Finding the best luggage deals can be a minefield, especially around Black Friday. To help we've pulled together a list of the best offers across a range of travel bags to cover everything from long weekends away to extended trips of a lifetime.
Whether being jammed shut, hauled into the boot, or thrown around in the hold of a plane, travel luggage needs to be super durable to keep your clothes and accessories safe. It also needs to be the right size for your essentials, easy to carry around, and stylish enough to show off. It's a tall order, but we know how to meet it.
Our experts have been looking for the best luggage deals on offer right now to see whether we can save you some money in the early Black Friday deals. While you're shopping, remember each airline has its own requirements, so before you pack up for your travels, make sure you know what you're allowed – our easyJet and Ryanair fail-safe cabin bags article has some excellent tried and tested options.
Where to shop the best luggage deals
- Amazon: Deals on Samsonite, American Tourister and more
- Antler: Up to 40% off quality suitcases, duffles, backpacks and more
- Argos: Quality luggage brands less than half price
- Away: Rare discounts on carry-ons, duffles, packing cubes and more
- Cotswold Outdoor: Great savings on The North Face, Patagonia and more
- Herschel Supply Co: Shop Herschel's best sellers at a discounted price
- House of Fraser: Discounted suitcase sets and more from Samsonite and Eastpak
- IT Luggage: Save on three-piece luggage sets
- John Lewis: Shop discounted Samsonite, American Touristers, Eastpak and more
The best cabin and weekend bag deals
Best medium size luggage deals
If you've got space in the car or some luggage booked into the plane's hold, you can afford to upsize a little from skimpy cabin bags. Kirsty Glenn, Managing Director of Antler, says 'medium luggage can be enough for two weeks of travelling, especially if you’re a streamlined packer and you plan your outfits before you go. But if you’re packing for a family or you tend to overpack, you'll need something a little bigger. Luckily, most brands do different sizes of the same style. For example, I recommend our Icon Stripe Medium luggage for efficient packers and then our Icon Stripe Large Bag for bigger trips away.'
Essentially, medium-sized suitcases are perfect for offering you a little more room to pack without becoming a lot to lug around the airport. Often these will be hardshell so that they keep some structure when you're moving around and about and they'll generally measure between 60x40x25 cm and 70x50x30 cm.
Best large luggage deals
Having a spacious suitcase takes all the stress, sweat, and sacrifice out of holiday prep, especially if you're away for more than a week. These will usually measure around 75x50x30 cm to 85x60x35 cm. Kirsty Glenn, Managing Director of Antler, recommends 'always thinking carefully about the wheels and handles on your suitcase. They're critical for comfort. Even if you pay extra for best-in-class wheels, it'll make such a difference. Similarly, a soft, cushioned handle will be transformational when you're wheeling your luggage through the streets or gliding through the airport.'
Best luggage set deals
Whether you're shopping for the family or you want complete coordination with all your luggage, buying a full suitcase set will do the trick. It's often a more cost-efficient way of shopping too.
Best luggage accessory deals
Whilst I was looking through the best luggage deals on offer, I couldn't help but notice that lots of packing accessories are reduced too. Luggage straps, tags, packing blocks, and passport covers are the unsung heroes of packing. Having some organisational can help you to feel more put-together when you're travelling. Plus, packing blocks can almost double the capacity of your suitcase.
What size suitcase do I need?
The suitcase size depends on how long you will be travelling and if you want to check in your luggage or store it overhead. For a quick weekend getaway, a nice cabin-size suitcase that's large enough to hold three to four outfits and personal items is the perfect size, which equates to about 30-40 litres of packing space. We recommend a medium to large size suitcase if you plan on travelling for a week or longer - something with a packing capacity of roughly 100 litres or more.
Here's a table with some rough capacity, measurements, and weights for each type of luggage:
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Good for | Dimensions (cm) | Capacity (litres) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hand luggage | Day trips, your travel essentials | 40 x 20 x 25 | 20-25 |
| Cabin bag | Weekend breaks and light-packers | 55 x 40 x 20 | 30-40 |
| Medium suitcase | A week away, or people who like to have options | 65 x 45 x 25 | 60-80 |
| Large suitcase | Long trips, family holidays | 75 x 50 x 30 | 90-120 |
What do I need from a weekend bag?
Whether it's a quick weekend trip or you're travelling light, it's useful to have one of these bags. They're space-efficient, stylish and come in all shapes and sizes. Some look like mini suitcases, whilst others follow a more casual duffle bag or handbag shape. If it's a soft material, it might be easier to shape so that it fits different size requirements, especially if you don't have any wheels to work with, but hardshell suitcases can be easier to carry around too.
