Things to NEVER Pack in a Checked Bag (14 TSA Rules and Tips)

In today's video, we're going to be talking about items that you should never have packed in your checked bag, as well as talk about some of the rules and regulations so that way you can make your way through security with ease, as well as your travel day is met with a lot less stress. I think oftentimes people assume that just because it's a checked bag, everything is okay, but you might be surprised by some of these items that I mention in this video that are not allowed in your checked bag. Make sure you stick around. Let's get the video started. We're going to start today's video off talking about what I would call level one knowledge. This is the base level knowledge that almost every traveler should have when packing their checked luggage, so that way they can get through security with ease, as well as their travel day is going to be a lot more efficient. Keep in mind, some of these items that I mention in our level one knowledge or our base level knowledge for packing a checked bag, not all of these items are prohibited from packing in your checked baggage. Actually, a lot of these are completely fine to pack, but we avoid packing them because it's going to make your travel day a lot easier, which I'll explain in a second. That leads us into our first item to not pack in your checked bag, and that is important travel documents. We want to avoid packing anything that we're going to need as far as identification like driver's license or passports or things like visas, health insurance, hotel confirmations, whatever you might need when you get to your destination or getting through security. Obviously, you're going to want those items with you in person, ideally maybe even on your person and maybe not even in your carry-on, but they're definitely going to want to stay away from your checked baggage. The next item is cash or credit cards or a checkbook. Do people still use checkbooks? I have no idea. I don't. But anyway, you want to avoid packing that stuff in your checked bag. First of all, you might need to use it, and second of all, you don't want to run the risk of losing it. Next item is medications. You're going to want to avoid packing medications in your checked baggage. That's going to want to be in your carry-on baggage as well as make sure that if you have prescription medications, that it stays in the original container. That's really important because TSA wants to know what that medication is, so make sure you keep it in the original container and put it in your carry-on luggage, not your checked luggage. The next one is toiletries. Now, this one might be a little bit more of a personal tip or trick, and some of you might disagree with me on this one, but I personally always pack my toiletries in my carry-on bag, not my checked bag. The reason being, oftentimes when I'm traveling, I need access to some of that stuff, whether it be my toothbrush or some deodorant. It's really nice to have that stuff with me, even though it might take up a little bit more space in my carry-on luggage. In your checked luggage, I would recommend packing any large toiletries because obviously you can't have anything over 3.4 ounces in your carry-on luggage. That might be a good opportunity to then put some toiletries in your checked baggage, but otherwise it's nice to just have it with you just in case you lose your bag or something like that. That's my personal recommendation, is to pack your toiletries in your carry-on, not your checked bag. The next item is a relatively clear one, and that is electronics, or more specifically, anything with a lithium-ion battery. This includes things like cell phones, laptops, cameras, power banks, really any electronics you're going to want to make sure is not in your checked baggage. It's a safety hazard, as well as you don't want to run the risk of losing or damaging those items. Really the last item for our level one knowledge or our base level knowledge is going to be anything that is valuable, avoid putting it in your checked baggage. That could be souvenirs, like I said, electronics, jewelry, anything that you don't want to run the risk of damaging or losing, avoid putting it in your checked bag. Put it in your carry-on bag so that way you can keep your eye on it, you can be careful with it. Now this leads us into what I would call our level two knowledge. These items are going to be a little bit more specific, a little bit more nuanced, but are things that people make mistakes on all the time. And before we get into these items, I want to hear from you. Let me know down in the comments if you've had any items that have gotten flagged by TSA, or maybe mistakes that you have made when it comes to packing your checked bag. Meg and I learn a ton from the comment section, and hopefully you guys do as well. So let's all learn from each other, post it down in the comments if you made any mistakes or have learned something that you should definitely not be packing in your checked baggage. I would love to hear from you. It feels only right to start here with our level two items, being that we are getting into this season, and this item might surprise you, but is one that I believe has probably happened quite a few times before, and that is wrapped gifts. Believe it or not, you cannot pack wrapped gifts in your checked baggage. Being that TSA needs to clearly see what the item is, so if you have a present for a family member and you're traveling to go see them over the holidays, I would highly recommend not wrapping those gifts, being that if they are wrapped, TSA will most likely have to check the item and unwrap the gift. One way you can avoid this problem is if you do have a gift, put it in a gift bag. It makes for a much easier screening, and that way they don't have to ruin your wrapping paper. So believe it or not, you can't pack wrapped gifts in your checked baggage. Next item, meat and produce. Meat and produce? Oh man, what I would love to do is go to Spain, get some fresh jamon, fly back to the US. Oh, that would be lovely, but believe it or not, you can't do it. Fresh meat and produce is not allowed through TSA specifically when flying internationally. Now I will preface, if you are flying domestically, it is totally fine, and I figured I would just mention this one being that