I named April the month of optimism in my mind. The world is starting to look less dark. So with tentative optimism, I’m starting to look at travel possibilities for this fall and 2022. If you’re doing the same, you might be looking for alternatives to paying the often wild airline checked bag fees (remember when that shit was free?!?)
Well, my Mom recently used a service that I didn’t know existed, to get her bag from CT to GA so she could take an Amtrak sleeper car with only her purse. Before she booked the service, I reached out on Twitter asking if anyone had used them before and got crickets (a first for this type of request). So after my Mom used the service and loved it, I decided to talk about her experience and this new option in case it can help anyone else.
Hi there! We think that is a great idea. Let us know if you have any questions – we'd be happy to assist! π
— LugLess.com (@lugless) March 15, 2021
What Is LugLess?
I asked my Mom how she even came across this company when I had never heard of such a thing existing, and her answer made me laugh: it was featured on the show Shark Tank…8 years ago. Despite forgetting some things from that very morning, she can remember such a random detail π . Interestingly, LugLess didn’t get a deal on Shark Tank, but I guess that exposure is paying dividends because it led us to this moment.
Anyway, my Mom was searching for ways to actually just straight up ship her suitcase to make her upcoming sleeper car adventure easier. She originally landed on UPS’ site, but they require that you put your luggage in a box (who has boxes as big as a suitcase?!), required that you enter dimensions to get a quote and had a confusing website that made it difficult to figure out how pick up even works. In the end, the convoluted experience just made her give up.
Enter LugLess. They are an easy way to get your luggage from Point A to Point B without acquiring a box, a measuring tape or additional headaches. If you’re taking a flight for example, LugLess will take your luggage and drop it where you’re going – no wrestling with overhead bins or waiting forever at baggage claim. You can just grab your purse like my Mom did and emerge on the other side of travel without strained muscles.
How Does LugLess Work?
Hilariously, LugLess actually uses UPS or FedEx to ship your luggage, but are able to bypass all of the annoyances that I mentioned above that pop up if you work directly with UPS for example. They have a simple to use website where you can get a quote on how much your luggage will cost to ship:
And then provide additional support options to meet whatever needs you might have:
With the lowest/free package (which is the one I would choose for myself TBH) the cost is less than checking a bag with a standard airline and the cost savings multiply with multiple bags. If I was shipping my bag with LugLess from Connecticut to Georgia it would have cost $20.
However, my Mom is an older and fancier lady than me. She had the same situation, but also opted for the “Extra” support plan above. For an additional $38 she was able to get LugLess to pick up her bag from her house and drop it off there as well (lower plans require that you drop it at UPS if you’re not at a hotel or office that has their own UPS pick up). It also included $700 of insurance, which gave her peace of mind.
My self-declared technologically challenged Mom had no problem navigating the LugLess site. And after picking her plan, LugLess began to send her email updates every step of the way: 
The Pick Up
Based on the tier of support my Mom chose, she also received a fancy luggage tag in the mail:
The package included a tag in a plastic wrapping to place on the outside of her luggage as well as a tag for the inside with super clear instructions for how to affix everything properly. If you use a lower tier, you will need to print your own luggage tag.
Anyway, she was then given a window of time when the pickup of her luggage would happen on the date she chose when booking. She placed it outside her door, left a note to please ring the doorbell when they grabbed the bag so she would know and went about her day. The UPS driver did just that and a completely contactless handoff happened. No interaction, no receipt – easy peasy.
The Drop Off
So my Mom embarked on her sleeper car adventure with only her purse. There was no dragging her bag through Penn Station, trying to find where bags are stored in the sleeper car train or dragging it to her car. And if a plane was involved in this plan, obviously it would have been even more complicated.
Instead she stepped on and off a train and knew that her luggage would be meeting her at home. And finally:
Her bag was delivered to her doorstep with nothing missing or broken. PiΓ±a colada time indeed!
The Positives
The Ease
As I mentioned, one of the main reasons my Mom chose this company was its ease. Instead of lugging her stuff around in an unknown environment (a sleeper train, Penn Station etc) she had everything taken care of beforehand and could just expect to see her luggage on the other side. There’s no 3 oz liquid limits, airplane bin dimension challenges or anything of the sort. Just getting your stuff from one place to another.
