We think the “Pillow Hack” is the most “Wal-Mart/Spirit Airlines” thing you can do while traveling

Obviously, from the title of our post, you can see we are not fans of the so-called “Pillow-Hack” that has been getting some recent attention. While clever, we think it’s just a little too “Wal-Mart’y” for us. Or maybe a little too “Spirit Airlines” if you know what we mean. Have you seen it yet?

The Pillow Hack – is it the greatest travel hack of all time? Meh…

No idea what we are talking about? No worries. Let’s catch you up. Anya Iakovlieva, a TikToker with nearly 20,000 followers, shared a video that featured her using a pillowcase as an extra suitcase. By using a zippable pillowcase (like this one from Amazon) she was able to pack additional clothes for her trip – theoretically saving her from paying to check an extra suitcase or overweight baggage fees. The video has millions and millions of views already.

The hack is built on a key element: pillows fly free and don’t count against your carry-on limit of one bag and one small personal item like a backpack or purse.

On its face, it’s a clever travel hack and has been widely covered and praised by places like Fox News (must have been a slow news day…clearly it’s a slow travel blog for us to “covering” this..lol) and even other BoardingArea bloggers like Gary from View from the Wing.

Here’s the full video with our commentary following, below, and as you will see, while we applaud the cleverness, we think this is going to result in a poor experience.

Why we don’t like the pillow hack

Here’s why we don’t like this – and, again, we want to preface this with a reminder that we applaud the cleverness of her idea and if it’s not clear yet we are just having a little non-serious fun here. <SNARK>

1. Why not learn how to travel lighter? Maybe pack smarter? The fact that you even need such a travel hack tells us you might be taking too much stuff. Our rule? Never check a bag. And that means traveling light…why lug all the extra crap!?
2. Honestly, this seems kinda awkward to actually travel with. Sure, you can fit your pillow case on top of your bag as you travel through the airport, but a pillow with
3. Traveling with a full-size pillow is kinda tacky, in our humble opinion. What are we Spirit Airlines customers? If that pillow is full of four days of Hanes underoos and an extra pair of jeans that just sounds like something awkward to physically travel with.
4. The airlines will catch on and who needs that drama? We are waiting on baited breath for the next Travel Freakout video that shows someone losing their $H!T over being “caught” with a pillowcase full of heels and pantyhose.
5. None of us are gonna look as good as Anya when we travel. Sorry, but Anya is not only attractive, but she’s got this TikTok social media influencer thing down. That means carefully crafted (and edited) videos, perfect lighting and everything else that makes “great content.” The rest of us? Yeah, we are gonna look more like something featured in a People of Wal-Mart post. T

So, yeah, are we snobbishly looking down our frequent travel blogger noses at this travel hack? Yup. Me and my Knack Pack and my TravelPro Carryon are just fine. And, of course, it’s all in good fun here. Kudos, Anya, for thinking of this hack; even though we don’t like we are #impressed.

For more travel hacks, including ones we think are far less tacky, check out 147 Business Travel Hacks: How to Travel Like a Pro.