Originally Posted by
rwSEA
Hi all - looking for your advice. Will soon be flying west coast - ATL - caribbean and return, on a SkyMiles award ticket. On the return I need to stop in Atlanta for a couple of days, so I'm looking to skip the last leg back to the west coast if DL won't allow an easy change (or tries to jack up the miles requirement to drop a leg, etc.). I will have checked luggage. Given the unique setup at ATL, does anyone see problems with grabbing my luggage at customs and then exiting as a local rather than connecting passenger? Just want to understand any ATL-specific considerations that might throw a wrench in that plan. Thanks in advance!
Could be if you arrive in E. Passengers coming off international arrivals (non-Pre-Clearance locations**) in ATL will be directed one way while passengers terminating in ATL will go another way. If you can book a layover long enough to allow for short-checking to ATL, your bag will only be tagged to ATL and for arrival purposes you’d be treated as terminating at ATL.
Is your Caribbean destination a US pre-clearance destination? That could potentially throw a wrench into this as well since you wouldn’t even claim your bag for customs at ATL. Though that issue can still be alleviated by booking a connection with a long enough layover to allow for short-checking.