Do “Brag Tags” Get You More Perks? Or Are They a Pompous Way of Showing Off Your Status?

A few years ago, Delta ran a Twitter campaign to show off what they called your #BragTag — that is the baggage tag indicating whatever Delta Medallion status you hold. Now, in the past, these had somewhat of a real purpose as it had your SkyMiles number on it as well as a bar code that when scanned also showed your frequent flyer number.

But then Delta stopped putting your frequent flyer info on your tags. They also suspended Silver and Gold Medallion tags for a while. Then they dropped Million Miler tags and elected to go with just an emblem on your regular bag tag.

OK, all the above is interesting history but what does that have to do with the topic of the day, that is, should you put a Platinum or Diamond or even Delta360* tag on your bag? On FlyerTalk, there is a long thread where half of the respondents say it is just showboating or grandstanding to put any kind of such BragTag on your bag.

There are even photos of bags with nearly half a dozen Diamond tags (one for each year of membership). While others even have fake medallion tags on their bags called either Unobtainum or Kryptonium Medallion (I have one of the latter on one of my bags just for fun).

But also discussed in the thread is are there any perks to having these things dragging from your bag.

The simple answer is: YES!

Oh, wait a minute, René, you are telling me that folks can go on eBay and buy for $50 to $100 a set of real Diamond BragTags and get Delta perks? Please…

Now hold on, I am not talking about upgrades or anything that really requires you to hold the real status. I am talking about many little things that just having these on your bag can make a difference. For instance:

• Finding space on-board for your carryons
• Getting escorted to a shorter line
• Accessing your bag faster planeside on regional jets
• Any other tiny bits along the way!

Let’s look at these one by one. Again, to be clear, I am not advocating you put these tags on your bag if you do not actually hold the status reflected on your tag. Now as to overhead space neither am I saying you should put one of these BragTags on your mega-size bag as a way to get around the rules. What I am, however, suggesting is that say if you are playing TeamBoardLast and worried about running out of overhead space, then having one of these tags can maybe help you get your bag onboard with you as the last passenger on the jet (there is always room for a Size Check sized bag in the coat closet, right). Or, if you are late to the gate getting that little bit of extra help from a flight attendant to open enough bins until space is found for your bag. Yes, this BragTag can help you here.

Next up we have real-world examples that I have experienced. Say you are arriving at international customs and the lines are long. Sometimes you may be shown the way to a much shorter line just because a rep saw your BragTag on your bag (“Sir, this way for Diamonds…”). The bottom line here is reps are looking for the tags and can maybe now and then save you some time. Time is something I value above most other things and I bet you do too!.

This next one may not impact you unless you find yourself often flying on the horrid and cursed CRJ200 regional jets (if you can avoid them, good for you). For the rest of us, I have found that with my Diamond BragTag on my bag, mine, and other elite bags, tend to come faster when being loading into the jetway one by one vs. those bags without tags.

So while some may be happy to sell their Delta stuff on eBay as a collector’s item for a few bucks each year, others may find it more valuable to strap these BragTags on their bags and see if they can in fact help you along the way. But you tell me. Do you put these, or other tags, on your bags? Have you ever had some little perk extended to you by doing so? Let us know in the comments below! – René