In this blog post, we’re going to talk about Media Passes! And why you definitely need a media pass if you’re a wedding photographer, videographer or any other kind of media equipment specialist that uses LARGE bags to get through the airport.
If you’re new here, welcome! My name is Alesia and I’m a destination wedding videographer that travels often with my camera equipment. I love shooting film, mentoring other filmmakers and traveling around the world for work. If you’re like me and always lugging cameras and tripods and spotlights everywhere you go, this blog is for you!
What is a Media Pass?
A media pass is an official looking ID badge that you show to the airline to let them know that you are traveling with media equipment. Specifically, equipment that is heavy, large, and requires an overweight sized luggage bag to safely travel in. To be very clear, it does not have to be a legitimate barcode scanning type of ID badge. It is simply a “professional visual” of your business so the airlines can regulate who can get the media baggage rate with their oversized bags.
Here’s some photos of my Media Pass! I made it on Canva. Click here for the Canva Template to make your own!
What are the airline policies for a media pass?
As Delta explains it, “Camera, film, video tape, lighting and sound equipment that is tendered by representatives of network or local television broadcasting companies or commercial film-making companies will be accepted as *media baggage. All media-related passengers seeking to receive preferred media baggage rates must present proper media credentials at check-in…”
Typically, if you were to check in your media bag, it would be marked as overweight luggage and you would pay the overweight baggage fees for that airline. But, if you provide some sort of identification (or a Media Pass as they call it), you can get the media baggage rate.
Overweight Baggage fees compared to Media Baggage Rates
| Airline | Overweight Baggage Fee | Media Baggage Rate |
| Delta | $100-$200 | $50 |
| American | $100-$200 | $50 |
| Southwest | $75 | $75 |
| United | $100-$400 | $50 |
| Alaska | $100 | $50 |
In other words, a media pass can save you a lot of money at the airport!
*As of 2024, Hawaiian airlines does not accept media passes!
Feel free to leave a comment with your experience with a different airline not listed in this graph.
What goes in my Media Bag?
For example, since I am a wedding videographer, I use my GODOX Media luggage bag to hold all of my light stands, tripods, spotlights and extra camera lenses. The light stands and tripods by themselves do not fit in the standard Check-In sized luggage, so they have to go in the GODOX. With the extra space in the bag, I stuff it with my spotlight bags, my Sigma 135mm’s and sometimes my drone. It’s super spacious and comes with foam padding so the metal light stands aren’t banging around too much in there. Overall, highly recommend!
Although, if you like to solo travel and keep things as light as possible, you can visit my current Gear List here that has the lightest, travel friendly equipment that does fit in a check-in size suitcase HERE!
Need some wedding videography/media equipment for your next wedding/gig?
How to make a Media Pass that gets you the media baggage rate
First, you want to order an official ID Badge holder. The more “legit” looking you make your media pass, the less questions asked. There are a lot of options on Amazon, so I went with this rugged and sleek badge holder for only $9.
Next, you want to make your ID badge. You don’t need photoshop or any kind of paid/fancy editing software. I use CANVA because it’s free, user-friendly, and I can share my template for you to start from HERE.
You’ll want to replace the photo of you with a professional quality headshot. I personally chose a more business casual type of headshot to again, make it look more “legit.”
Then, you’ll want to replace the credentials with whatever your job title is. The template just says, “photo/video camera operator & media technician,” but again, you can change that to whatever you are or whatever sounds good to you. To re-iterate, I’m a wedding videographer, but my badge is simply labeled this way to have a more professional sounding title. Think of it as you making a “professional visual” of your business so the airlines can regulate who gets a media baggage rate.
Lastly, you can edit the colors, fonts, the badge numbers, doesn’t matter. Have fun with it and make it your own! As a soloprenuer, this was fun for me since I am my own boss.
How to Print your Media Pass
I used Zazzle to print the media pass on thicker plastic. Plus, Zazzle has extra options for it to come with its own land yard or metal clip attachment. I liked the quality overall. The print job made it look very legit and professional.
Final Note: Airlines will only accept an official looking media pass with some sort with identification in order to get the media baggage rate. And no – showing your Instagram won’t work!
In my experience, I first got away with just simply saying, “oh, I’m a wedding videographer, that’s a media bag” at the check-in counter for my first few times at PDX without having to show anything and getting the media baggage rate. I might’ve gotten lucky with happy employees though because It wasn’t until I had my first battle with an employee who wouldn’t give me the rate unless I showed a Media Pass and therefore finally charged me the whopping $100. That’s what finally kicked my butt to make one and share this information with you all so you can save your money!
“Have fun making your Media Pass!” – Alesia
I’d love to know what your media pass ends up looking like! Share it to your story on Instagram and tag me @alesiafilms and I’ll re-share. Or, leave a comment and let me know your airport stories with media bags!
This is a great tip for saving money on oversized lugs but just wondering… does the media rate bestow any kind of more careful and secure handling of your equipment? Flying domestically I have sometimes declared a firearm inside my equipment case to ensure added safety but that isn’t really an option when flying internationally!
I usually keep things in their own bags and cases for more secure padding. For my tripods and lightstands, I usually just wrap with my hoodies and sweaters I planned on bringing with me to the trip!
Hey,
How did you get it to say “Media” at the bottom. I don’t see that on the template.
You can add your own text box and add that!
Can anyone ever deny you boarding because a case it too big?
Thank you so much! I made these last week and it saved our team of 3, $1200 on luggage fees!
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Thank you so much! Great write-up and a very helpful Canva link
Hey, thanks for the info. Your Canva template links no longer work. Are there plans to rectify that?
Hi Harry! Can you email me at hello@alesiafilms.com to show me what you’re seeing? Both links work on my end so I would love to gain some insight as to why it’s not working for you. Here is another quick share link for you to get started on it right away:
https://www.canva.com/design/DAFCaeJagvg/gQR12e1kXhNJAU5SQ4L1Lg/view?utm_content=DAFCaeJagvg&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=publishsharelink&mode=preview
I ended up making my own based on the one you have pictured here so I have a badge in-hand now. The link in your comment works and I just went back and tried a link in the article. That worked too so I don’t know what was going on that day. It just kept sending me to Canva’s homepage with no template. Thanks again!
Thank you for the outstanding advice and tips. Best wishes to you in your success!
Hello,
Thank you so much for this guide! It has been amazing. Where exactly on Zazzle do I go to create such a pass? I am having a hard time finding the correct item to turn into a media pass at the dimensions of 2.13×3.37.
Thanks!
Hello. Good read. I just learned about media passes today. FWIW, it’s not land yard but, lanyard.
Thanks.