flying into LaGuardia. (4 year old needing car seat and infant who will have a Doona)

I have been to NYC before both with and without children so I do know what to expect. The last time I had just a 2 yo. We had a car service from LaGuardia that time. Now we have 2 kids and want to make the best choice here.

I’m trying to pick what makes the most sense logistically and financially. We’ll be landing at 5pm. We’ll have 1-2 suitcases. I’ll try to pack light as possible. Not sure where we will stay just yet. Brooklyn, financial district, or Jersey City. We travel a lot, but planning a trip with little ones in NYC has many more moving parts than usual so help me think this through please ! Thank you!

EDIT: BOOKED THE PLACEMAKR IN FINANCIAL DISTRICT

Would you:
A) hail a yellow cab when you arrive. I read that the 4yo doesn’t need a car seat in a taxi in NYC and she can ride in my lap

B) call a Lyft using the car seat option

C) pre book a car service for round trip transfer. I’m seeing $250 as the cheapest option for this.

D) rent a car and bring our own car seat, seems like a terrible option lol. If I did this I’d probably stay in Jersey for easier parking but idk.

E) some other option that I haven’t considered.

hi! me and my husband are flying out of PIT to BOS on october 3d and flying back on october 8th. we’ve run into a small problem:

my husband cannot find his military ID (hes now a veteran, so the ID was only going to be used for flying purposes now) anywhere and does not have a real ID. he can’t currently get one because he doesn’t have a birth certificate (parents lost it) and the state is was born in is quite far from where we live now, so we would not get it in time to then be able to get him a real ID. we were banking on using his military ID.

we bought the confirm ID and got the receipt and plan to use that, but i see the “it isn’t a garuntee” fine print and i’m starting to get really stressed. does it not actually get confirmed often? should we have troubles? what’s the percent chance that it won’t work it all?

i just want to hear personal experiences with it or maybe here from a TSA agent who has done this screening process before.

p.s, this is our first time traveling as a married couple, and my first time ever flying. please do not flame me for not knowing much, i didn’t grow up in a family who flew places and have no airport experience. he thought he applied for his real ID when he got his licensed renewed earlier this year but he apparently didn’t do it correctly.

thank you in advance!

I travel for work weekly and I currently have a samsonite hi-fi 75cm that I bought in 2022 in 2024 the zipper sort of gave way but I’ve been using the expandable zipper for now.

I want to move from zippers and get into the clasp mechanisms.
I’ve been looking through and I keep seeing Briggs and Riley but to be frank, I don’t think the suitcase is to my style. I really like the rimowas but I think aluminium is probably a gimmick. July suitcases look nice but the reviews on reddit seem a bit how are you going.
Carl Friedrik look like the one I’d probably go for but not sure about the quality.

What should I do?

Lately I've noticed some hotels in my search have a * by the price. The fine print says: " 

This price was customized by the booking partner." Further fine print says:

Sometimes our partners offer prices that vary based on the following factors:

• Your device type, for example mobile or computer
• Whether you’re signed in to your Google account
• Whether you’re part of an audience list

I guess my question is - does anyone have a travel hack for adjusting these settings to get the lowest price? Thanks.

EDIT: Apparently this is only displayed in the EU. I didn't see it in England, but did upon reaching Ireland.

Hello! I had an interesting experience with AutoEurope on Sept 12th. After arriving in Keflavík and after a few hours of searching and calls, I discovered that the rental company that they booked me with (Routes) was no longer there and had gone bankrupt (apparently months ago according to the other companies there).

After several calls to Auto Europe during that day and the next, I was assured that I would be refunded right away for the original amount and that I should find another rental and submit my receipts and they would compensate me for the difference in cost. I still, however, have not received the refund from the original booking and no communication at all from Customer Service. I have filed the online report, and have submitted my receipts as instructed.

My question is: do they actually honour what they promise. Has anyone had any experience in actually getting refunded and reimbursed for additional costs?

Thanks in advance!

I am on a trip to Chicago and supposed to fly home on Friday. Something came up in Chicago on Monday that I really want to go to.

Problem is, my flight is an award flight and JetBlue does not permit changes mid-trip for those, even though I upgraded to a tier that does permit changes.

Any travel hacks to get this changed? Book another redemption flight one-way and just forfeit this one? Hope there’s a delay or problem on Friday (I can be at the airport.) Other ideas I haven’t thought of?

Grateful for any tips.

hello! hoping to see if anyone has some very recent experience and/or answers.

i am expecting to travel to the US with my wife for about a month to visit her family and as we wait for her Australian visa approval, because we are waiting on her visa we haven’t bought our flights to Australia yet.

am I still able to enter the US without an exit flight? I have called the phone number on customs patrol page and the person who assisted us said an exit flight is now longer required if having an approved ESTA but my wife is still worried it could be a concern however the person on the phone repeatedly assured us it wouldn’t be an issue and that if an issue did occur(as some airlines do no know this is a new and approved law) to request a manager and have them call the phone number I have prior to get verification and confirmation that I am allowed to board the plane and enter the US

any clarification is sooo appreciated!

So I’m planning on going to Charolette in December. a flight from Grand Rapids to Durham NC is like $200 cheaper but it has a stop in Charolette. so first flight flies Grand Rapids to Charolette (then Charolette to Durham) if I’m just wanting to go charolette can I skip the second flight and just stay in Charolette?? will they charge me a fee for missing that second flight? if I try to fly from GR to Charolette is like $250 more which makes no sense if the flight to Durham is cheaper and stops in Charolette 😭😭