Traveling with e-ring

[phillystudent]

I''m hoping to pop the question during an upcoming vacation I will be taking with my gf next week to California. Since we''re on the east coast, we''re obviously flying to cali. The ring and proposal are a surprise(or so I hope!), so I don''t want her knowing I have this thing at all right now. How(where) should I pack the ring for the flight? I''m worried that if I carry it on me, or in my carry on bag I could get searched and she''ll be there to see the ring taken out during said search. I''ve heard horror stories about people having items stolen out of checked baggage or the entire bag could get lost(temporarily or indefinitely). I''m sure someone here has had a similar problem and I''m curious what the best course of action is. I''m inclined to try and pack it away neatly in my carry on bag and hope that I don''t get searched.

Thanks,

Bryan

 

[urseberry]

Whatever you do, don''t check the ring. I''ve heard that if you have a frequent traveler number on your ticket, you are less likely to get searched. If you do get searched, they usually pull you aside, so it''s unlikely that your girlfriend will see the ring anyway.

I encourage you to purchase insurance coverage for the ring before the trip. It is easier for a ring to be lost, damaged, or stolen when you are away from home. If she is not used to wearing rings or if you didn''t get the sizing quite right, the ring could be lost as well.

Good luck on your upcoming trip and proposal!

 

[mrssalvo]

search airport security and you''ll find a ton of threads with lots of info.

 

[mia1181]

Haha! My fiancee was in the same pickle as you..... He chose to pack it in checked luggage.......


And then they lost our luggage!

Well the luggage was never lost, it was delayed for a few days because of a snow storm and we ended up getting it back. But for the time we waited, the airline called the bags lost and told us they had absolutely no idea where it was. Imagine how stressed my fiancee was! He obviously had to spill the beans to me when I thought he was overreacting to losing some bags.

DO NOT CHECK YOUR RING!!!!!

If you read the luggage policy on your airline you will see that they are not liable for lost jewelry! Even if you have the receipt!

If I were you I would find a small compartment in your carryon bag and stash it there. Chances are very slim that they would pull everything out in front of her if your bag was searched.

 

[autumnlala]

Don''t check it!! Not worth the scare!!!

I haven''t had this experience with an engagement ring (yet!) but I do travel often, and I put all my jewelry in my carryon, in a soft pouch usually. It''s never been a problem. Jewelry isn''t one of the dangerous things they are looking for! If you do have something else that catches their attention (as my nail scissors did one time), they will rustle through all your stuff but the previous poster is right, they will take you aside, so your GF probably won''t see it happen, and if she did, she may not even notice a little black (or blue, or whatever) box as they''re looking through everything Maybe put it in a bag, just in case?

Good luck!

 

[Hest88]

You can also carry it in your pants pocket. (Just make sure you don''t have keys and other stuff in the same pocket that would set off the metal detector!) I regularly wear my wedding set and a plat RHR and even altogether they''re definitely not enough to set off the detector.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Some men put it in a small envelope in the inside jacket pocket, too. Otherwise, the carry-on is okay if you keep it with you at all times. Just put the ring box in the luggage and put the ring in a small brown envelope or something, so if they did check your carry-on, she wouldn''t see a ring box.

 

[kcoursolle]

I would put it on your person. However, do not keep it in the box because the metal hinges in the box will set the security alarm off, but the metal of the ring will not. I would tape it to the inside of your coin pocket or something like that. There are many threads about guys with similar plans if you do a search.

 

[phillystudent]

Thanks for the replies. I definitely won''t put it in checked baggage. Whether I carry it on me or in my carry on-- not as sure about that yet, but you guys have given me some good ideas and there are plenty of other crazy ones I found by doing a search. Thanks!!

 

[surfgirl]

I''d put it in a little satin pouch (you can get them at most jewelery stores) and put it in my front pocket (you have to take your jacket off for the xray anyway so it would go though there) or I''d pack it well inside my carry on. If you get called to open it, ask your GF to wait "over there" somewhere and as soon as she''s out of earshot, tell the security you have a surprise ering on you and please take you to a private area to search your bags...something like that?

 

[Deelight]

Put it into a pouch and safety pin into your jacket

 

[bee*]

D put our ring in his carry on when he was flying from NY to Dublin and the same when we were flying from Dublin to Barcelona. There was no problem on either flight. I agree with everyone else though-do not check it in!