I was in Chicago for a business trip and had a 5:30 PM flight back. It was snowing in Chicago that day, so I decided to catch a taxi cab to the airport really early, at 2:00 PM. I didn’t want to get stuck in bad traffic and watch my plane take off from a cab.

Traffic was a breeze though, and I got to the airport too early. Additionally my flight was delayed 45 minutes to an hour. I headed over to the gate, and noticed that there was another flight to Seattle about to board, so I asked if there was any room left, and was put on standby.

It was a long shot, since there were lots of people in front of me, but I eventually made it on, saving me quite a few hours. The catch, though, was that if I had checked any luggage already, I wouldn’t have had that option.

It pays to travel light sometimes.