Hi worldtrav2013 -

My wife and I flew from Europe to Brasil then up to Californiaand back to Europe.

I used the TSA strap on our Rimowa XXL alu case. Leaving Brasil, I decided to use the Carousel plastic cover wrap sold at the airport for R$ 40. as extra protection for that case. So it was a closed Rimowa alu case, wrapped in plastic, and then wrapped with the TSA strap turned into TAM as checked luggage. We were booked to MIA and then on to LAX.

At LAX we waited for the luggage. When it finally appeared in baggage claim, up came the Rimowa case, with the TSA strap, minus the plastic wrap. That came up later, sliced in half. The inspectors just cut it off to open the case, which now had a few more scratches on it. That was the last time we found a note inside any of our checked luggage.

I still use the TSA strap, but not the carousel plastic wrap, at least not when entering North America.