My husband frequently travels to China and stays for 3-6 weeks at a time so he takes a lot of "stuff". Coffee, hard candies, tools, you name it.  It's all gone in the suitcase. This little scale has stopped the "night-before-balance-yourself-on-the-bathroom-scale-while-holding-the-suitcase" game we used to play.  Because of the long trips he has to get every pound he pays for and if he goes overweight, we have to know by how much so he knows what he will have to pay.  I think he thought it was a dumb gift when he got it but it's been irreplaceable since then and he actually told me how glad he is that I got it for him.  Like many digital scales it does change it's mind sometimes but it has been pretty close to the airline scales - probably less than half a pound difference at both United and Delta.  If your a frequent traveler and you are often close to the 50# limit, save yourself some headaches and get this scale!