Just booked Delta, have a few ???'s

[danicaca]

Hello! Just booked our flights this morning for our trip next May - and I know it is early, but I am a plan waaaay ahead type of gal As far as carry-on bags go, Delta says one carry-on for the overhead baggage area, and one personal item. I know for me, it will be my extra large purse, and DH his laptop. But as far as my kids, can they carry a backpack as theirs? They will probably have small rolling suitcases for their overhead carry-on, but I want them to bring a backpack as well. Also, do you think two large suitcases will be enough for our family of four as far as checked baggage? I know we will have some souvenirs, and I usually over pack, but I am going to try and leave some room for anything we might bring back. Can you tell this is the first time we have flown as a family? Any suggestions for our baggage. I should probably say that my kiddos will be 5 and 8 at the time of travel. Thanks in advance for any advice or tips!

 

[DarthMama]

I can't answer all your questions, but I do know about the kid's backpacks! Our kids (8 and 4) usually have a backpack with toys to play with on the flight, plus their own rolling carry-on. We've never had a problem with the airlines with that.

 

[elaine amj]

we have done - a backpack each (not a massive one - just a normal sized one) and a rolling carry on each.

No problems at all on Delta.

2 large suitcases should be plenty of room (although my version of large and most people's is different...I have a big 30 inch suitcase and I know that was harder to find with most only carrying up to 26/27 inch bags). Still, we usually do 2 very large suitcases with barely any carry ons...and that's plenty of room.

My big advice is to pack a packable travel bag into your suitcase in the event you end up needing more space for a 3rd bag. For some reason going out, we're well within weight limit and coming back, I'm always overweight and have to repack a little. Dirty clothes must weigh more!

 

[Jestocost]

As long as the backpack or other item fits under the seat in front of you it will be fine as a "personal item."

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

As long as the backpack or other item fits under the seat in front of you it will be fine as a "personal item."

+1.

That is pretty much the definition for a personal item.

 

[sam_gordon]

We are a family of 5. We went to Mexico for vacation this summer, here are the bags we brought (flying Delta)...

3 checked bags (1 large, 2 medium). There was 1 empty bag inside our large bag, so on the way home, we had 4 checked bags.
Each kid had a backpack carryon.
I had a backpack with laptop, camera gear, and other electronics
DW had a small wheeled carryon that had 24 hours worth of clothing (and swimsuits). this is MANDATORY any time I fly.

Now, to save a little $$... we have the Delta AmEx card. That entitles us to 1 free checked bag each (up to 9 travelers). It's free for the first year. I got one in 2011 before our Disney trip (same luggage as above), cancelled it at the year mark and DW got one for our Mexico trip. So we have saved $300 in luggage fees alone.

In that year, DW got enough miles so we're paying for our plane tickets for vacation next year with miles ($400).

If you'd like some more information, let me know.

 

[QueenElinor]

I can't answer all your questions, but I do know about the kid's backpacks! Our kids (8 and 4) usually have a backpack with toys to play with on the flight, plus their own rolling carry-on. We've never had a problem with the airlines with that.

OUr family has done this for years and years with three kids and never had a problem on Delta. (or any airline).

 

[danicaca]

Wow - thanks for all of your answers - I love this site! Now someone needs to talk me out of my buyer's remorse. When we first checked flights, it was around $1149 for us to fly Omaha to MCO. A couple of weeks ago, it was up to $2200. We kind of freaked out, but knew that prices had to go down, right? I checked again yesterday, and it was back down to $1600, so we decided to go ahead and book. Our total was $1666.44 including fees, taxes, and trip insurance. Some people say we got a good deal, others are saying we should have waited until closer to our trip. I was worried that if we waited, we would end up spending a lot more money than we wanted. Any thoughts? Did we totally blow it? Hubby is starting to second guess our purchase. Does anyone know if we got the trip insurance, can we cancel if we find a better deal? Just in case...

 

[sam_gordon]

Wow - thanks for all of your answers - I love this site! Now someone needs to talk me out of my buyer's remorse. When we first checked flights, it was around $1149 for us to fly Omaha to MCO. A couple of weeks ago, it was up to $2200. We kind of freaked out, but knew that prices had to go down, right? I checked again yesterday, and it was back down to $1600, so we decided to go ahead and book. Our total was $1666.44 including fees, taxes, and trip insurance. Some people say we got a good deal, others are saying we should have waited until closer to our trip. I was worried that if we waited, we would end up spending a lot more money than we wanted. Any thoughts? Did we totally blow it? Hubby is starting to second guess our purchase. Does anyone know if we got the trip insurance, can we cancel if we find a better deal? Just in case...

First, if it's going to bother you if the prices go down, there's a very easy solution... don't look. If you don't know the prices went down, you can't be upset, right?

As far as trip insurance, I don't know. My only recommendation would be to look at the following...
1) Do you need to have the trip insurance bought within a certain amount of time for it to cover air fare?
2) Does the trip insurance cover ANY reason for cancellation? Something that needs medical or weather proof won't help you.
3) What's the cost of the trip insurance?

