Practical Functional Alternatives to Thick Wallets

I received the neck or belt carry passport case/wallet. Transferred my stuff into it and will give it a try since I spent the money to buy it. Not sure I am going to like it. It's bigger than I like, but I can slide my smartphone inside it if I choose to which is a bonus. The question I have is will the cell phone magnetic field ruin the credit or debit cards? Not supposed to, but there is a risk.
 
AR-Trvlr said:
I have too much stuff. I carried a card holder for a while, but outgrew it. My DoD CAC, business cards, insurance cards, a couple of credit cards. I use an 'Allett" wallet - the original. It stacks the cards perpendicularly to the fold, 2x side. So it's roughly half the thickness.
Allett_LeatherOriginal_Brown_Full_1024x.png


https://www.all-ett.com/collections/leather/products/leather-original-wallet
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This is the one option that has appealed to me the most as I can carry everything spread out and still fit it inside a pants pocket..... we'll see how the passport wallet works for me.
 
ALTOIDS Tin ! I know a guys that used an Altoid tin as a wallet in his shirt or front pants pocket. I picked up on the idea and keep extra cards, cash and USB's in a tin in my pack. It might protect against card scanners/data thieves and maybe EMP too !
 
Same recommendation as Missing Montana. Back in about 2002 I started flying a lot for work and my wallet ended up in my front left trouser pocket, 567,000 miles later, my back and butt thank me. John
 
JB in SC said:
I would advise caution when considering apps, some do not protect your CC numbers. Look at those that can be loaded with funds without exposing your CC number to retailers. With ApplePay, which I'm more familiar with, the code sent to the near field device is only good for that particular transaction and exact amount, so even if a hacker gets that number it's no good to them. Look for that type of app.
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Thats true, on top of this, ApplePay does not send you card number over the air so to speak. Your card number is at Apple and it only sends and receives a 256 bit encrypted code at the terminal. much safer. you can have all the cards in applepay you want and pick which one to use. On top of that your apple phone itself is using that same 256 bit encryption, unlike Android where you have to enable it to secure your phone. Been like that for the last 4-5 phone editions.
 
Yes to Duluth Trading. Passed by one of their retail stores this past Saturday in NC. Was surprised. Yeah, they are generally a bit on the expensive side of things for me. Watch for sales.

A while back I made motel arrangements through one of the online booking folks in MS for one possibly two nights. Got there and checked in..... the "credit card number" listed was wrong. So, being the honest guy I am, I paid there for my room when I had already paid for it. Long story short.... they don't list your actual credit card number which I didn't know at the time. Took about a month to get a refund for one of the two charges.

I have been using my passport wallet (hanging around my neck) since last week. It works, but it's a little clumsy to get stuff out of it. So, what I do is before I go into a store and know I will be using a CC or debit card, I get it out before hand and place it in a zippered pocket in the wallet for easy access. Seems to work okay.
 
22-rimfire,
Do you get notifications each time your CC is used? This helps us monitor activity in real time and if there is a big purchase it will not go thorough without personal authorization. (This happened when I placed a phone order for a 8K item. The card company notified me, and the charge would not go through until I verified it. )

I like this feature and was thinking it might be handy while you experiment with your wallet configuration.
 
I only get CC notifications on large dollar purchases or purchases to vendors outside the US. That would certainly protect our CC's. The credit card companies "computer" looks at new purchases and compares to your history.... hence the notification or not.
 
annr said:
22-rimfire,
Do you get notifications each time your CC is used? This helps us monitor activity in real time and if there is a big purchase it will not go thorough without personal authorization. (This happened when I placed a phone order for a 8K item. The card company notified me, and the charge would not go through until I verified it. )

I like this feature and was thinking it might be handy while you experiment with your wallet configuration.
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My wife got a call and someone tried to make a large purchase at MidWay Sports. She asked me if I charged $5,000 of shooting supplies to her cc. I said no, but could I? They caught it simply because the shipping address didn't match our address. As far as I know, nobody was ever arrested for it. Maybe because the purchase was cancelled before it was shipped it was not considered serious.
 
Shann said:
My wife got a call and someone tried to make a large purchase at MidWay Sports. She asked me if I charged $5,000 of shooting supplies to her cc. I said no, but could I? They caught it simply because the shipping address didn't match our address. As far as I know, nobody was ever arrested for it. Maybe because the purchase was cancelled before it was shipped it was not considered serious.
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I think preemptive action saves everyone time, money, and angst.

In my case, the merchant contacted me to say the card was declined right about the time the CC company alerted me looking for authorization. I think the trigger was the high dollar amount since it was being shipped to me—if the CC company even knows shipment details when the card is run.

I like this alert feature because I hadn’t made a habit of inventorying my plastic until one day I discovered I had been carrying an expired card for 2 years with no replacement. Upon investigation, I was no longer even listed on the card (probably why I never got a new one).

For us and our pattern of use, it’s very handy to monitor tranactions in real time—with alternate payment methods, I’m not handling my CCs on a regular enough basis which is how I figure they go missing or stolen and I might not notice right away.
 
About the only things I charge to credit cards are gas, Fedex charges, and an occasional motel/hotel.

I probably wouldn't even know that a charge was fraudulent until I got the CC bill. I still want the paper copy versus simply depending on online. A number of years ago, I was charged by some gambling place (on line) in the Carribean about $500 or so. I called the credit card company because I had made no charges to that card. Unfortunately. I was a couple months late on this and ended up canceling the card and paying for it. Pure theft.
 
I Carried a trifold for years in my back pocket and recently bought a Trayvax Contour, I keep drivers license, debit card and 2 credit cards. Insurance and most everything else is on my iPhone. I like it a lot, a bit pricey but I was willing to shell out the cash since it looked well made and is a U.S. product. After getting it I felt much better about the price, very well made and adjustable, I fit up to 10 cards and 20 bills at once although I only Carr 4 cards and 5 bills or less. Since its so thin I now carry it in my from pocket. Also has a 65 year warranty but more importantly a built in bottle opener. I find myself using the bottle opener more often than I thought I would.
 
I’ve found a lot of stuff I used to keep in my wallet I can take a picture of and keep it in my phone instead. It’s even legal now to do that with a fishing license.

Duluth wallets last me years. Before I bought them wallets would last months.

I consider them to be a bargain.
 
eveled said:
I’ve found a lot of stuff I used to keep in my wallet I can take a picture of and keep it in my phone instead. It’s even legal now to do that with a fishing license.
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Interesting and something I'm going to think about. I may well do this with insurance cards and similar although they really don't contribute much thickness to my wallet. The picture of the hunting license/fishing license is a good insurance policy regardless.

I am still carrying the passport case/wallet. I noticed that I am looking at wallets in stores now so I must not be satisfied. It is certainly a major deviation from my past wallet carry.
 
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