The purse conundrum: one of the trickier things for women business travelers to have to figure out. Do you bring one purse that works great for travel and time at the office, but feels ridiculously huge when you’re at dinner? Or do you bring a big purse for work and a separate, smaller purse for times when you don’t need your entire mobile office?
Bringing two purses works great for some, but I have a hard time bringing a duplicate item that I may not even need on a 24 hour trip. And really, all I usually need when I go to dinner is my phone, credit card and driver’s license, room key, and car keys. Until recently, my not-awesome solution was to just carry my phone, wallet, and car keys, setting them on the table at dinner. I didn’t love it because my wallet was just sitting there as a potentially easy target for theft, and if I was walking or needed to carry something else it was awkward logistically. Finally, it just felt, I don’t know, silly to have my wallet just sitting there, in the way, especially when I’m at a work dinner.
Enter the phone wallet. I recently got a “wallet” that sticks onto the back of my phone, and it’s become a gamechanger. It has two slots for cards or cash, which is all I need when I’m out. I keep my credit card and ID in my regular wallet anytime I’m carrying my purse, and it is so much easier to not have to lug that beautiful but gigantic bag every time I want to go somewhere on a trip. For $5 it was totally worth it, and it doesn’t feel silly at all to have my phone sitting out on the table since everyone else does too.
For those of you who want something a little nicer, my sister has the Dream phone wallet and loves it. This is basically a case/wallet combo, is available in several color options, and based on the Amazon reviews it functions really well.
One concern I had was my hotel key being in such close proximity to my phone and getting erased. I’ve been keeping it in the outside slot, as far away from the phone as possible, and so far haven’t had a problem.
Readers, do you have a phone wallet? Do you like it?
****************************************************************************
Be sure to check out my page with products I recommend for travel!
Have a travel question or suggestion? Send it to RW @RoadWarriorette.com.
Follow Road Warriorette on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest!
This post may include affiliate links. That means if you click on something and make a purchase I may make a few cents. Thanks for your support!
You are right that this is a big issue for female business travelers. I do not have a phone wallet. My solution has been to carry a small bag (either a wallet on a strap/chain or a small bag that only holds a wallet, hone, and lip color) inside a tote for the day–and leave the tote in a car trunk or office or hotel room for evening. This has worked well for me, but it might be too much for others . . . .
I am one of those who brings a small purse. But what I do is just keep everything in the small purse – phone, keys, lipstick, glasses, etc. – then put the small purse in the big bag. I thought at first that it might be a struggle to get things out when I needed them, but that has not turned out to be the case.
And if it is just slightly more of a step than just taking them right out of the big bag, that is more than made up for by the convenience of being able to just grab the small purse when that is all I need. Not to mention, this solution completely eliminates the possibility of forgetting something important when changing bags.
I like this one by Minicat because it not only has a card slot in the back, but also two slim compartments, so that I can add a couple of small things without worrying about scratching my phone. It can hold a big phone, like an iPhone 6 Plus.
But there are many others, some of which will be shown as alternatives, or you can just do a simple search for “phone purse”.
I would love to contribute the ideal solution that works for me, but is there anyway to attach pictures so that I can demonstrate?
I used to use a phone wallet, but despite descriptions to the contrary, I HAVE erased mag stripe cards both a credit card and yes a hotel key. But I’ve seen others who have similar wallets who haven’t had such problems. I still one of mine which meets “military drop specifications” and actually does look nice. But again, I would only keep my Target card in there.
I have something like this https://us.burberry.com/grainy-leather-ziparound-wallet-p40436591 and keep the essential cards in the card side, and zip my phone into the coin side. I haven’t had a problem with hotel keys, and I like that my phone is tucked inside, and not ‘out’ all the time. By having it all together, that’s just one thing I have to keep track of in airports!
I started using the Vena vCommute phone/wallet about 2 months ago, and so far, its worked out well. The card/cash slot is somewhat hidden, which I really like and my transit card and cc have survived it well so far.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KUFTXUM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Just bought a Lupa phone wallet case – holds 3 cards(or 2 and your drivers license) and a few bills. Looks like leather, fits the phone very well and comes with the screen protector. Even better, it is light enough to hold on my dashboard magnet (Logitech) holder – so, just right. I travel a ton and airlines have become very rigorous about the 2 bag limit (yes, you, American Airlines) even if the 3rd bag is teeny tiny.