a lot of our viewers do fly internationally, and it's something that you should be aware of, that if you plan to fly internationally, don't plan on bringing home any meat or produce because it'll be taken by TSA. And this is done to prevent the spread of any foreign diseases spreading from country to country, so they don't allow you to bring meat and produce. But if you are flying domestically, not to worry, you should be just fine putting it in your checked baggage. The next item is matches and lighters. And this one may seem obvious being that these things are flammable, but it is a mistake that people make not even realizing it. And let me tell you, I've made this mistake before, and it's very easy to do. One example would be, hey, you buy a new candle, it comes with a couple matches, those little strike matches, you throw it in your checked baggage, you forget about it, you don't even realize it, that it's a big deal. So it is a mistake that can be made. Another mistake that can be made, and this was this mistake that I've made, is say you're going on a camping trip, and you have a lighter to light your camp stove, and you throw it in your backpack as if it's not a big deal. These things do happen, so just be aware that matches and lighters are not allowed in your checked baggage. Now we have firearms. Now this one can be a little bit of a confusing one for people, being that they are allowed to be brought on the plane, but they have to be packed in a very specific way. So it is completely prohibited to just throw a firearm in your checked baggage. It does need to be in a very specific firearm case, so keep that in mind if you do plan to pack a firearm for whatever reason. It does need to be packed in a very specific way. So make sure you are clear on that, and you look up that information prior to traveling, because it is not allowed to just be tossed in your checked baggage. The next item is bleach. Bleach. Can you believe it? Bleach. I don't know why I said that three times. Anyway, bleach is not allowed in your checked baggage. I was actually doing some research on this because I was kind of curious, because first of all, I've never traveled with bleach, but I figured I'd just mention it because it does seem like kind of like a common household item, and maybe something that you might want to travel with. But I was trying to figure out why it is not allowed, and I did some research, and I figured out that it is not allowed because it has the potential to mix with other chemicals that could be troublesome. So that is why bleach is not allowed. Again, one of kind of those nuanced items that you just have to keep your eye on and make sure that you don't pack it. Next we have e-cigarettes and vape pens. Now this is one that I would imagine has become a lot more prevalent as of late, being that a few, quite a few years ago, I'd never even heard of a vape pen, and now I hear about them all the time from like kids and stuff. It's really not good. But anyway, that's beside the point. You're not allowed to put it in your checked baggage, which I could see that being a easy mistake if you're somebody that has these products, being that they're quite small and just something that you might not think is super threatening. But the reason you're not allowed to put them in your checked baggage is because of the lithium battery. Not necessarily because they're kind of bad for your lungs and stuff, but more so because of the battery. So make sure you avoid putting those in your checked baggage. The next item is medical marijuana. Medical marijuana is not allowed to be packed in your checked baggage, though I can understand why there might be a little confusion around this, being that here in the United States, some states, medical marijuana is legal, but according to federal law, medical marijuana is still illegal, so therefore it cannot be packed in your checked baggage, with one exception. And that is if the product contains less than 0.3% THC. Now the last item in what I would deem as our level two knowledge or difficult stuff is alcohol. Now alcohol is a little bit confusing, being that there's quite a few different rules surrounding it. But the one that you should be focusing on is if the alcohol content is over 70%. If the alcohol content is over 70%, you are not allowed to pack it in your checked bag. This would include things like hard liquors or spirits like tequila or maybe whiskey. That is not allowed. But if the alcohol content ranges anywhere from 25 to 70%, you are allowed up to 5 liters, and then anything under 24%, you are totally good to go. So if you want to pick up your favorite bottle of wine from your trip to Italy and put it in your checked bag, you should be good to go, especially if you're traveling domestically. I do want to make you aware of one resource before I kind of close out this video. And this particular resource I've mentioned in a couple of my other videos, and it has been super helpful for myself, as well as a lot of other travelers. And TSA actually has a website, a Facebook page, a Twitter page, where you can ask specific questions on whether or not an item is okay to go in your checked bag or your carry-on bag. And they have detailed descriptions on if that item is prohibited or not. And you can really type in anything you want, and it will spit out the answer, which is super nice. It saves you a lot of stress. So I would highly recommend checking out that resource before your next trip or if you do have an item that you're a little bit concerned about. I'll make sure to link it below. Thanks for watching this video. I hope it cleared up some of the confusion that surrounds what items can be packed in your checked bag, as well as just provide you with some more tips and tricks so that way your travel day is stress-free. If you enjoyed this video, I would highly recommend checking out the video we made very similar to this one, but items that you should not be packing in your carry-on luggage. Carry-on luggage is a little bit more confusing, and there are quite a bit more rules when it comes to packing your carry-on luggage. So I would highly recommend checking that video out. If you enjoyed this one, though, please, please, please give it a thumbs up, as well as subscribe to our channel for more content like this. We will see you in the next video.