I like to say there are two kinds of airline bags — carry on and lost.

But if you do have to check your bags, there are some things you can do to make sure you know where your bags are, before you take off, and especially if you’re connecting flights.

Some airlines, like Delta, let you track your bags on their apps, and some of these apps even message you when your bags are loaded onto your flights.

The challenge, of course, is when you are connecting flights.

For me, I never depend on the apps.

Instead, I take my barcoded bag tags to the connecting gate and ask the agent to confirm if they’ve been loaded onto that connecting flight.

Almost every major airline scans bags as they’re loaded, so you’ll get real time information, which allows you to board your connecting flight with the confidence that your bags are on the same flight as you.