How to Travel Light with Luggage Free
What if you could travel to your destination luggage free? No more hauling those over-sized bags through the airport while trying to coral the kids. No more worrying about whether or not your golf clubs or ski gear will make it on the plane. A new service, aptly called Luggage Free, can help you do just that. The company asked me to try their service on my last trip and share my thoughts, so here’s how to travel light with Luggage Free.
What is Luggage Free?
Luggage Free is a company that arranges transportation of your baggage from your home to your destination. You can make arrangements 24 hours a day 7 days a week to ship to over 120 countries worldwide. Domestically, they can pick up your bag in as little as 6 hours from major US cities and 24 hours from all other US destinations. Internationally, it is usually less than 48 hours. On time delivery is guaranteed and packages are insured for up to $1,000 with additional insurance available for purchase if desired. Luggage Free will make arrangements with a shipping company to come to your house and pick up your bags. They send a confirmation letter with the date and arrival time window so you know when to have the bags ready. When the carrier shows up, you hand them your luggage and off they go. You won’t see your bag again until you arrive at your destination. Sound easy? It is.
Who is it for?
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This service works well for travelers who like to travel light and don’t mind paying a small premium for it.
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It would also be great for families traveling with a lot of baggage. Sending luggage ahead would allow parents to have free hands at the airport to wrangle the kids.
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Recreational (or professional) athletes who travel with their gear would benefit from shipping their gear separately. They could rest assured the equipment would be transported by expert handlers and not risk mishandling at the airports. I’m thinking this is perfect for bicycles, golf clubs, and ski gear.
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Elderly people who have difficulty traveling through an airport on their own. It would be helpful to ship their bags ahead of time so they only have themselves to worry about.
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Those who don’t want to worry about transferring luggage from their home, to the airport, to a cruise ship. That’s right, Luggage Free will even deliver directly to your cruise ship cabin!
How I used it
On a recent trip from Chicago to Lake Tahoe I knew I would have to take more clothing than normal due to the weather. I contacted Luggage Free and made arrangements for my bag to be picked up. I was told it would need to be ready on Tuesday, but I wasn’t scheduled to depart until Sunday. As a person who is a last minute packer, it was challenging to pack so far in advance.
I printed the packing lists provided by Luggage Free and placed my bags next to the door Monday night, ready for a Tuesday morning pick up. I was given a four hour window when Fed Ex was scheduled to arrive on Tuesday. Sure enough, Fed Ex arrived at the earlier part of the time frame, took the bag, placed it in protective plastic with its packing slips and wheeled it away.
I received confirmation later that day that the bag was picked up and on its way. On Friday I received an email saying my bag had been delivered to the resort and would be waiting for me. The day before my flight I was thrilled to not have anything to pack. It was surreal to not have to worry about anything except my carry on and purse. Sunday morning was unbelievably easy. I arrived at the airport at 4 a.m.. I stepped out of my taxi and went through security in less than five minutes, at Chicago’s O’Hare! At this point I am loving not having bags and think I could get used to the idea of traveling luggage free more often.
When I arrived at the resort after a full day of travel I told them my bag was already on property. Within a half hour, the bag was delivered to my room. Door to door service complete.
Pros
– Not having to carry anything through the airport. When I travel with a carry-on it’s quite a pain to use the restroom, put it in the overhead bin, etc. I didn’t have to worry about that.
– It made me a planner. I was organized and packed for my trip much earlier than normal.
– I didn’t have to pay any baggage fees. Granted there is a fee for shipping the bag, but depending on the weight of the bag, this could be a minimal price difference.
– Not having to wait at baggage claim. This saved me time and my usual aggravation at the inefficiency of the system.
– Constant communication from Luggage Free let me know where my bag was at all times.
Cons
– Due to the fact I had to have everything ready five days in advance, I had to do without several things for five days (a pair of tennis shoes, several pairs of yoga pants, my regular makeup). It was do-able, but I didn’t love it at first.
– The price. I was given the service complimentary by Luggage Free in exchange for my honest review, but my bag on the way home weighed in at 38 pounds. If you calculate that using their rate schedule of $2.20/lb. it would have cost me $83.60 which is quite a bit more than the $25 charged by the airlines.
Cost
Prices depend on what your shipping and how quickly you want it delivered. Rates for shipping are based on weight. Using the table below, you can get a fair estimate of what a shipment would cost.
