Originally Posted by
Often1
Locking a bag will not deter thieves and may even flag it as a bag from which it is worth stealing. Thus, pointless for most travel.
Whether a lock is "TSA-approved" will make little difference as to whether TSA (or anyone else) cuts or pries the lock. It is often faster to cut or otherwise force it. For built in locks while traveling, you either spend time getting the thing fixed or buying a new case.
I agree that a locked bag will not deter thieves. We lock ours more to keep them from accidentally coming open. Sure we could use zip ties but we have a dozen or more TSA locks we’ve accumulated over the years. We have rejected bags with built in locks for exactly as you wrote.