When we landed in Heathrow International Airport in London, just 3 of our 4 suitcases arrived with us. My youngest daughter’s luggage had been left somewhere in New York City. We made a few mistakes, did a few things right, and managed to handle the situation so that it didn’t ruin our trip. Here’s what I wish I would have known before we went. The official airline baggage tracking tag somehow got ripped off the handle during transportation and the suitcase was left completely unmarked and unidentified. We meant to put one of the cheap paper tags on it that used to be offered at the airport check-in counter, but with digital check in and self check now the norm, we never found them and forgot all about it in the chaos of the airport. We will never fly without luggage tags again. Be sure to include your name and contact information where you can be reached at your destination. A cell phone number is best. The information doesn’t do much good to know where your bag is if you can’t contact someone an ocean away to help you get it, but it would have been super handy to know whether or not the suitcase was still in New York or if it had even landed in London. We worried for two more days than we probably needed to, assuming the luggage was just completely missing. If we had known it had made it to London, we might have been able to relax a little knowing it would show up eventually. We also could have tracked the delivery of it to our AirBNB so that it might not have been left in the rubbish bin by the delivery driver. You cannot prove that your suitcase hasn’t arrived once you’ve left. They will kickstart the claims process and produce claim codes you will absolutely need later for reimbursement. She wanted to know some specifically identifiable items both inside the bag (like a pair of green boots, an orange bag, and purple packing cubes) as well as outside of the bag (like the green ribbons I tied to the handle and the tear on the front pocket.) Bleary eyed and jet lagged, it was hard for me to originally remember what was inside the suitcase we lost. It would be an excellent pre-trip habit to quickly snap a photo of what you packed in your bag before you zip it up and leave. This will not only help you identify what was in the bag but could help with your claim if it goes missing. If you have to file a claim or deal with any issues, you will need to know: Save all the emails the airline sends you, some of this information can only be found there and not even in the airline app. You can see a change of underwear and socks along with a fresh t-shirt bundled together in a plastic storage bag in my carry on items along with a few essentials that make a lost suitcase less of an immediate emergency: I always tell my kids to pack these items in their carry-on: You can see my entire carry on packing list here. She told us that the airline would reimburse us for a “reasonable” amount of replacement clothing for the next 1 – 2 days but that if the luggage didn’t show up by then, we could shop again to get what was needed for the remainder of the trip. She suggested I hold on to all the receipts and wait to file my claim until I got home so I’d have the full total of what needed to be reimbursed. This means, I had to suddenly spend hundreds of dollars on an unexpected expense to be sure my daughter had enough clothing to enjoy her trip. I am SO grateful I had a foreign transaction fee-free credit card in my wallet. Even if you normally pay cash for everything, unexpected expenses can pop up when you travel and a credit card helps ensure you aren’t immediately out of pocket the cash. She suggested Marks & Spencer where we were able to purchase literally every single thing she needed, all in one place. I suggest finding a department store that carries everything unless you enjoy shopping and don’t mind visiting a few shops during your first day. We purchased: The total ended up coming to about £400 which was $500 with the exchange rate. So you can see why I was grateful to have the credit card for the purchase. We chose fairly average-priced items, I did not stress finding anything on sale but also didn’t head directly to a luxury shop. The jeans were about $35, the sweaters $45, the raincoat $100. The baggage attendant insinuated that it was going to be a while before we ever saw the suitcase and I did not want to go back for a second round of shopping. We just bought what I felt she needed for the entire week in one trip. Thankfully, I guessed right. She didn’t have her suitcase until the end of Day 3 and the airline reimbursed the total of the expense. I had called the airline that morning and been told it was out for delivery but we were never contacted by the delivery driver. If we had stayed in a hotel, the concierge would have been able to accept the bag, but renting the AirBNB it had to be left on the front step or we would have had to stay home to wait for it. To hide it from theft, the delivery driver placed the suitcase in the building’s rubbish closet. I would never have thought to look there, but my daughter saw the door and was curious. We were never told it had been delivered, if we hadn’t looked it may have been picked up with the trash. We pulled the bag inside, and this was her reaction to finally seeing her very favorite things packed for the trip: We had up to 30 days to file the claim, but I recommend that you take care of it as soon as possible once you get back. It took me about an hour and a half to complete the process because I did not have all the information I listed at the top. I had to dig around for our ticket numbers, confirmation codes, baggage tags, etc. If you took the time to track it before you left, the claim process would take less than 15 minutes. I’m thankful the airline reimbursed the entire expense but something I learned during the claim process is that if your suitcase if over the weight limit coming home because you have more clothing than you left with, they will also reimburse the extra-weight fee. So just be sure to track literally EVERYTHING you spend on the trip so you can submit your full claim.
