"luggage" for international move
 

I am planning on moving my family of 6 to Romania in a few months. Of course I'm going to use 180000 United miles for award tickets. Since I have United silver status each passenger should be allowed to check 3 bags each with a max weight of 70 lbs and dimensions width + height + width < 62 in total.

If I understand these rules correctly I should be able to bring 18 large boxes filled with all the stuff we want to move with us for free. We'll be flying BOI to TSR both of which are small airports so navigating them with so much luggage will be difficult but not impossible.
I'm looking for suggestions on what to pack everything into. Ideally it would be a plastic tote like this one but slightly smaller and with inner dimensions nearly equal to outer dimensions. Also wheels would be nice but not required. I've looked and haven't found anything that would be the correct size. It maybe best to get some cardboard boxes but I was hoping to find something more durable.

Do you know of any boxes or totes that would be well suited for checked luggage?
My wife thinks I'm crazy to try to fit everything in 18 boxes but I think we'll save so much money vs a shipping container. Has anyone else tried such a move without shipping anything?

Check the Container Store and Amazon. There are multiple options in pretty much all sizes and durability. Also, purchase a scale and packing tape (do not rely on the plastic top seal). Finally, when you receive the containers, double check that the dimensions are as advertised. Air carriers will measure the container at its maximum dimensions, including the overhang of the cover.

Not knowing what part of the earth you are at:

The best is called Balikbayan boxes. They are used by Filipinos returning home to bring all the mandatory gifts. They are double-walled corrugated cardboard boxes that are at the maximum airline dimensions. They measure 20X20X20 or 18X18X24. You can get them at Asian malls in FIlipino neighbourhoods.

Are you sure it is THREE bags per pax?

For Silver it's 3 x 70 lbs only in premium cabins. If you are flying economy it's 1 x 70 lbs. Are you suggesting showing up at the airport with 18 cardboard moving boxes? I don't think that's going to work out for you for a number of reasons. I would use a freight forwarder for most things, and take clothes and other things you need immediately as checked luggage in suitcases or other things designed to be thrown around airports.

In the early-mid 90s when my dad was in Kyrgyzstan for Peace Corps, he moved a ton of stuff in Rubbermaid Action Packers. I still have a couple left over from that time. They come in a couple different sizes and you can pick them up at major box stores or online.

No clue what would be allowed as a checked bag today - we have checked smaller cardboard boxes and coolers without problem. Except they are ALWAYS opened by TSA, so we try to pack/age accordingly.

And keep in mind that you are limited by the Montreal Convention on valuables inside your checked luggage. The last time our family of six moved we had two very large moving truck, each longer than a shipping container. I can't imagine how anyone moves with only checked luggage.

You might want to add some box straps to keep things shut
Balikbayan boxes - really interesting to learn about this today https://qz.com/824604/balikbayan-gig...es-every-year/ That's some packing job.

I've seen coolers on the Island Hopper, huge plastic chests https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-45...6133/303099671 to Tahiti, and the occasional red-white-blue bag https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-white-blue_bag.

People can do international moves with just flight luggage allowances but I'd also point out that if your wife thinks it is crazy for what is probably already a stressful situation, marital disharmony might end up being more expensive than the movers.

Flying economy as Silver? Your baggage allowance is 2 bags per person.

When I bought my holiday home in the US, for about a year I was visiting once a month and several times my wife and I used our full 2x3 bags at 70lbs each to move huge amounts of stuff to help furnish it. I can't find it now, but what was very useful was a rather more cube shaped bag than the more normal cuboid ones. It didn't have wheels but that's not an issue as you will be using baggage trolleys and there's no way you can manage that much stuff on public transport. If you are only travelling once, then it makes sense to buy really cheap bags from one of those street stalls that seems to sell them piled up high - you'll only need them to last for one trip.

I wonder whether we'll ever hear from the OP again? Would be interested to know what the plan was/is?

We moved to Europe last year and ended up buying a bunch of rolling lightweight used luggage that fit their dimensions. We didn't put our clothing in them since they were used, but we used them for pictures, coins, documents, etc. Just be prepared for a good portion of them to be rummaged through by the TSA. I'd say @ 1/4 of our bags had a note inside so I'd keep anything really important in your carry-on.

Hey everyone thanks for all the tips. Especially pointing out the baggage allowance will only be 2 bags per passenger. I used the United baggage calculator several months ago and thought for sure it said 3 bags per passenger but maybe I was looking at a business class ticket or they changed the policy. We will be flying economy so only 12 bags for us which should still be a lot.

I'm looking at getting several of these plastic totes at 18.75'' H x 17.75'' W x 23.63'' they are 60.13 linear inches and should do perfect and don't cost too much. I'll probably order a couple and see how the hold up before getting all of them. We'll still use a couple traditional large suitcases.

Nothing we'll be taking is particularly valuable so I think we'll be fine.
​Anything that doesn't fit we'll send with extended family when they visit.

I did this for a simple cross-country move with a very sturdy plastic bin with locking handles - found it at a local store so I'm not sure of the model, but this is definitely a viable option. Some things to keep in mind:
Absolutely make sure you tape the crap out of it; don't rely on the lid.
You'll probably be dragging it around - if only between the check in desk/baggage claim and a car, so keep that in mind. Carrying a large 70 pound for any distance is as awkward as it is heavy. I actually took mine on Amtrak for part of the trip and ended up using rope to tie it to a large rolling bag and pull it behind me - I looked like an idiot but it worked remarkably well. Or maybe you could look into attaching furniture glider pads to make them easier to move around.

Update
 

Hey friends,
Thought I'd give an update since we were finally able to complete our move from US to România. We had delays from an auto accident, a premature birth and the well know global pandemic. Here's what we ended up taking with us.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...06e142ce47.jpg
All the stuff ready to go.
​​​There was 6 ticketed passengers and an infant in lap. I was able to acquire gold status through CC spend in 2020 using the promotions available then. So we were able to check 18 pieces of luggage up to 70 lbs each for free. We brought 7 suitcases, 8 , 1 monitor box, 1 guitar and 1 large 30 gal plastic tote.

The cardboard boxes worked great. They had a huge volume but not oversized. Not that anyone checked. I got them from Amazon but the price has increased since I purchased them. Many other sources sell cardboard boxes I highly recommend the double wall heavy duty variety normal box's would have fallen apart before we got there but it these held up fine. The 20x20x20 inner size provides the maximum volume that can be achieved with 62 linear inches. It is significantly larger than traditional checked luggage but still not oversized.

I expecting to pay oversize fee for the large tote that contained some items that would not fit in anything smaller but they did not charge me for it. Probably because it took over an hour to check us in. Not because we had so much luggage but because we had changed our tickets so many times things got really messed up.

We also checked 3 car seats and 2 strollers which don't count towards baggage allowance. Even with all the stuff we were able to bring with us we also shipped 4 pallets of freight via boat that will arrive in 8-12 weeks.

I think everything turned out alright. None of our luggage was lost or damaged and since we left from and arrived at small airports we did not have to lug all the baggage very far to the check-in counter or from the baggage claim to the curb. Airline staff was great and made no fuss about all the extra luggage.