Baggage...

We have all heard tales of baggage woes from travelers and it seemed that we were now joining the crowd - I, Sharon, had researched the baggage requirements for Copa Airlines (Panama's official airline) but somehow forgot all about that first leg on Continental from Newark to Orlando - a mere 3 hours of our journey.  Those travel savvy folks out there know my miscalculation could be expensive - $25 for the first bag and $35 for the second - both ways.  I was suddenly feeling quite anxious about baggage.

Two days later and still anxious and not coming up with a good solution brought me to prayer - funny how we don't think of that first.  Prayer it was in the Walmart parking lot. At home it was time to call the airlines and hope for mercy!  God gave me a wonderful customer service person who tried to think of every legitimate way to avoid the fees. A half an hour later she thought of the Continental Platinum Credit Card - first checked piece for each family member is free!  Yeehaw! We have 40 lbs to work with as a carry-on and our second leg with Copa allows for two 50 lb bags at no charge.

Within the hour we were on the line with Chase (not my favorite but it works) to meet a hilarious customer service person.  Her favorite line was, "After two weeks they will begin processing your request."

"Mam, we leave in 6 days."

 "After two weeks they will begin processing your request." (repeat at least 5 times - no joke)

Finally she divulged the customer service number and they walked us through the procedure and got our card overnighted.  Today we received our "passport" to one free checked bag.

Thank you, Lord for an interesting answer to prayer.  The packing is now going well...