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I Learned This Packing Trick From a Flight Attendant — Now I Do It Every Time!

The Terminal Traveler

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104 quick rules plus in-depth guides for medications, flying, cruises, and 2026 TSA secrets, all in plain English and large print. Read the one you need before each trip.

A worker at the airport lost bag desk told me one packing trick I now use every trip, and 19 more that stop lost luggage, broken suitcases, and airport stress. These senior travel tips and packing tips show you how to pack a suitcase the smart way after 60, using TSA, FAA, and Department of Transportation rules.

This guide is for senior travel, travel for seniors, and anyone searching packing tips, packing hacks, travel hacks, lost luggage help, carry on tips, and tsa carry on rules before their next flight.

In this video you will learn all 20 packing tricks:
20. Never let one suitcase belong to one person, split clothes so one lost bag is an annoyance, not a disaster
19. Put your own name tag on a different handle from the airline barcode tag
18. Tuck in every strap and hook before you check the bag
17. Put the heaviest things near the wheels so the bag rolls easier
16. Fill the bumps and gaps first with rolled socks and soft items
15. If you have to sit on the suitcase, take something out
14. Save the expansion zipper for the trip home
13. Measure your bag the way the airline does, wheels, handles, and full pockets included
12. Weigh the bag only after you are completely done packing
11. Make the top of your suitcase your first night, pajamas, pills, toothbrush, glasses
10. Give fragile things a soft middle
9. Pack three empty zip bags for wet, leaking, or dirty items
8. Keep a paper backup of your hotel, confirmations, and phone numbers
7. Start with a completely empty carry on, TSA's own advice
6. Batteries ride with you, and cover the ends, FAA rule for power banks and lithium batteries
5. Keep your liquids where you can grab them, and the exact phrase for medically necessary liquids
4. Pack for your laundry, not your calendar
3. Pack a pen and sticky notes so nothing gets left in the hotel
2. The gate check pouch, keys, medicine, passport, glasses, and batteries in one grab and go pouch
1. The one question to ask before anything goes in your checked bag

If you fly after 60, check a suitcase, or travel with a spouse or friend, these travel tips, luggage tips, and airport tips will save you money, stress, and a ruined first night.

Which of these 20 do you already do, put the number in the comments. I read every comment and your answers decide the next video.

0:00 The Suitcase Strategy You Need
1:53 Keeping Your Clothes Clean and Fresh
5:29 Ensuring Your Bag Finds Its Way Home
7:53 Navigating Your Hotel Like a Pro
10:52 Mastering the Airport Carousel

#SeniorTravelTips #PackingTips #PackingHacks #LostLuggage #TravelAfter60

20 Comments

@TheTerminalTraveler Creator 5 days ago Pinned

Get The Senior Traveler's Survival Bundle (Six Complete Guides + Checklist) here → https://theterminaltraveler.com

@markwalker619 1 day ago

Big tip and what you missed, put on a piece of paper with your name, address, phone number, email address and your flight itinerary and place it inside your checked bag.
If it gets lost, and identifying information is gone from the outside, a lost and found agent will get that info and your bag will head your way.
37 year airline employee.

@bcreason 3 days ago

Airlines typically allow one carry on and one small bag like a purse. Medicine, batteries, headphones and anything you might need on the flight goes in the small bag.

@107drones 3 days ago

Add an "Electronics Pouch" so you can charge everything you have, "Shoe Bags" because you never know what you're going to step in, and a "Tracking Device" like an AirTag so you can track your lost luggage.

@janh6501 16 hours ago

Add a GPS tag in your suitcase so you can see where your bag is with “find my device”. They cost next to nothing nowadays. Though it is a bit unnerving when you see the airline left it behind at the departure airport.

@Patricia-m7x2f 23 hours ago

I always pack several ‘S’ hooks. Great for hanging wet bathing suits, cosmetic bags, towels, jacket, etc. Also a foldable tote. While packing, I repeat the phrase “they have stores there, too” to reduce what-did-I-forget anxiety and overpacking a lot of “just in case” stuff.

@rigaycpa 21 hours ago

You know those resusable bags we take to the Grocery Store. We use them to to put underweaer and socks in then put that in our luggage. When we get to Europe where they do not give you a bag you now have a bag you can use.

