OK...newbie (to award travel)...lets get that out of the way and the forum has been priceless infowise. HOWEVER... I totally didn't think about my checked baggage till today and after searching found the word "Interlining" and basically the idea of "be super nice to agents and they will help".

Lets pretend I have a weird 3 different airline flight coming up...and one doesn't interline. I understand (and amazingly without planning have spare time at each stop) that you go out through customs, get bag, check back in, etc. And while I assume customs agents totally know what we are doing...what exactly do you tell them for length of stay and then length of being here? And is it really business or pleasure

Last few international trips I've made customs has been hit or miss on the friendly side of things and the "I've been here 30 minutes" or "I'm leaving in 30 minutes" would annoy at least 2 customs agents I can think of...