TSA and money

I regularly have a carryon item (either a suitcase, backpack, jacket, briefcase or sort) where I securely place these valuables while proceeding through TSA.

I place my wallet and documents in my carry-on bag. Aside from going through X-ray at TSA, it basically never leaves you sight. Even then, very briefly. If for some reason there is a hold up through walk-through metal detection or scanners, I lag behind a touch at the conveyor belt and push my bags on the moving part of the belt just before I walk through. I've never felt insecure at this point of a trip.

I agree with the prior poster’s. I slide my items deep inside my backpack while heading through security. Much easier to keep your eye on everything. I am bewildered when I see people put their valuables loose in a bid during the security process as it is so much easier for someone to snag a small item such as a wallet or passport. I have seen it.

As a side note, I am equally amazed of the vast amount of people that put their mailing address on their luggage tags in plain sight. Anyone can see the address, make a phone call to their undesirable buddy and advise them of the high probability that the house with this address will be vacant for a drive by rummaging. Listing your name, telephone number and email is sufficient. That is all.

I travel carry on only and use a Pacsafe Venturesafe backpack that has a hidden pocket inside the front pocket that I put my Euros & Credit cards into and I watch it go through TSA security very closely. I have never had anyone go through my bag or even ask to.

I often wear a fleece jacket ( I rarely travel in hot weather) and I just put everything in a pocket and zip it closed.

Not in your money belt around your waist. I made that mistake last year. 😊 It was my first time flying in over 20 years and I think I broke all sorts of rules. 😊

Before going to the airport, place most of your valuables in your money belt. Have everything in the belt except day money, one credit card, and travel documents you will need such as your boarding pass & passport. Put the money belt in a LOCKED compartment of your carry on bag. At security let it go down the conveyer belt as usual. After you clear the TSA security area, find the nearest rest room and put it back on. If your carry on bag has to be gate checked ( and it happens) you'll still have your money belt on you. Easy Peasy peace of mind. Lord forbid your carry on bag is gate checked and lost with the money belt inside.

Keep your day money, one credit card, and travel documents such as boarding pass & passport in a secure zippered shirt / blouse pocket if you have one. If not, keep them in your purse / "man bag" / personal bag. When going through the TSA check point you can put those things, plus cell phone, watch, and misc. in a zip lock baggie in your purse / "man bag" / personal bag. Since your money belt will in your carry on bag temporarily, your valuables will be in two different places.

While in Europe, carry extra credit cards, most of your cash, and travel documents for later use in the money belt, and only carry day money, one credit card, and passport in an easy to access but secured zippered shirt / blouse pocket. Or you can use a purse or "man bag".

The way to "hide" a money belt when out and about is this: (1) Put everything that goes in the money belt in double zip lock freezer bags to protect against moisture from perspiration. (2) Wear it on the small of the back. (3) Tuck the bottom half or two thirds into the top of your underwear. No one can get to it without your knowledge. If you need to retrieve something from it (highly unlikely) just step into a rest room and do so.

My money & cards are in a zipped wallet that is fastened deep at the bottom of my purse, passport is in a separate zipped inner pocket. Purse is zipped and placed in the first bin so it's not lingering behind if they aren't processing what's on the conveyor belt fast enough...I always use 2 bins as I have a carry-on, 3-1-1 bag, and shoes. The only time my purse was checked was recently at Heathrow when my US quart bag caused all kinds of crazy; note to self, need to find a universally accepted clear bag for next trip.

I empty my pockets into zippered pockets of my jacket or personal item. But I do it before I get to the TSA line, so its not obvious.