@DaveM-FFB 2 days ago

If you want to dramatically reduce the possibility of a lost checked bag, then book a nonstop flight instead of connecting flights, even if it costs more. The nonstop also increases the probability that you'll make it to your destination on time. And if you're flying to take a cruise, always book a nonstop flight (if possible) that arrives one or more days early. The stress reduction is priceless.

@DaveM-FFB 2 days ago

Never pack a bag on a bed for 2 reasons. #1- The bag and its wheels are filthy after being dragged through the streets and being on airline baggage belts. #2- You don't want to risk transferring bed bugs onto your bed! Use a luggage stand for packing at home, and clean your soft sided bag with vinyl cleaner.

@mguerramd 1 day ago

A headlamp with a red light option. Goes under my pillow. Won’t jar you or your spouse awake for middle of the night bathroom trips. Plus you never know when you just need a flashlight.

@FredFranze-h5x 2 days ago

I always pack a small first aid kit and a flashlight in my carry-on

@CraigFeeney-r7l 3 days ago

If you are outbound, always put your destination hotel on the outside of your bag. That way, if someone nips your bag by mistake, s/he will probably have it delivered to your hotel. And: regardless of how hot it is in the airport, always bring a sweater or vest on the plane with you because the temperature might plummet to 16C or 61F!!

@mugsthree2020 4 days ago

If traveling overseas, in addition to meds and other essentials, I always pack extra underwear, a light nightgown, spare toothbrush in my carryon (I'm not strong enough to have an actual suitcase as my carryon so I use a small backpack). This is especially useful if I'm traveling with a tour group and arriving in the evening. While people are waiting for their luggage to be delivered, I'm already ready for bed.
I also take a photo of the contents of my suitcase. Once I arrive at the airport, I take a photo of my suitcase from all angles along with the airline luggage tag. That way if my luggage is misplaced I have photos I can give to airlines.

@tomp9659 20 hours ago

I always take pictures of what I packed in case the airline loses my luggage. The photos help me remember exactly what I packed and can also serve as proof if I need to make a claim for compensation. For my luggage tag, I only include my name, city, and country where I live. I don’t put my full address or phone number on the tag because I don’t want a potential thief to know where I live when I’m away. Also, my phone number may not work when I’m traveling outside the country.

@suncat9 3 days ago (edited)

Make 2 copies of your passport ID page when traveling internationally. Put one copy in your checked bag and one in your carry on. This covers you in case, God forbid, you lose your passport and have to go to a consulate to replace it. It also IDs the bag in case the tags on the outside are lost. Also, email a copy of your passport to yourself as yet another back-up copy of your passport.

@dalepattison3872 2 days ago

I always pack a small set of scales., with an attached tape measure. Then I can check the weight or size of anything I want, even if there’s no other place to weigh a pack or suitcase

@rigaycpa 21 hours ago

Pack old shirts, worn socks, holely underwear that you can leave at the hotel trash bin or leave for the hotel to donate to charity. you now have more room to bring back items.

@BradleyRinger-x8x 5 days ago

I once packed all the shoes for two adults and two children headed for a cruise (when there were strict formal nights) in one bag. Of course it never showed up - permanently. It was a brand new leather suitcase which was probably stolen at Newark airport. Now I divide clothes between bags and also ensure all pieces of an outfit are in the same bag. While packing for a business trip to Canada, I was short on time, so I brought all my medication in the original bottles. When returning, I was half asleep and packed all my medications in checked luggage. Weather caused my connecting flight to be canceled and my checked luggage didn't make the flight I was rebooked on. My bags arrived three days later.

@GDAEman 2 days ago

Extra pair of glasses, especially if you have to drive.

@AndySparrow-o2r 1 day ago (edited)

Here is one of mine that wasn't in the list. Put identification and phone number tag on your CARRY ON! I once accidentally left my carry-on bag in the overhead and it came back to me within hours because it had an ID tag on it too. I also throw in a clean trash bag in my checked luggage so it can be used later for dirty clothes or wet bathing suits or as a separator between clean and dirty clothes.