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Baggage Delay & Lost Bag Calculator — Claim What the Airline Owes You

A bag delayed 2 days on a domestic flight gets no automatic payout — the realistic claim is $105 of interim expenses (day-one kit $45 + one extra day × $60) in a $70-$140 band, paid only against receipts after a PIR report within 4 hours at the airport and a written claim within 21 days. If it's declared lost after 21 days, the DOT's $3,960-per-passenger cap opens — but carriers pay depreciated value: about $420 on a $600 declaration (70%), plus $105 interim — $525 total. And the claim nobody files: your card's travel protection — $100-$500 per day, so $600 for these two days at the $300 midpoint, provided the fare was paid on that card. Exclusions stand: cash never covered, electronics often excluded, jewelry capped at $500-$1,000 — and damage is a written notice within 7 days settling near $300.

Carrier realistic claim — delayed 2 days, receipts$105
Same claim band, fully documented$70-$140
If declared lost — depreciated $420 + interim $105$525
DOT lost-bag cap (domestic) — a ceiling, not a payout$3,960
Card protection — $300/day × 2 days$600
For comparison: damaged-bag settlement (~50% repair)$300
VerdictDelayed bag: claim $50-150 of essentials with receipts. Lost bag: up to $3,960 domestic — but expect depreciated value, and file the credit-card travel protection claim most travelers never use.

Baggage Delay & Lost Bag Calculator — Claim What the Airline Owes You

Inputs

What happened to your bag?

Delayed 24h+: No automatic payout — reasonable interim expenses against receipts.

Trip type?

Domestic (US): DOT regime: $3,960-per-passenger liability cap (2024-updated, inflation-indexed). PIR within 4 hours.

Days without your bag (2)

Essentials kit: toiletries, a shirt, underwear, a charger — day one $45, $60 per extra day

Declared value (bag + contents): $600

Legal cap $3,960 — but the carrier pays depreciated value (60-80%)

What was inside the bag?

Cash, currency and documents are never covered — carry them on, always. Electronics are often excluded, jewelry capped at $750

Did you pay the fare with a card that has baggage protection?

Credit-card travel protection: If you paid the fare with a card carrying baggage protection, it often pays $100-500/day toward delay essentials or a fixed lost-bag benefit — frequently faster and better than the airline. File it in parallel, not instead: it requires the PIR report, proof the fare hit that card, and receipts. The claim most travelers never use.

Default scenario: bag delayed 2 days · domestic · $600 declared — edit inputs
Your realistic claim from the carrier · 2026 rules (2 days, Domestic (US))
$105
band $70-$140 fully documented
≈ 394 SAR (pegged rate)
Formula: day-1 kit $45 + 1 extra day × $60 = $105 — receipts required.
Day-1 essentials kit (toiletries, a shirt, underwear, a charger) · $30-60 band$45
Extra days × 1 · $40-80 each$60
Carrier realistic claim — receipts required ★$105
If declared lost after 21 days — depreciated + interim$525
Card protection — $300/day × 2$0
Claim verdict

Your realistic claim is $105 (band $70-$140) of interim essentials, paid strictly against receipts. File the PIR at the airport within 4 hours, then submit the written claim within 21 days with an itemized list of every purchase.

Submit with it: PIR report number · baggage tags · boarding pass · itemized receipts · photos of contents.

Delayed bag: claim $50-150 of essentials with receipts. Lost bag: up to $3,960 domestic — but expect depreciated value, and file the credit-card travel protection claim most travelers never use.

Tip: credit-card protection — the claim nobody files

If you paid the fare with a card carrying baggage protection, it often pays $100-500/day toward delay essentials or a fixed lost-bag benefit — frequently faster and better than the airline. File it in parallel, not instead: it requires the PIR report, proof the fare hit that card, and receipts. The claim most travelers never use.

Deadlines & exclusions: PIR within 4 hours · damage 7 days · delay 21 days written

Deadlines: file the PIR at the airport within 4 hours of a domestic delay, written notice of damage within 7 days, and a written delayed-bag claim within 21 days. The bag is typically declared lost after 21 days. Cash, currency and documents are never covered — carry them on, always.

Bands are 2026 planning ranges from published rules (DOT cap, Montreal Convention, carrier policies) — not legal advice or live offers, and your carrier's policy governs: read it before you file.

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How the baggage delay & lost bag calculator works

Enter your trip details to get travel figures based on current, -specific numbers.

  1. 1

    Step 1

    Pick the scenario (delayed 24h+ / lost / damaged) and trip type (domestic / international) — the legal frame switches: interim expenses, the DOT's $3,960 domestic cap, or the Montreal Convention at about $2,000 internationally.