I leave the house with everything but taxi money in my personal item. I'm female. My husband, male, has been training himself to not put anything in his pockets, except taxi money, but rather put it into his personal item. After TSA, it can be reshuffled. This is when I put my small crossbody purse on with financials and passport for the flight. I don't know what he does. :)
-By organizing before we leave, we are not announcing where everything is before going thru security.
-passports, obviously, go into personal item after last check before security.
-my personal item is a bright color or is flagged with bright colors, so I can keep an eye on it while it sits after being scanned waiting for me to pick it up, as very often I have been pulled out and hand & explosive searched by TSA. These boobs could be bombs! LOL. The bright color will alert me if my personal item walks away without me. (And, I must add, TSA is always lovely when I am being searched so I have no complaint there...it usually takes 2 or 3 TSA workers to search me, so lovely chats).

Keep it simple. Empty everything metal in your pockets into a ziplock bag you brought from home, let it pass through the xray machine along with your carryon, empty back into your pockets.

"Not in your money belt around your waist. I made that mistake last year."

Carrie! Too true! I did that coming back in one time. The TSA screener in SLC said...I'll bet you put your moneybelt back on after you went thru security in Paris, didn't you? Yep, I did. Nope, I'll never forget that again.

I'm the same as most everyone else. I have a smal cross body bag with my passport, money, CC/DCs. I wear it thru check in with the airline then transfer it to an inside zipped pocket of my carryon and then zip the carry on and latch with a carabiner.

"More than anything, it's food that causes the bag search, sometimes it's cords. I pull food and cords out of my bag."

On a trip to Washington DC with our 3 kids my bag was flagged for a search. As they started rummaging and asking what I had in there I remembered the plastic cylinder that M&M candies come in. But I had emptied it of the candy and filled it to the top with a stack of quarters and pennies because we collect pressed pennies (cheap and small souvenirs). They said they had never seen that before and didn't know about penny pressing machines. I had some explaining to do...

Also hopefully everyone is in TSA Precheck, which has its own express lane and set of rules which (in my recent experience) they loudly chant to you over and over as you try to disrobe. Actually we over-disrobed because the agent in the non-Precheck line was louder than ours.

And also remember there's a certain arbitrary element, it seems like the last few times some agents said leave your tablet in your carryon, others said take it out. Belts? Who really knows.

I am reckless; I have a cross body bag only slightly larger than a passport and about 1.5" thick and I cram everything in it after I check in and before I get in the security line, then I toss it in a tray when i go through security.

Money, watch, passport, tickets, credit cards, meds, earbuds, cork screw, keys, phone, etc......

In the USA do they no longer use those big plastic trays? Normally I have one tray for the computer and camera and if needed anothe one for jacket, stuff in pockets including money, cards, phone, passport and boarding pass. What am I overlooking?

I have forgotten and gone through with my money belt still on as well - but as its a female officer I'm totally OK with lifiting my shirt and showing her what the "problem" is

To expand on Christa’s comment…Heathrow has always been a crapshoot for us…and it’s not just the 3-1-1 bag :). In spite what they say, or what is posted, it’s never the same each time. I’ve been checked/scolded for having small electronics in, or small electronics out. It seems that each agent has their own definition of those. And while they’re checking through my carryon or personal item, the other is pushed off to the side…hard to keep an eye on everything and very stressful. We always take a deep breath before we dive in!

Thank you for all the creative, sensible feedback. I really appreciate all your experienced responses. We will be traveling through England, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Iceland over 2+ months going through 7 airports. Just wondered how people keep their things secure. Using Pak Safe backpacks and luggage. Your all awesome!

I always get a little nervous going through security. It's like when a police car is behind you and you're pretty sure you're doing something wrong.

All that goes in my normal place..in my large purse in my wallet. Except for the passport which I usually put my boarding pass in and that lives in a large zippered pocket in my personal item (tote). These items you mentioned stay with me at all times in my tote bag, never in a checked luggage or carry on luggage and also includes my jewelry and medication and travel docs. In my tote bag in my "Europe purse" which is pre-packed smallish cross body purse (This is my daily purse while in Europe) with a wallet with Euros, the credit cards/debit cards I will be using on the trip, and my hotel reservation printed for our first night, sunglasses, chapstick etc. Once we land I go to a corner and slip it on and we are off. I have three bags until we board, my purse, tote and suitcase. Once we are boarding my large purse slips in my tote.