The Cost
I remember the golden age of 2007 when checking a bag on a plane was free. Well, no longer. Now most airlines charge $35 for the first bag and $50 for the second. And if you’re one pound overweight be prepared to pay a $100 overweight fee (ask me how I know…) In comparison, shipping a checked bag of the same size with LugLess (aka 50 lbs or less) costs $30. And if you have multiple bags, your savings will be more than that 14% π .
The Updates
My Mom absolutely loved getting emails from LugLess every step of the way. It made her feel like they were on top of it and she also described the emails as “cute” – it seems like they had fun writing them so it was fun to receive them π .
Similarly, I love getting constant updates from a service I’m using, especially if it’s the first time just so I know what’s happening. For example, Delta adding that “Where Is My Bag?” section to their app might have been in a direct response to me bothering them π . LugLess took that to the next level.
Contactless In The Age Of ‘Rona
During this pandemic I’m always looking for ways to limit my contact with others and if for some reason I were to be traveling during this time, adding the contact points that checking luggage requires at an airport would be one I’d like to eliminate. LugLess makes this possible by providing a completely contactless experience from pickup to drop off and everywhere in between. My hermit tendencies are tingling π .
A Negative
I asked my interviewee (aka my Mom) what negatives she had about the experience with LugLess and she said “no negatives”…but since I pride myself on my journalist integrity π , I pushed further. There’s always something that is less than ideal – nothing is perfect. After this light pushing, my Mom admitted that she had one nitpick with the service, but didn’t think it was relevant because it’s not their fault.
Because LugLess uses UPS and FedEx to deliver their packages they are at the mercy of their route times. After choosing a day for her luggage to be picked up, she was given a large window of time for that to happen – from 9am to 7pm.
Luckily, she had observed what time the UPS truck in her Connecticut neighborhood came each day (11am), assumed that’s when they would pick it up and she was correct. However, if you have something valuable in your luggage and don’t feel comfortable leaving it on your stoop for 10 hours, this could be a concern. So heads up for those of you that applies to!
Conclusion
So the million dollar question is: Is LugLess worth it? Especially to my fancy ass Mom who decided to get the most expensive support package and in total paid $58 to ship her luggage door to door from Connecticut to Georgia. Her response? “YES!!!!”
The ability to get rid of her luggage and not have to think about it combined with her not having to worry about it when going into a new situation was worth it to her. She said this is a great service and a perfect one for older people such as herself who don’t want to deal with things like overhead bins – or people that are in a hurry and don’t want to deal with baggage check-in kiosks and baggage claim. I hope sharing her experience with this new service was helpful for your future travels!
Have you found any new alternatives for lugging stuff around?
Cool review! Iβve not used Lugless or similar services, but I have seen adverts for that kind of service in the past and it is appealing to me. I told myself I can use those services when Iβm older and closer to or at FI – because I assumed it would cost more than squeezing everything onto my allowed carry on. If itβs actually the same/similar price it becomes even more appealing !
Thank you! And yep it’s not for everyone, but super cool to know it’s an option π .
Looks like their service area is limited to the US. What a shame. I hope they expand internationally. Also, I didn’t see bicycles on their list of things to ship.
I remember the days when I shipped a bicycle, free of charge, to Cuba. >sigh< I also remember when flights had 'all you can drink' bar service…… aka I'm REALLY old!
Yeah on that episode of Shark Tank they said they would be a global company, but I guess that’s a slow process π . Bicycles definitely need to be added to that list! And oh wow – the good ole days indeed π . And all you can drink WHAT?! I’ve never regretted being young so much haha.
I didn’t know services like this existed but I’m on board! We are used to dragging our luggage through an airport and sometimes then onto the train then from the train stop to our destination but how amazing would it be to skip all of that!
In the past I used Greyhound to ship additional luggage since I couldn’t carry more than two bags but had to go to the bus station to do the pickup. Greyhound is still a good way to ship a bike though. Amtrak is (very slowly) adding roll-on bike cars to routes for people who want to travel with a bike but most still require it to be put in a box on the baggage car – and did you know that many, many Amtrak stops don’t have luggage service? Something like Lugless would be perfect for someone who lives at a smaller Amtrak station if they want to take more than a carry-on.
