Originally Posted by
zencat
Part of the idea is to collect evidence for the purpose of filing reports and claims. Some TSA locks indicate whether they have been opened and searched. If a thief must damage the luggage to enter it, that's ideal because it creates evidence. But if security needs to cause damage to do their job, that's a problem.
I've been through a lot of airports and never heard someone getting paged to unlock their baggage. Sometimes people get paged for no given reason.. perhaps that's what's going on. But certainly there are numerous cases of peoples locks being cut, so I don't get the impression everyone is given the chance.
Look at it this way: TSA locks or ordinary padlocks? Only the USA has keys to the TSA locks and they often do not use them. So, when traveling outside the USA, either you will be paged to open your bags, or someone will open them in your absence. If that happens, your lock is going to get cut, no matter what sort you use.
So, back to the original question: if you want to lock your luggage when going overseas, you can use a TSA lock, or any other lock of your choice. It makes no difference. The only place where TSA locks are needed is in the USA.
If you have TSA locks, it makes sense to use them, rather than buy other locks, especially if you are returning to the USA, where TSA locks are required.