Kirsty Glenn, Managing Director of Antler, recommends specifically opting for cabin luggage that can slot on top of your suitcase. She says, 'I always stack mine, so all of my cabin bags have a purposely designed strap, whether it's my backpack or overnight bag.' She also emphasised that your luggage is often a style-led choice. 'There's something quite satisfying about having a colour-coordinated stack,' she says 'you feel incredibly organised and the ease of travel is tenfold. You can then put your extra bits into this attached travel bag and avoid having the weight on your shoulder like a normal handbag. I travel a lot, so this “smart system” has been pretty transformational.'
The best time to buy new luggage is during a major holiday sale, such as Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Boxing Day. The closest sale event is Amazon Prime Day, which is falling on 16th and 17th July. It's promising to offer some of the best luggage deals of the year, because we're in the middle of the summer season and companies will be wanting to shift stock before the summer holidays stop. Last year, we saw some very impressive deals with discounts of up to 69% on popular brands. So expect something similar this year.
When is the best time to buy new luggage
What luggage brands go on sale?
During Amazon Prime Day and the Black Friday weekend we saw luggage brands Away, Antler, Herschel, and TRIPP suitcases in the sale. And even if certain brands aren't available on Amazon or holding a sale, you can find luggage deals at stockists such as John Lewis, House of Fraiser, Very, and Debenhams.
Which brand is best for luggage?
When we tested the best suitcases, the top-rated brands were Samsonite, Bric's, Hershal, Tripp, Antler and Away.
The right suitcase brand for you will depend on your personal preferences and budget, too – some luggage options can be incredibly expensive, meaning the premium brands won't be right for everyone. However, opting for a brand that's known for its durability, as well as one that offers long-term guarantees, is always a good option.
Our Head of E-commerce Millie Fender has tested and loved her Antler suitcase for two years now. She says, "The Antler suitcase has made travelling so much easier. Paired with my Chelsea Weekender Bag, which slots onto the handle for an all-in-one airport experience, I love its sunny yellow shade (the brand does lots of fab colours) and its secure yet lightweight frame. As a brand, I could not recommend Antler Luggage more."
Having joined us from a role as Head of Reviews across a number of Future's homes and lifestyle brands, Millie has reviewed countless products from suitcases to coffee machines, and has no problem putting products through their paces both in our testing facility and her day-to-day life.
How do you know if you’re getting a genuinely good deal?
The most well-known brands can get away with charging that little bit extra due to the knowledge customers have of the brand and the products offered. Certain brands, such as American Tourister or It Luggage, won't often offer huge savings on suitcases and other luggage, meaning that if you spot a deal from these brands for anything over 40%, you might want to consider investing.
Always check the actual RRP of an item on the stockist you're looking at, and cross-reference via other stockists, to ensure that the RRP on the page hasn't been bumped up to make the current price look even more appealing. Additionally, make sure that the luggage in the deal is actually from a disputable brand, and that you're spending your money on an item which will last you for a long time.
What’s the most important thing to look for when buying luggage?
We asked our contributor and former deputy digital editor, Anna Paul, for her advice on buying new luggage. "As someone who's lived in four different countries and jumps on a flight or train at any given opportunity, I've learnt a lot about choosing the right (and wrong) luggage", Anna says. "For me, the most important thing is to pick the best luggage option for your trip. Heading on a long weekend? I'd opt for a small soft-shell cabin case and a rucksack that you can scrunch up. If you're working with restrictive baggage rules and want to carry your bags on the aircraft, soft bags are my personal favourite as they're generally a bit less scrupulous with anything that's not on wheels and you can move it around to fit your needs."
She adds: "I'm a streamlined traveller so regardless of the trip, I look for baggage with compartments and I always use packing cubes. If I'm travelling long-haul, I normally opt for a hard case, but getting a good quality one is key: I'd personally never take the risk with a cheap hard case as I've learnt the hard way that they can easily crack. I personally see locks as a bonus rather than an essential but using a TSA-approved lock undoubtedly gives you peace of mind that your items are safe. I don't think you need to spend big to get good-quality luggage but I'd never scrimp - it's a false economy if you do and you run the risk of damaging (or losing) your valuables."
Anna is a contributor and the former deputy digital editor at woman&home, a role that's led her to work on hundreds of features, reviews and buying guides. When she's not editing and optimising brilliant stories behind the scenes, Anna is normally on the move. Having lived in four different countries and jetting off to more whenever she can, she's well-placed to advise on the latest travel trends, how to score the best deals - and the must-have products to travel with.
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