Woohoo to more options! Interesting about Greyhound – I didn’t know you could use them to ship luggage if you’re not on the bus. I didn’t know many Amtrak stops don’t have luggage service – sounds like there are more applications for this kind of service than I even thought π .
Love the idea of peace of mind about luggage when traveling! Seems like a luxury at my current stage, but cool to know about for the future! Sticking to the one backpack rule for now, whenever it becomes safe to travel again. Thanks for posting about this!
It’s totally a luxury if you want more than the basic support package, but then again since I take public transit to/from the airport it would be helpful to not have to do any of that as well – I might change my $0 support plan opinion and shell out more for that – TBD π . And of course!
I travel pretty light so I rarely check my luggage. Maybe when I’m older and need more stuff, I might use Lugless. It sounds good.
When I flew from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, they allow one carry-on and limit the weight to 15 pounds. Jeez, that’s so little. I had to remove my jacket and a few things to make it light enough.
Yeah I try to travel light too, but it’s cool to know the option is out there! And WOAH what airline were you on in Thailand?! That’s the smallest bag allowance I’ve ever heard. I would be wearing all my clothes to make that work π .
Wow that’s awesome! I work as a travel nurse and often drag 2 large suitcases of over 50 lbs each. It would be well worth it to have it shipped instead!
I’m also a traveler, and it is a lifesaver ! Being able to drop off/pick it up at UPS when you want, is so much easier. I tried to bypass and call UPS directly for a quote, but they won’t tell you a price until you come in. Highly recommend!
Thanks so much for sharing your experience!
Amazing!! I hope this helps π .
This is super intriguing, especially as someone who likes to combine my vacations with recreational activities that require extra suitcase weight and space. Thanks for doing some digging for us!
Of course – I hope it helps!
WHAT?!?! I was obsessed with Shark Tank from 2012 – 2016 yet I cannot remember any company named LugLess being on the show. Maybe I missed a few details here and there? haha.
Anyways, sounds like a good service. I’m also optimistic travel will return this year or 2022 at the very latest but who knows if a new strand of the coronavirus will come up.
Haha well it was a 2013 episode: Season 4, Episode 26. They were on for like the last 10 minutes. I guess they give less time to companies that don’t get deals. And yeah they’ve been cool so far! I’m crossing my fingers travel will return and those variants stay back lol!
I used a similar service years ago when I was traveling in Japan jumping from one city to the next. So it was great to have this service and not having to lug my suitcase through the trains, bus, and not to mention the crowds. We lucked out when one of the pick up location was across the street from our airbnb. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the company’s name. But I know there were a couple of them in Japan and they usually have kiosks at the bus stations. Don’t know when travel will resume but I’m planning for 2022.
Cool! Awesome to know there are options in other countries as well π .
I paid around $50 dollars to send a bag with Lugless, including the support package. The same bag home weighted in at the Delta counter at 53 dollars and they charged my 30$. Why oh why did I not just use the airline. The massive hidden catch with Lugless is that they use Fedex who can measure the bag after you drop it off, then charge fees they never told you about. I received an email weeks later that my 53 pound bag was over 90 pounds in Dimensional Weight, thereby costing an extra $96 dollars in overweight penalities and an extra $146 for a “Large Package Charge with Peak Surcharge.” I remeasured the bag and found that the measurements Fedex took were incorrect. Still, Lugless passes on the fees to me and points back at Fedex if you’d like to make a claim, which of course Fedex denied. I find it unacceptable that Fedex and Lugless can collude to charge these extraordinary fees without advising the customer before hand, and then point back at the other and say their hands are tied. Can you IMAGINE paying almost $300 dollars to ship a bag across the country when I can pay $30 for the airline to do it? What kind of a business model is that? Not one that will work for very long I’m sure. Can not advise more strongly to stay away from Lugless with any bags that run the slightest risk of being oversized or overweight.
Wow. That’s horrible and very good to know. Thank you for sharing your experience.
You could try contesting the charge with your credit card company. You didn’t authorize the surcharge so it would be reasonable to do a chargeback in this case. Let your credit card company know that it’s an unauthorized charge. This assumes you used a credit card and not a debit card of course.
That’s a great point! Thank you.