Traveling with 3 kids and their seats

We're going to be flying and then renting a mini-van with our 4, 6 and 8 year olds. Of course I want to make sure they are safe first of all.

I was trying to save some money and now I feel like I'm just chasing my tail all over the place!

It's expensive to rent car seats from the car rental company, plus I wasn't sure about the quality of what we'd get. ($10 a day, for 3 kids for 4 days = $120)

I've ordered a Ride Safer vest for my six year old, so I think she's set. (And then this will be used for my oldest for occasional use in my husband's car, since he's about to outgrow one of his booster seats.)

For my 4 yr old, we have a SafeGuard Hybrid booster. Here's my first actual question: can we carry it on or do they only allow that for younger children? the airline's web site talks about "infant" seats and I'm not sure if they hassle people with car seats for older children. I can call the airlines, but I'm curious about people's actual experiences.

The last time we flew was 2 years ago and my youngest wasn't happy with being in a car seat, so I ended up gate checking the seat coming home. Now, at 4, he will still probably be happier without the car seat. If we can check it without additional fees, I'll be tempted to do that, esp. since it came with its own bag.

For my oldest (8) we have a backless booster seat that we've kept as a spare. Again, I don't know if we can carry that on, or check it by itself or if I should pack it in a suitcase!?? Or maybe I should rent one booster seat for him from the car rental place.

So basically, I'm asking for experiences checking or carrying on car seats or booster seats for 4 and 8 years olds...and also, if anyone can see something I'm missing or not looking at right! I started off thinking about the cost and then ended up ordering the Ride Safe Vest, so I'm really all over the place on this one.

Thanks bunches!

I would take all the seats on the plane. RSTV goes in a carryon and the Go and boosters as carryons. They're small enough to fit overhead and no worries about damage or getting lost.

Your plan sounds good to me, and yes, I'd carry all 3 on.

Put the vest and backless in a carry-on. And take the Go case as a carry-on. You want to make sure they get to your destination.

Ah, thank you. I hadn't even thought about luggage getting lost or delayed. We probably will check the booster seat and carry on the other two. If if don't have it on the other end, we'll rent one. We're changing planes and traveling through lunch and dinner, so we have sooo much to carry already. It will be inside a suitcase, so somewhat protected.

Thanks, AJ