I just got back from Dallas on Friday. Both in Cincinnati and Dallas you were not allowed to take anything liquid through security nor could you openly carry any liquid on board.
Personally I like that most people are now checking their luggage. Hell in the past half the people on the plane would bring bags that were too big to really fit in the bins and the smaller bags like say lap top cases were often crushed or didn’t fit. Planes I was on unloaded much faster than I’ve ever seen before. In the past I’ve spent as long as 35 minutes waiting to get off planes while people try and remove the bags they’ve jammed into the overhead bins. I never had to wait more than 15-20 minutes to pick up my checked bag. Mind I you I travel a lot. I think with the decreased deplaining time, the time you spend waiting for luggage is nearly a wash.
As to checking and not claiming a small bag, you should also know that your baggage tags now have your name and flight number on them. Unclaimed bags can be traced back. I’d avoid leaving bags of gel and or water behind. No need to antagonize the TSA. From what I hear that No Fly list is a bitch.
I like that I have a good excuse now to not try to fit everything in a carry-on sized bag and get it into an overhead bin. Getting a wheeled suitcase into one of the bins isn’t easy when you’re 5’3" and have T-Rex arms (short, weak arms).
I’ve always carried a number of sharp tools when I traveled for business (including a leatherman which goes everywhere I do), so checking baggage was always appropriate for me. Though my boss at the time didn’t seem to understand that TSA (and security previous to that) didn’t like 4" knives on planes, nor did they like screwdrivers and other hand tools in many cases.
I didn’t mind the wait at luggage claim, and never found it to be the “hour +” that some complain about.
I’ve only had my luggage lost (delayed actually) twice over hundreds of flights. The bags were brought to me on the next flight into DC (once), and delivered to my home on the other case.
I’ve flown about 5 times since the whole no-liquids-gels-fiasco. When I left San Diego, I’d forgotten that I left a tiny bottle of perfume (like 2 oz) in a carryon bag, in a pocket that I never use. They found it, and threw it away. I didn’t mind that, I honestly would have checked it if I remembered it was there. Didn’t have any problem with my makeup, not there at least. Upon returning through Tampa, the TSA agent rifled through all of my makeup, throwing away both tubes of mascara, a tube of chapstick, a stick of concealer and cream blush. His response when I told him that I didn’t have a problem in San Diego with all that stuff? “Just because they didn’t throw it away doesn’t mean it’s legal to take on the airplane.”
It really depends on how much of an asshole the TSA agent feels like being that day, I’ve found. Houston didn’t have much of a problem. Tampa did. San Diego was somewhere in the middle. Barcelona barely checked anything. LAX was pretty reasonable.
Best bet is to just check everything, or at least not bring anything that is absolutely vital to keep.