Doubt: Retrieving checked baggage on multi-carrier rewards itinerary
 

I am carefully trying to plan a multi-carrier reward itinerary, but I don't know what would happen when you have checked baggage on these type of itineraries where you usually go "around the world" stopping in different places and in different days and there is not a single "destination".

Can anybody who has redeemed such kind of flights enlighten me about what happens with your checked baggage? Do you just tell the check-in agent where do you want to retrieve it? Would they oblige to this request? Are there any rules you must follow?

Thank you for sharing your experiences and please excuse me if this has already been treated in another thread (I have searched but I could not manage to get an answer).

::WyGuN::

If you are stopping at least 24 hours in a location, you will have to collect bags
If you are stopping < 24 hours , then you may be able to leave them checked in depending on airport
There is a maximum number of segments that a bag tag can be printed for I believe

As a *general* rule of thumb - connections of less than 24 hours will result in baggage being auto-through checked. You can ask to have it short checked between destinations - some airlines may allow this formally, some may not and some agents may ignore that and do as they wish anyway.

Connections via the USA (coming from one international destination to a domestic or another international) are *generally* a collect and re-check situation, even without an over 24- hours stop. Again - there are exceptions to the rule.

If - however - you are staying overnight at any destination - your luggage will probably be returned to you at that destination (again - airport/location dependent).

For example - I did this:

LHR-HKG-MEL < 4 days> -SYD <2 days> -BNE-LAX-YYZ <4 days> -LHR

My luggage was checked all the way to MEL before being re-checked to SYD, where it came back to me again, before being sent via the US (and I can't remember if I collected and re-checked to be perfectly frank) and sent onto YYZ, then collected again.

So it worked exactly as I would have wanted. E.g. if I'm stopping, I get my bags, and if I'm not - I don't.

One random quirk is that LA don’t mind checking a bag through for 48 hours, as I found out when I recently did EZE-LIM-MEX with 48 hours in Lima!

Thank you very much for sharing this information! It is perfectly clear for me now.

Regards,

::WyGuN::