 

[DebbieB]

I bought insurance through Delta for my last trip and it includes cancellation or interruption due to:

Health - must have a doctor examine
Death
Quarantine
Traffic Accident
Legal - jury duty or court appearance
Environment - home uninhabitable
Canceled services - natural disaster or severe weather over 24 hours
Hijacking
Terrorism - at your foreign destination
Work - termination or layoff not your fault
Extended travel delay - miss more than half the trip

 

[nefritz]

Wow - thanks for all of your answers - I love this site! Now someone needs to talk me out of my buyer's remorse. When we first checked flights, it was around $1149 for us to fly Omaha to MCO. A couple of weeks ago, it was up to $2200. We kind of freaked out, but knew that prices had to go down, right? I checked again yesterday, and it was back down to $1600, so we decided to go ahead and book. Our total was $1666.44 including fees, taxes, and trip insurance. Some people say we got a good deal, others are saying we should have waited until closer to our trip. I was worried that if we waited, we would end up spending a lot more money than we wanted. Any thoughts? Did we totally blow it? Hubby is starting to second guess our purchase. Does anyone know if we got the trip insurance, can we cancel if we find a better deal? Just in case...

Hey I'm flying out of Omaha as well, right now I've got them for six people at 1314, I'm holding bc bing says to, but who the heck knows if bing is right?!?! I'm tempted to hit buy, bc I'm afraid they're going to go up. When are your dates? Ours are 12/11-12/17.

 

[nefritz]

Hey I'm flying out of Omaha as well, right now I've got them for six people at 1314, I'm holding bc bing says to, but who the heck knows if bing is right?!?! I'm tempted to hit buy, bc I'm afraid they're going to go up. When are your dates? Ours are 12/11-12/17.

Sorry I see May it's early still for me!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Hey I'm flying out of Omaha as well, right now I've got them for six people at 1314, I'm holding bc bing says to, but who the heck knows if bing is right?!?! I'm tempted to hit buy, bc I'm afraid they're going to go up. When are your dates? Ours are 12/11-12/17.

Personally, I would already have purchased tickets for a trip in Dec. in fact, I have!

 

[gwynne]

Personally, I would already have purchased tickets for a trip in Dec. in fact, I have!

BBM. I totally agree on this.

 

[hsmamato2]

next december? that's kind of far out....
I don't think you can do anything about lower fares now with Delta....so just don't look,and be happy you're all set!

 

[VAN]

We are a family of 5. We went to Mexico for vacation this summer, here are the bags we brought (flying Delta)...

3 checked bags (1 large, 2 medium). There was 1 empty bag inside our large bag, so on the way home, we had 4 checked bags.
Each kid had a backpack carryon.
I had a backpack with laptop, camera gear, and other electronics
DW had a small wheeled carryon that had 24 hours worth of clothing (and swimsuits). this is MANDATORY any time I fly.

Now, to save a little $$... we have the Delta AmEx card. That entitles us to 1 free checked bag each (up to 9 travelers). It's free for the first year. I got one in 2011 before our Disney trip (same luggage as above), cancelled it at the year mark and DW got one for our Mexico trip. So we have saved $300 in luggage fees alone.

In that year, DW got enough miles so we're paying for our plane tickets for vacation next year with miles ($400).

If you'd like some more information, let me know.

We also have a Delta AMEX card. Delta has a lot of flights in our area so we have taken advantage of the card many times to get free checked baggage and priority boarding. After the first year, there is a fee; however, we get a companion ticket annually and we use this to fly to Vegas every year. I enjoy getting the Delta miles as well, however, seem to be needing more than the advertised 25k for most itineraries.

 

[danicaca]

I know, I know, quit checking prices. I actually see other people posting - like nefritz, who got 6 tickets for $1300 - that is when I wonder if we should have waited! Thanks all who chimed in. I feel like airfare is a total gamble, and I am so not a betting person...

 

[elaine amj]

Wow - thanks for all of your answers - I love this site! Now someone needs to talk me out of my buyer's remorse. When we first checked flights, it was around $1149 for us to fly Omaha to MCO. A couple of weeks ago, it was up to $2200. We kind of freaked out, but knew that prices had to go down, right? I checked again yesterday, and it was back down to $1600, so we decided to go ahead and book. Our total was $1666.44 including fees, taxes, and trip insurance. Some people say we got a good deal, others are saying we should have waited until closer to our trip. I was worried that if we waited, we would end up spending a lot more money than we wanted. Any thoughts? Did we totally blow it? Hubby is starting to second guess our purchase. Does anyone know if we got the trip insurance, can we cancel if we find a better deal? Just in case...

You cannot cancel or change without a $150 fee per ticket. Rarely worth it. After I buy the ticket, I just close my eyes and stop looking. It's better that way. What helps me is using yapta.com to watch the flight for about half a year. That way I know when there's a good deal. For my Aug flight I started watching from a year before. In January, the price dipped. It still didn't sound good enough for me and I waited. After that, it climbed and never dipped that low again. I bought when it went to a somewhat reasonable price. It dropped about $20 per ticket after that but that didn't worry me too much. It never got down to January levels again though....and frankly, the dip only lasted a very short while.

We also have a Delta AMEX card. Delta has a lot of flights in our area so we have taken advantage of the card many times to get free checked baggage and priority boarding. After the first year, there is a fee; however, we get a companion ticket annually and we use this to fly to Vegas every year. I enjoy getting the Delta miles as well, however, seem to be needing more than the advertised 25k for most itineraries.

I love the Delta AMEX. I gave up on the 25K award flights though - they are extremely rare for where I want to fly. Usually from Detroit to Orlando is around 35K to 40K. Having the Delta Amex though, I use Pay with Miles. Its awesome. A $250 flight costs 25K miles. One year my flight to orlando was just $150, so I flew with just 15K miles! This year, my flight was $280, so I paid with 28K miles per person. Much cheaper than a straight award flight. I love Pay with Miles...but it doesn't get much love amongst bargain hunters.