This post contains affiliate links. We may earn commission on links you click or products you choose to purchase. Thank you.
In our increasingly digital world, you need to be diligent about protecting your identity from unwanted scans from passersby. To help combat this when we travel, we’ve found several RFID-blocking bags, purses, wallets, and cards to help prevent the theft of your funds and identity.
RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification. This technology is used in chip credit cards, your passport, your driver’s license (in some states), your hotel key, the table buzzers at restaurants, and myriad other things to quickly track who you are, where you are, make payments, and unlock your hotel room door among many other things. It’s fabulous technology to help seamlessly move throughout your day, however, as with all good things, it’s important to be mindful of how this great technology can be used against you. In other words, it pays to be diligent here and maybe even a little over-cautious.
Here’s the thing: you work hard to have vacations you enjoy. The last thing you want is for someone to steal your information while on your adventures, so it pays to put a little work into protecting yourself upfront so you can worry less about it when you’re doing your thing. You don’t want to suddenly be half a world away with a stolen identity and no way to get home (even if you’d really like to just stay where you are).
I fully admit that some of the past purses, bags, backpacks, wallets, and so on that block RFID from unwanted scans are less than stylish. We’ve been through so many of them in our quest to not scream tourist and try to remain at least slightly trendy, but sometimes you do need to pick: fashion or function. I also admit that the size of the bag I carry with me has shrunken dramatically from the beginning of our travels over a decade ago and this has a large part to do with this technology. I started with a dark pink crossbody purse that was enormous! I could fit an entire water bottle in it along with a full-size wallet, a book, my huge sunglasses case, headphones, a notebook, and whatever items we gathered along the way and still have plenty of room. It had ONE RFID-blocking pocket for my passport, so I had to carry a separate huge RFID-blocking wallet for the couple cards I had with me.
Now, I carry a much smaller crossbody (the size of my Kindle and passport) on airport days with RFID-blocking in the entire bag. Sometimes I bring a second, even smaller trendy crossbody for just my phone and cards with their accompanying RFID-blocking cards on days out and about if I don’t think I’ll be picking anything up. Our ever-digitizing world has allowed me to carry nearly everything I need on my phone (sooo much less paper!) with just a couple of physical cards. The freedom of it all is refreshing.
Similarly, there are men’s wallets and travel backpacks that have RFID-blocking technology built into them, which is handy if you do need something larger to carry your daily findings and water/snack supply. At the same time, be prepared to be somewhat underwhelmed when it comes to style, though this is starting to change. We’ve upgraded backpacks a few times as technology has changed and find ourselves carrying less stuff and lugging less weight. It’s magical.
Don’t want to completely change the items you carry? No worries, there are also RFID-blocking sleeves you can purchase to slide over your credit cards and passports. Then you just carry them in your regular wallet, purse, or backpack and you’re still secure. We’ve also recently come across RFID-blocking cards that can slide into your regular wallet or purse alongside your cards to have with you daily. This allows you to grab your cards for use quickly and not have to remove them from a sleeve first. Speed and agility can be key when your information is waving out there free for anyone to quickly scan and steal.
We think about protecting our information when we travel but not so much when we’re home. Of course, this is silly since it’s just as easy for someone to steal our information at home in our daily routine. So, be prepared and protect yourself. Not just when you travel, but always. Many RFID-blocking items can be incorporated into your daily life. I for one carry the RFID-blocking cards I mentioned earlier in my small Kate Spade crossbody next to my credit cards in their slots so I don’t have to carry a bulky wallet. Jason always carries an RFID-blocking wallet.
Oh, and keep in mind that if you’re using RFID-blocking technology, it can create some headaches. For example, if you get in the habit of putting your hotel key in your wallet and then waiving your RFID-blocking wallet (without taking the key out) at the lock, it’s not going to work. Or if you throw your key fob for your car in your RFID-blocking bag, your car door won’t unlock when you walk up to it. You know…because it’s doing its job blocking the very technology you’re trying to use.
There are new gadgets out there every day to help protect your identity when you travel. These are some of our tried and true favorites:
Since we’re always looking to carry less stuff and less weight, we’re always looking for the next best thing. These are some things we have our eye on for the future. I love the low price tags so we can change colors with our mood or the season:
Whatever you choose, just make sure you have some protection to allow you to enjoy your trip without the worry. That’s what we’re here for after all!
