• I tried to the viral fishing vest travel hack to avoid paying for a carry-on during my recent JetBlue flight. 
• The trend was popularized on TikTok as a way to avoid airlines’ add-on fees. 
• I fit clothes, my laptop, and toiletries into the vest’s 18 pockets and boarded the plane without an issue. 

It started out as a joke. Wouldn’t it be funny if I tried this goofy TikTok trend and embarrassed myself by wearing a fishing vest in the airport?

Sorry reader. This is no light-hearted blog. This is a story of revenge.

A brief interlude for my villain origin story:

I stupidly booked the wrong date for my flight. I couldn’t believe it. It must have been karma for making fun of my mom when she made the same mistake years ago, forcing us to drive 15 hours to South Carolina (I never let her forget it).

My ego sufficiently crushed, I called JetBlue to try and change the ticket. After sitting on hold for five minutes, I was informed by the robotic voice that I would be charged a $25 service fee for talking to someone on the phone. Equally enraged at myself and the airline, I hung up and tried changing the flight myself. 

Now would be a good time to mention that I purchased a Blue Basic ticket

The wonderfully cheap fare option came with a long list of restrictions, including a $100 change fee that I willingly agreed to since I, a seasoned traveler, would…