A user on TikTok has gone viral after sharing their budget travel hack: shipping your luggage.
In a video with over 1.5 million views, TikTok user Faith (@gouldstandard) claims that checking a bag with Spirit Airlines would cost her $150. In contrast, simply shipping her luggage to her destination costs only $34.33.
“The rest will fit in my backpack,” she writes in the caption.
@gouldstandard The rest will fit in my backpack 👌🏼 #spiritair #spiritairlines #GenshinImpact34 #cheaptok #cheaptravel ♬ original sound – Faith
Spirit Airlines is a budget airline based in the United States. While it offers cheap flights, it makes up for these low fees in other areas, such as bag fees.
In Faith’s case, if she were to choose to take a carry-on at the time of purchasing her ticket, it would likely cost her $57 each way. If she didn’t purchase a carry-on but her backpack was determined to be too large at the gate, she would have to pay almost $100 each way, per the airline’s baggage calculator.
That said, shipping one’s luggage isn’t a perfect solution. While issues with lost luggage still plague the industry as travel resumes, there is a chance that clothing and other shipped items can also be lost or delayed.
Additionally, while checking a bag almost guarantees that your bag will be there upon your arrival, there is no such promise with shipping—meaning that there’s a chance travelers will be without luggage for several days while they wait for their package to arrive.
As one commenter put it, “… it takes 5 days to get there with ground service. You’re not getting it there overnight for 33 bucks.”
It should be noted that travelers need not worry about having an address to send their package to, as many hotels will happily accept packages and hold them for a nominal fee.
Back in the TikTok comment section, many users claimed they had utilized this hack in the past.
“As a former corporate event coordinator, it’s always cheaper to mail your items to your hotel or destination this way,” wrote a user.
“I’ve always thought this is the way to go,” added another. “You don’t have to wait for it on the other end and less to carry on travel day too!”
“So many people come to my store and do this, I’m right by the MIA airport,” claimed a third. “Saves a ton if you’re coming back with a ton of new stuff!”
The Daily Dot reached out to Faith via Instagram direct message.
Update 2:21pm CT January 26: In an Instagram DM exchange with the Daily Dot, Faith said this is her first time trying the hack and she’ll find out if it’s successful this weekend.
“I’m shipping it to a friend but considering having it held at a FedEx location by the airport for pickup to make it even easier,” she wrote. “It was just an idea I had after shipping some holiday gifts and seeing how inexpensive it was compared to bringing the gifts on my flight.”
She also shared her thoughts on Spirit’s baggage policy in general. “A lot of people said like it only costs $30 to check a bag with Spirit, but for this flight, it was $60 each direction for a checked bag and $70 for a carry on,” she detailed. “In my opinion, that is a ridiculous price for pretty much a necessity when traveling.”