  2. 2

    Step 2

    Move the days-without-bag slider (1-7) and your declared bag-plus-contents value ($100-2,500), and flag electronics and jewelry if they were inside — exclusions and caps apply automatically to the claimable figure.

  3. 3

    Step 3

    Read the realistic computed claim with its low-high band, exactly what to submit (the PIR report, receipts, the written notice and its deadline), and what your credit-card travel protection adds if you paid the fare with the card.

Use Cases

Plan travel for

Get exact, current figures for travel in instead of vague averages.

Compare destinations

Weigh against other cities before booking flights or hotels.

Budget before you book

Know the expected spend in so surprises don't derail the trip.

Tips

  • 1

    Prices for move with season — re-check near your travel dates.

  • 2

    Use local currency figures for ; card rates add conversion fees.

  • 3

    Book ahead when visiting in peak season.

Common Mistakes

  • Budgeting with peak-season averages.

  • Ignoring visa lead times before booking.

FAQs

What do airlines actually pay for delayed bags?

No automatic payout: US rules obligate the carrier to reimburse only "reasonable interim expenses" — the essentials kit of toiletries, a shirt, underwear and a charger. Practically, $30-60 for day one and $40-80 for each extra day, averaging $50-150 for delays past 24 hours — all conditional on receipts. Some carriers cap a daily or total amount in their published 2026 policies; request the policy copy when you file so you know your ceiling before they offer the lowest band.

The $3,960 cap — will I actually get it?

The DOT's $3,960-per-passenger cap (updated in 2024 and inflation-indexed) is a ceiling on domestic lost-bag liability, not a payout. Carriers pay the depreciated value of what you declare and document: a five-year-old suitcase and worn clothes settle far below replacement cost, minus exclusions. Declare a realistic depreciated figure, keep purchase receipts for high-value items, and treat $3,960 as the number to argue toward — not the check you'll receive.

Which reporting deadlines can kill my claim?

Three deadlines do the killing. At the airport itself: file the Property Irregularity Report (PIR) within 4 hours of landing on domestic flights, and never leave the hall without a paper copy and a report number. Damage: written notice within 7 days. Delay: a written claim within 21 days. Missing deadlines is the number-one claim-killer — carriers reject procedurally without ever discussing the amount. Log everything before leaving the airport, then send the written claim by trackable mail.

What do baggage compensation rules NOT cover?

Cash, currency and documents are never covered in any scenario. Electronics (laptops, cameras, devices) are often excluded from domestic carrier policies — which is exactly why they belong in your carry-on, not the checked bag. Jewelry is typically capped at $500-1,000 regardless of value. Other common exclusions: medications, perishables, and fragile items that were not declared. Read the exclusions list in the contract of carriage before you count on the bag paying you back in full.

Why are receipts everything in these claims?

Because carriers pay documented reasonable expenses, not estimates: every toiletries, shirt and charger receipt from the days without your bag converts into claimable dollars, and without receipts you'll be offered the lowest token band or denied outright. Keep the discipline: buy only what you need (not a new wardrobe), photograph every receipt immediately because thermal ink fades, keep the papers until settlement, and submit an itemized list with date, amount and item — the receipt is the weight of your claim.

How does credit-card travel protection work — why does nobody use it?

If you paid the fare with a card that carries baggage protection, it is often faster and more generous than the carrier: $100-500/day toward delay essentials, or a fixed lost-bag benefit after a defined waiting period. Why does nobody use it? It requires proof the ticket was paid on that card, the PIR report, and receipts — and people don't know it exists. File it in parallel with the airline claim, not instead of it, and read your card's benefits guide before you fly to know the exact trigger conditions.

What are the Montreal Convention basics for international flights?

The Montreal Convention governs carrier liability on most international routes: a ceiling of about 1,519 Special Drawing Rights — roughly $2,000 — per passenger, covering loss, damage and delay in one framework, and it is stricter on carriers than US domestic rules because the burden of proof flips to them. Deadlines differ: damage reported in writing within 7 days, delay within 21 days of receiving the bag. A domestic-to-international itinerary is usually governed by the Convention in full — your final destination sets the frame.

How do I prevent the disaster — and who carries "the first 24 hours"?

Three cheap layers: a Bluetooth tracker (AirTag or SmartTag) inside the bag turns "lost" into "trackable", a photo of the contents and their receipts before you fly shortens the valuation argument, and booking direct or leaving a longer connection cuts the odds of mishandling in the first place. And the first-24-hours rule is non-negotiable: your medications, charger, one change of clothes and anything irreplaceable travel with you in the carry-on — whatever the airline does to your checked bag, it cannot stop your trip on day one.

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