Is luggage rental useful? We review Cargo, a new suitcase hire service

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• Jay H says:

  22 Feb22 February 10:36

  Can get a perfectly good case from Tripp for less than the cost of renting one. Why would you bother hiring? If you don’t have the space after donate to a charity shop!

• The Savage Squirrel says:

  22 Feb22 February 10:38

  This IS points generation.

  £70 for suitcase hire for a case on every trip. Fully expensable to work (if you work for idiots). Put through credit card. Hey presto – over 100 Avios on your BAPP every time :D.

  • marcw says:

    22 Feb22 February 12:22

    Don´t think that at that level you care about 100 Avios more or less.

• Andrew says:

  22 Feb22 February 10:39

  Hope they clean the suitcase between uses – don’t fancy putting my clothes where someone has put their shoes. Ridiculous idea and a waste of time article.

• Freddy says:

  22 Feb22 February 10:49

  As a genuine pointer for this company. Perhaps they could have a range of cabin bags to fit specific airlines cabin sizes. So if I needed a cabin bag for easyJet and I needed it fast and couldn’t be bothered researching the dimensions this may be a easy solution….perhaps, maybe!

  • Bagoly says:

    22 Feb22 February 19:15

    In a similar vein: have hold bags which are at the limit (I think usually girth + length) in different shapes – E.g. the largest cube that will fit, or long and square or long and flattish.

    I do think the £43 as a proportion of buying a bag is going to limit the market severely.
    Perhaps go for highly-valued (even if only emotionally) goods:
    E.g. Have one of those broadcasting trackers on each bag, with an app so one can see exactly where it is.
    And wrap in contents insurance superior to standard travel insurance.
    Or particularly rigid sides.

    Or save other costs (Airportr works for me on those trips where it saves me a taxi fare of £20 or more)
    Somebody mentioned needing extra capacity only one way.
    For those not flying BA with silver or above there is a checked bag fee to be saved one way.
    Having free collection at multiple overseas airports seems pretty infeasible, but rented bag could either be collapsible to fit inside one’s standard bag on empty leg, or large enough (so list internal unobstructed dimensions) to take standard bag inside.

    • Desire says:

      22 Feb22 February 20:49

      ‘girth’

• Donna says:

  22 Feb22 February 10:55

  Perhaps one should bear in mind that we all learn so much from this site. Maybe this article is not what we hoped to read this weekend, but does not warrant all the sharps comments. A little kindness goes a long way.

  • Rim says:

    22 Feb22 February 11:04

    I cannot believe the comments I read here today.. 🙂

  • Lady London says:

    22 Feb22 February 11:17

    Also well said, @Donna.

    My only dispute would be in the value of the suitcase. I’m sure we’ve all bought cheap suitcases in UK/US anywhere from $35-$95 up to about $140 that did not look like they were going to last but did. My particular favourites are American Tourister, Travelon. Also Samsonite not because my incredibly cheap one lasted, but because when the wheels collapsed immediately after encountering pavement for the first time Samsonite cheerfully replaced it immediately in a different country with a genuinely equivalent model.

    My issue with the £200 is that once you go out of the lower price range topping at about $140 above, there seems no extra value or sturdiness until beyond £400 or so. I’m thinking Briggs & Riley for sturdiness, Rimowa if you really want to pay that much.

    So for me the ‘value’ figure is much higher than £200. I have the sturdy ones
    that refuse to die like proper original Samsonite or Lark (or lifetime fix like the Briggs & Riley). But what I really enjoy right now is the ‘gaming’ aspect of getting a cheap one when I need it and being surprised when they last and last.

    • Mark says:

      22 Feb22 February 19:57

      We bought a little American Tourister case when it was 2 US dollars to the pound, and BA had a 3 case per person checked bag allowance in Club World…. Kept having to buy more luggage to get our purchases home!

      The retracting handle started to stick a year or so back, so it now has a US 1 cent coin tapped to the mechanism underneath the lining. Good as new…

      • Mark says:

        22 Feb22 February 19:58

        or taped even… 🙂

• Henry says:

  22 Feb22 February 11:08

  I am not sure the comments are wholly mean and it is worth remembering that people often dont take the most money efficient approach. If you buy a phone on a bundled contract then perfect example. There is a growing generation of renters now and not just their house/flat so probably not the worst idea ever.

  That said, decent suitcase for minimum £200 is definitely well off the mark. I use an it luggage case and used it a lot when I was weekly commuting, which also included a fair bit of flying so it being crammed in places and given a fairly hard time by me and others.

  It is still going strong. If you are spending huge amounts on luggage then that is your choice and not for anyone else to criticise, you are supporting jobs, vat etc and this rental scheme may well appeal to you.

  • Henry says:

    22 Feb22 February 11:10

    I would be interested to know what youbthoughg of the case itself, was it significantly better for you than a cheap one from argos or sports direct ? Or even, better/ worse than your normal ones.

• Jay says:

  22 Feb22 February 11:11

  I always buy the cheapest large checked in luggage. Usually around £40-60 in Debenhams depending on the time of year and size. Comes with a 5 year warranty. Spending £200 on checked luggage that handlers are throwing about left and right is just stupid.

  Having said that I dropped a grand on my hand luggage which I’ve used every week for the last 4 years. Sometimes is pays to invest in things that you can look after but checked luggage isn’t that.

  • Confused says:

    22 Feb22 February 11:47

    I’m confused. Dropped? A grand piano?

    • Doug M says:

      22 Feb22 February 13:08

      Spent a thousand GBP – Dropped a grand.

      • Chrisasaurus says:

        22 Feb22 February 20:46

        Street, innit?

        • Dr Doo says:

          22 Feb22 February 22:06

          If you assume you receive a £200 suitcase and it costs you £42 then thats 21% so after 5 times you could have brought yourself another £200 suitcase so makes little sense regardless of how much you pay for your suitcases.

          If your concerned about storage then you can always store items n the suitcases!

        • geoff says:

          23 Feb23 February 19:36

          Yes, that “snagged” it muppets will be along soon..

• Nick_C says:

  22 Feb22 February 11:16

  Agree with most of the above. But also, using a suitcase that has been used by a stranger? Ewww. Bedbugs can travel in suitcases, and can live for five months without feeding.

  But if I needed an extra suitcase temporarily, I would borrow one from friends or family.

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