I discovered my new favorite carry-on (Samsonite Uplift Hardside Carry-on Spinner ($159)) while investigating suitcase warranties.
As suitcases get fancier and pricier, most brands, from Samsonite to Away, are hyping warranties as a major selling point. As a full-time traveler frequently cursed with luggage woes, I’ve always been skeptical after negative experiences with warranty claims. Of course, people always ask me which luggage brand is best, but I’ve hesitated to recommend anything due to warranty issues.
I had a change of heart recently after some surprisingly positive experiences with a Samsonite warranty claim and repair. In this post, I dig into what suitcase warranties actually cover, my recent experience with a Samsonite warranty repair and my favorite suitcases.
Affiliate links are used in this post. If you make a purchase, I earn affiliate revenue at no cost to you, which goes toward blog maintenance costs. This is NOT sponsored by Samsonite; I purchased all luggage mentioned myself.
Are suitcase warranties actually worth it?
Suitcase warranties are only worth it under two conditions:
- You are willing & able to drag around a broken suitcase if it breaks mid-trip.
- You can wait up to six weeks for the repair.
If you are frequently traveling (like me!), it’s hard to find six weeks (usually shorter) to send it off. There’s also nothing more miserable than being burdened by toting around a broken suitcase, which is why I’ve ditched so many broken ones instead of waiting to do a warranty claim.
Also, how far away is your suitcase brand’s store or repair facility? This is a key factor to consider based on transit costs for driving or shipping.
What do suitcase warranties actually cover?
Suitcases with dual wheels are sturdier and last longer.
Functional manufacturing defects are always covered. Airline and transit damage are a grey area and often excluded by most brands. The brands that do cover it, like Away and Briggs and Riley, will only cover functional damage. (Away made this handy chart of suitcase warranties, which is likely skewed in their favor.) Warranties are often void if you send your suitcase to a non-authorized repair center.
The length of suitcase warranties varies by brand and ranges from five years to limited lifetime repairs.
What’s the Samsonite Warranty Process?
If your Samsonite luggage was purchased in the last ten years, you can take it to a Samsonite store, and they’ll send it off to a repair center. The store prefers that you fill out the repair request form online first, but they can also do it in the store for you.
While warranty repairs are free, shipping is $15 for pieces under 22 inches and $20 for pieces over 23 inches. Various stores will quote you different time frames from two to five weeks. For me, it came back in a week.
My Samsonite Warranty Experience (2026)
My well-loved Samsonite Freeform Medium Spinner post-zipper repair.
In 2023, I bought a Freeform Medium Spinner (27 in. x 18.5 in. x 12 in.; 8.5 lbs.) from the Samsonite Outlet in San Marcos, Texas, which comes with a 10-year limited warranty. I left for a three-month work trip to Europe, and after my second flight, the suitcase was missing a wheel when it got to baggage claim. I went to a Samsonite store in Europe, but none of their replacement wheels worked since it was an American suitcase.
I emailed the Samsonite repair center in San Antonio, who mailed replacement wheels for free to a friend who was meeting me in the Azores halfway through my trip. I was able to replace the broken wheel easily myself. On the same trip, the zipper pull-tab and crown (part the pull tab connects to) for the expansion zipper was broken by the airline. Basically, the zipper was still functioned but was very hard to operate since the crown just had a sharp edge that kept cutting my fingers. I assumed this wouldn’t be covered, so I never pursued a warranty claim.
Fast forward to March 2026, I just returned from an epic seven-month trip in Africa, Europe and Southeast Asia. The retractable handle was broken in transit. I tried to pull it up, and it got stuck and would not retract, making it almost impossible to travel with. Since I only had three weeks in the U.S., I emailed the same San Antonio repair facility, who said they couldn’t do much to repair the retractable handles except try to bend them back into place.
On a whim, I called the San Marcos outlet where I bought it, and they happened to have a spare replacement handle. I picked it up and replaced it myself easily.
After talking with the staff about the warranty, I sent off my suitcase when I returned from my trip in late June to have the expansion zipper replaced. I dropped it off at the Charlotte Samsonite store on a Friday and paid $20 for the shipping. By Wednesday, the suitcase was back repaired!
I’m actually shocked they replaced the zipper when technically it was from airline damage.The typical turnaround time for the Charlotte store is two to three weeks, but I had it back in less than a week. (The San Marcos store said they quote three to five weeks, but it’s usually much faster.)
Please note that it’s a good idea to keep your receipt because the ten-year warranty starts from the purchase date. Otherwise, they go off the manufacturing date on the tag.
Previously, I never considered suitcase warranties to be useful because I rarely have a month between trips. In 2018, I bought a Samsonite hard shell suitcase in Thailand, which cracked horizontally after my first flight, which wasn’t covered by the warranty. One of the wheels fell apart a couple of months later, so I tossed the suitcase. I emailed Samsonite to complain, and they did refund my purchase ($60). This set the tone for my distrust of suitcase warranties.
This recent experience completely changed my mindset! I have always found the Samsonite repair center (San Antonio Shoe and Luggage Repair ) in San Antonio to be helpful (Ask for Dustin if you call or email!), but this recent experience was a game-changer.
To find a repair center near you, visit the Samsonite repair center locator website .
What’s the best suitcase for travel?
It takes a quality suitcase to survive cobbled streets in European cities like Conwy, Wales.
The best suitcase for traveling is the one that fits your lifestyle. It all comes down to your personal preferences for size, compartments (this is huge for me) and weight. The best quality suitcases have double spinner wheels, which last longer. Broken suitcase wheels were my biggest travel nightmare for years. The minute I started buying ones with the double spinner wheels, I had fewer issues.
Personally, I only like hard shell suitcases for stability. For years, I’ve loved the basic hardside carry-on spinner (7.3 pounds) from Target that lasted for years. (The checked bag sizes of this style were either too big or small for my needs.)
Since airlines in Asia and Europe are cracking down on carry-on weight, I’ve been really focused on lightweight luggage. (It’s hard to find a rolling carry-on that weighs less than 7.5 pounds empty!) I was considering splurging on one of the Away models because I thought they would be lighter weight than a cheaper suitcase from Target, but nope, still over 7 pounds!
My Samsonite Uplift Hardside Carry-on Spinner ($159) was a lifesaver this summer traveling around Europe.
While I was investigating the Samsonite warranty process, I checked out the lightweight options and decided to test out the 5.07-pound Uplift Hardside Carry-on Spinner ($159). It’s a smaller European-sized carry-on (22″H x 14″L x 9″H) and was perfect for my trip because many European airlines have smaller overhead bins. To reduce weight, there are no proper inside pockets, just dual liner zipper dividers. (I’d rather just have one zipper divider with a mesh pocket personally, so I’m not a fan on the interior design.) I use this for my camera gear, and it rolls perfectly smooth.
Samsonite sells an even lighter model, the 4.7-pound Proxis Global Carry-on Spinner, with durable wheels to withstand cobblestone streets for a hefty $500 price tag. I just can’t justify paying that much for a carry-on!
Are luxury suitcase brands like Away worth it?
I haven’t tested AWAY myself (because I can’t justify the cost), so I can’t speak directly to them. I do have friends who rave about them, but they don’t travel as much as I do. Away’s limited lifetime warranty is a major selling point if you have the time to wait for a repair before your next trip. And, of course, don’t mind dragging around a broken suitcase if something happens during a trip. One of the perks of AWAY’s warranty terms is that damage from airlines is covered along with shipping.
Honestly, I do think they could have a lighter-weight carry-on that’s less than 7.5 pounds!
