Brand OveScorrall e Survey ResultsDurabilityEase of carryingEase of packingStowabilityWheelabilityCARRY-ON SUITCASE BRANDSBriggs & Riley (^925040055040)
eBags^915050055050
Eagle Creek^905050045040
L.L.Bean (^895040044040)
Rick Steves (^894050055040)
Kirkland (Costco) (^895040044040)
It Luggage (^884050055040)
Tumi (^885040045040)
London Fog (^884040044040)
Travelpro^884040044040
Hartmann^885040054040
Eddie Bauer^874040044030
Victorinox^874040044040
Swiss Gear^864040044040
Ricardo Beverly Hills (^864040044040)
Samsonite (^854040044040)
Skyway (^854040044040)
Delsey (^854040044040)
Atlantic (^844030043030)
American Tourister (^834040044030)
Heys^824040044040
Pay attention to fees. Not all airline
and third-party websites provide
all optional fees in a convenient
and transparent manner during the
shopping and booking process. (United,
for example, requires shoppers to enter
speciic light information and dates
before providing checked-baggage
fees.) That’s why Consumers Union
has been ighting for years for full
airfare and fee transparency through
all booking channels. To highlight
these kinds of high and hidden
expenses and help consumers to ight
back, Consumer Reports is launching
a program called “What the Fee?!”
(WhatTheFee.com). No matter where
you book, be sure to understand the
fare category you’re purchasing and
read the refund and baggage policies
before you buy it.
Use price alerts and other fare-
tracking tools. Sites such as
Airfarewatchdog, Google Flights,
Kayak, TripAdvisor, and others ofer
fare trackers that alert you when the
price drops on a route that you want to
ly. Other tools on some of these sites
will predict whether airfare prices are
likely to rise or fall, and Google Flights
has an itinerary tool that shows how
the cost of a light will be afected if
you decide to leave or return a day
or two sooner or later. Many of these
tools are also available as apps that
you can download to your phone. Note
that airlines must allow you to hold
a reservation at the quoted fare, or
cancel a booking without penalty, for
24 hours after you pay for it, as long
as you’re departing in seven or more
days. That means you have 24 hours
after purchasing your ticket to continue
looking for a lower fare. (American
and United also allow consumers to
place a hold of up to seven days on a
reservation for a fee.)
- Carry an Airline-
Branded Credit Card
Airline-branded credit cards can
come with generous beneits. The
Delta Reserve card, for instance,
ofers seat upgrades for cardholders
with Medallion status on a space-
available basis (basic-economy fares
are not eligible for upgrades) and
access to airport lounges. United’s
MileagePlus Card ofers cardholders
who are also MileagePlus Premier
members complimentary upgrades
when available. Other beneits include
priority boarding and two free checked
bags. But keep in mind that these cards
have hefty annual fees of $450, so
unless you travel frequently, they might
not be worth the money.
Ratings Open-and-Shut Cases Ratings of carry-on suitcase brands,
based on CR member satisfaction surveys.
HOW WE SURVEY: Ratings are
based on 1 3 ,780 CR members’
responses to questions about
satisfaction with carry-on
suitcases from our fall 2017
survey. The Overall Score
represents overall satisfaction
with the carry-on suitcase and
is not exclusively determined
by factors under the survey
results. A score of 100 would
mean that all respondents are
completely satisfied; 80, that
respondents are very satisfied;
and 60, that respondents
are somewhat satisfied,
on average. Differences of
fewer than 4 points are notmeaningful. Each rating
category under Survey Results
reflects average scores on
a scale from “completely
dissatisfied” to “completely
satisfied.” Ratings are based on
responses from CR members,
who may not be representative
of the general U.S. population.01 20 03 40 05
WORSE BETTER
DECEMBER 2018 CR.ORG 35