Frequent flyers have seen it all, and they know how to manage the unwanted mishaps that inevitably pop up during a journey. One nightmare that no traveler wants to deal with is the airline losing your luggage, but if and when it does happen, the pros have a few ways to make the situation less stressful. All it takes is a tiny bit of foresight before leaving your home and heading to the airport.

A Picture-Perfect Solution

While it’s rare for airlines to lose luggage, it’s certainly not unheard of. In 2025 alone, over 2.4 million domestic U.S. flyers had their checked bags lost, delayed, or damaged (out of about 470 million bags that airlines handled). Luckily, U.S. travelers have a right to be compensated by airlines for any lost suitcases and their contents. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, airlines are liable for paying up to $4,700 in compensation per passenger for luggage lost on domestic flights and about $2,175 for luggage lost on international trips. 

In order to fairly compensate you, however, the airline may ask you to list the contents of your lost bags — and it can be difficult to remember everything you packed from memory alone. That’s why you should always take photos or videos of the bag’s contents before zipping it shut and going on your way. Travel experts say that these visual records are critical for helping you get the compensation that you’re entitled to. 

Not only do travel insurance providers such as Allianz suggest taking photos as a precaution, but airlines themselves do, too. In an interview with The Points Guy, a spokesperson for American Airlines said, “When filing the claim, customers will be asked to provide details of the items in their bag. Photos and video are accepted to help identify the customer’s items.” 

Hopefully, you won’t need to use these photos at any point in the journey, but if your luggage does get lost, the more information you provide when submitting a claim, the better. It helps to resolve your claim quicker, and also increases the odds that you’ll be given fair compensation for the items you lost.

Photo Tips

While you’re packing — both before the trip and prior to heading back home — photograph each item of value as you place it into the suitcase. Ryan Smith, a travel expert at The Points Guy, recommends taking photos of each item individually, as well as photos of the items once they are inside your suitcase to prove they were actually packed with you. 

This can include electronics, nice clothing, souvenirs (along with receipts), or anything else that would be costly to replace. It’s worth capturing images of manufacturer labels, too. For instance, you should take a clear photo to prove you were traveling with an Apple Macbook, as that can help confirm the item’s value.

Bailey Berg of Travel + Leisure advises travelers to also take a photo of the suitcase itself, along with the luggage tag, the bag tag, and any marks that may help distinguish it from other similar bags. This way, if your bag goes missing, you can show the pictures to an airline employee so that the person knows exactly what type of suitcase to track down. Doing this is far more helpful than giving a vague description along the lines of “medium-sized and gray.”

Other Useful Tips

As pro travelers will tell you, photographing your luggage is just one tool at your disposal. There are a number of other ways to make sure your valuables stay secure and firmly in your possession. One top tip? Pack your most valuable items in your carry-on (assuming they’re allowed in carry-ons). This advice could apply to jewelry, a one-of-a-kind piece of art you bought abroad, or any other irreplaceable object that you’d hate to lose.

Also consider putting an Apple AirTag (or a similar Bluetooth tracker if you have an Android device) inside your luggage. The AirTag is small enough to fit into any suitcase, and it seamlessly connects with an iPhone to show the exact location of your luggage at any given time. If the bag gets lost, showing that location to an airline employee can help them track down the bag.

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