Going through TSA security as you put all the "stuff" in the bin is the nervous aspect of this process. I've never been asked to step aside, picked out at random, so they say, never given the SSSS and it won't happen.

What I am nervous about is having to empty the pockets, take off the neck pouch and hidden pocket, place the wallet, credit cards, cell phone, passport, keys, etc...all go into my inside jacket pockets as that has to placed in the bin too. Sometimes off with the shoes and belt and into the bin.

I don't put any important/essential items in my carry-on., much less likely someone will walk off with an ordinary non-descript summer jacket than a piece of carry-on luggage since "they" can expect to find valuables in the carry-on piece.

Best is what works for you ... I like having my wallet, passport and phone on me when travelling so I carry them in my shirt or pants pockets ... I put them into one of those dog dishes or bins and it goes on the belt after the bag, backpack and jacket ... my wife goes through before me so in case I get stopped she is there to grab the items ... odds of both of us getting pulled aside are almost non-existent so I'm okay with doing that ... we both have pre-check so it helps not having to unpack liquids, take off shoes, etc...

B1 So I was going down the breezeway to the plane and there was a guy in a green uniform with a dog.

B2 I took off my back pack so the dog could sniff it and the dog went wild.
B3 The border patrol guy must have seen my look of fear and laughed and asked how much cash I had in the bag; about 100,000 forints in small bills and maybe $100 also in small bills I replied.
B4 He pulled the dog back and said, not worry, it's a money dog, have a good flight.

B5 A money dog? Really? Never heard of such a thing.

phred wins the internet for the short and concise answer. No bloviating.

Runner up: Stan the man.

Bronze: James E.

Congratulations!

I put my money belt in my messenger bag to go through security. Once I get through, I put it back on where it stays for the rest of the trip.

As someone who travels weekly, there’s a lot of paranoia I don’t see any reason for. I put my purse on the conveyor belt and it goes through and it comes out the other end . I don’t bury it deep inside something else, I don’t lock it etc. i I put my laptop in the bin all by itself and trust me it’s worth more than what’s in my wallet

You do lose site of it but they don’t open it without your permission. If they decide it needs a searchthey will take it and put it aside and it will be hanging around back there you can watch it out until they get around to you (here they’re always behind us )

I’ve flew weekly for decades, I put the stuff in the bin and send it through. I pick it up on the other end

I don’t lock it, I don’t hide it deep in my luggage, etc. If the TSA Pulls it for inspection they don’t open until you’re watching them.

Oh, and if I’m in the pre-check line with you and I start to takeoff my shoes or my jacket, please don’t bother to tell me that you know I don’t need to do that.

I’m being polite. I’m taking those things off because my past experience with these particular items has told me they will set off the alarm. But I could be rude like the people that yell at me. Who don’t think it be $43 in coins and the two cell phones in their pockets need to come out because they’re “precheck” so you can wait while they go through 2 or 3 three times 😂. ( it’s true the passengers who “know how it should be done” will I hold you up more often)

As someone who travels weekly, there’s a lot of paranoia I don’t see
any reason for.

I completely agree. It is a security lane at an airport screening. There are cameras everywhere and no one loitering around looking for a distracted tourist. Place your valuables where is most convenient for you. Then retrieve on the other side of the checkpoint. Done!

If I am told that the shoes can be kept on, all the better. I still take off the light summer jacket regardless of the instructions, which goes into the bin anyway.

I have a travel wallet that has recently started setting off the metal detector, which didn't make sense until an agent pointed out that it probably had some RFID shielding in it. And he was right.

As others have pointed out, do what the agents on duty tell you to do. Why fight it? If they ask you to hum Rhapsody in Blue while you're in line, just do it.