Originally Posted by coleslaw

When connecting in MIA from international to domestic, is it always a case of having to collect and re-check your luggage when clearing customs? I seem to remember some situations in the past where my luggage was checked through to my final destination and we were specifically told not to pick up and re-check (although I may be misremembering things).

I have an upcoming itinerary where I'm uncertain whether I will take the domestic segment and likely won't know until the day I arrive in MIA (based on whether my meeting at the domestic destination I'm ticketed to is actually going ahead or not... if it's not then I would use a separate back up ticket I have from MIA to get me to an alternative domestic destination). But if my luggage is checked all the way through then the backup plan won't really work.