Originally Posted by
timezone_trooper
IME this process has a lot of variability. Some agents will walk around the boarding area and affix the tags, some will wait until boarding and affix the tags, and some will just put a stack on the podium and request that people come up and get them. I can only recall a handful of times where I proactively asked for a green tag and the agent said they would affix it.
I can recall one time at my local airport when I proactively asked for a green tag and the agent was very unhappy. It was not the right time to ask for it. Fifteen minutes later, she did the rounds with the green tags and tagged all the luggage that needed to be tagged. My excuse: it was my first time flying out of that airport since I had just moved there. But it was also the only agent that ever reacted like that since three years later I can say that I have requested some green tags at the wrong time and the agents had no problem providing them. Usually, the agents just ask at the time of boarding if you need a green tag. If you say that you already have one, they are happy with it and don't force you to change the green tags. I have 4 different rollaboards that I use for my short trips depending on how many days I travel. When I come home, I just leave the receipt part on top of them. When I leave, I put that receipt part in my wallet. I change tags when they start getting broken.