There's a specific kind of airport anxiety that hits when your bag doesn't show up on the carousel. You watch the same rolling duffel make its third lap. You convince yourself yours is just running late from the connecting flight. Then the belt stops. We have AirTags for this.

We travel with them in every checked bag, and after seeing one come through for us on a delayed bag in Europe, they've become non-negotiable. Whether you're a frequent flyer who checks bags regularly or someone who only checks a bag a few times a year, the math on a $29 device that might save you a $1,000 suitcase full of clothes is pretty easy.

An AirTag is a tracker, about the size of a quarter, that uses Apple's Find My network to ping its location to your iPhone via nearby Apple devices. In a busy airport full of iPhones, location updates come in frequently.

A single AirTag runs $29 and a four-pack is $99. We typically see deals throughout the year, so it's worth watching Amazon if you're not in a rush. If you’re ordering from Apple directly, be sure to go through Rakuten or your favorite shopping portal.

Setup takes under a minute:

Once your AirTag is tucked into your bag, tracking happens entirely through the Find My app. Tap the Items tab and you'll see your AirTag on a map with its last known location, right alongside the tab where you track your friends and family.

The AirTag shows a real-time location when it's within range of any iPhone. When it's not — say, in a cargo hold mid-flight — the app shows a "last updated" timestamp and refreshes as soon as it pings another device. Not perfect, but a lot better than staring at the baggage claim board and hoping.

You can also tap "Play Sound" to make the AirTag chime, which is useful when your bag is buried under others at baggage claim. We've also used it to figure out our bags were coming out on a completely different carousel than what the airport monitors showed — saved us a solid 15 minutes of standing around looking confused. If you're traveling with a group, you can share a single AirTag's location with up to five people through Find My so everyone's tracking the same bag at once.

One thing worth knowing if you travel internationally: AirTags work best where iPhones are common. In parts of the world where Android is more dominant, updates can be less frequent — but major international airports tend to have enough iPhone users passing through that you'll still get solid coverage most of the time.

You don't have to frantically screenshot your map to prove an airline lost your bag. Apple's Share Item Location feature lets you temporarily share your AirTag's live location with an airline's customer service team so they can help locate lost bags directly.

To use it, open Find My, tap your AirTag under Items, and select "Share Item Location." The app generates a link you can send or show to airline staff — they don't need an Apple device or account, it opens in any browser and shows a live map. The link expires after seven days or the moment you're reunited with your bag.

Dozens of major airlines support the feature, including Delta, United, American, and Air Canada.

No tracker is magic. In remote locations or deep in baggage handling areas with few iPhones nearby, updates can slow down or pause — the app will show how long it's been since the last ping. Think of it as a "last seen" rather than a live tail.

AirTags also don't record historical location data, so take screenshots in real time if you want a paper trail. And they're iPhone-only (if you're on Android... we have questions), so non-Apple users should look at Tile or Chipolo as solid alternatives.

If you check bags with any regularity, you should definitely be traveling with AirTags. A single one costs less than most airline checked bag fees and gives you real information in a situation where airlines often have very little. Knowing your bag is sitting in a different terminal — rather than wondering if it's gone entirely — changes the whole energy of dealing with a delayed bag.

That said, AirTags aren't a substitute for the other protections you've hopefully got in place. A lot of travel credit cards include lost luggage coverage, and a truly lost bag is a much easier pill to swallow when your card gives you the budget for a guilt-free shopping spree at your destination. The AirTag just makes sure you know when to make the call.

We also keep one in our carry-on — because gate-checked bags, hotel storage, and busy security lines are exactly the situations where having a location on your bag costs you nothing extra. The AirTag is one of those purchases that just hums along until you need it, and when you do, you'll be very glad it's there.