Money belt, pocket, or day bag?

This thread from earlier this week may help you https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/essential-silk-moneybelt

Since your question isn’t about moneybelts, but day bags, this is what I use. First of all I always wear a money belt for deep storage. Stashbandz work best for me.

In town my day bag has been a small Travelon purse that holds my day money and daily use credit card. (I use the RS lambskin coin purse as a wallet.) The purse also holds my phone which is secured on a lanyard, credit card size power pack sunglasses, Kleenex. Tiny packable nylon shopping bags hold water, shopping and a sweater.
This year I am trying a crossbody sling purse. It holds only slightly more including a water bottle.

For day trips, I add a packable 20L backpack to hold a jacket and souvenirs, nothing of value. I still carry a purse for the essentials but not the shopping bag. It’s easier to get into when I need my phone or money. I added security clips to the backpack. Purse is carried in front of my hip. I added clips to keep sticky fingers out.

If your husband is carrying his wallet in his pocket, be sure it’s a front pocket with a zipper or button to avoid pickpockets.

Personally when traveling including in the destinations you mentioned (although I haven't been to Budapest) I carry things almost the same way as at home- wallet either credit cards in pocket. I keep passport wallet in my carryon luggage and don't normally carry it with me (even when in some countries it is a requirement). I do carry a (Singapore) national ID card, for what its worth, but in all the years of traveling in Europe, have never been asked to produce ID except at a border. I do keep two backup credit cards separate in my hand carry luggage.

Your plan for daily access seems great. A few other things we do. 1. My husband and I the credit card we each carry daily is different from each other. That way if something happens while we are out we aren't stuck. 2. We have digital versions of our credit cards in our apply wallet That way if lost or stolen your credit card company can push a new one through our phone and we don't have to wait for a new physical card to catch up with us. 3. We have color scans of credit cards and IDs saved to the cloud that we can access from our phones or laptop and color copies stashed in hidden compartment our luggage just so we have the phone numbers and details in case lost or stolen.

Hi, I don’t carry a day bag. If I need a rain jacket, I wear it. Otherwise, it’s at the hotel or B&B.

My passport, ATM cards, credit cards & large currency are in my money belt under my clothes.

Load a credit card onto ApplePay on your phone. I have been traveling for three weeks now, hardly using any cash. I don’t need to access my credit cards because I am paying all transactions with my phone.

You'll get different answers from different people. I don't wear a money belt, I sometimes put my phone in a jacket pocket (if it's deep enough) or my crossbody day bag. Also, like Simon, I generally do not carry my passport with me during the day. And like Jean, I use Apple Pay on my phone to pay for everything.

Bottom line, just use your common sense and figure out what works for you. There will be pickpockets in all major touristed areas, but Germany is not a high risk place and you should be fine. And whatever works for Germany will work for Prague and Budapest.

Keep in mind that millions of people walk around Europe every day without losing anything to pickpockets. Just keep your wits about you in the major tourist sectors and you should be fine.

Yes, Jean brings up a good point.

Load all your cards in your Apple Wallet even if you don't use your phone to pay. If your cards are lost, stolen or compromised, most card companies can update your phone wallet with your new working credit card instantly so you still have a way to pay.

I had a fraud alert on my Citi last month. Before I was off the phone with customer service, my Apple Wallet had been updated with the new card. The physical card arrived a week later.

I assume Google Wallet works similar.

We also use money belts for deep storage.
For day bags, I use a cross body purse which is where I keep my wallet (just one credit card and a small amount of cash) and other essentials. My husband carries his wallet in a shirt pocket or a front pants pocket. He sometimes carries a small backpack as a day bag which has things like sunscreen, water bottle, etc.

I'll add, that I don't use money belts anymore. Everything is in my small crossbody bag, just like I do at home, and only leaves my body when going through security.

Have a routine that works for you. Put everything back in the same spot every time. The more pockets and zippers involved only makes it easier to lose things.

More important is being aware. Don't set your phone or camera or whatever on a table. Don't hang your bag on my back of a chair or set it under a table.

Your more likely to lose something through your own negligence than having your pockets picked.

Budapest.

Pickpocketing here is rare, so rare that in over 20 years I have never met or talked to a victim. But it does happen and when you travel you don’t have the same sort of support network you do at home, so even when faced with very, very, very minimal odds of becoming a victim I think its prudent to have a little extra care.

I live here and do have a support network, but getting a US passport or a residency card replaced would be a headache. So would replacing my US bank cards, so I try and be a little more careful than I would be in the states.

So i suggest, at a minimum:

• Don’t put everything in the same pocket.
• If you get on a tram and it is crowded and your money/credit card is in your pants pocket, slide the hand over it for the ride.
• Cell phone not in back pocket.
  

That’s the minimum.

For an upgrade I have a cross-body bag, it’s not much larger than the size of a passport and about 1” thick. Cost $12. Holds my money clip, passport, phone, small power supply for the phone. Zips shut and NEVER COMES off or I know I would leave it someplace. My extra credit card at home or maybe in your case down deep in a pocket or neck bag or hidden in your room luggage. I cant tell you not to carry your passport as to carry it is the law here. If you are ever asked for it I suspect it will be for a fairly large deal and if its a large deal the odds of a copy working arent good.

I agree with Horsewoofie about the Stashbandz:
https://www.stashbandz.com/pages/travel-money-belt
It's very comfortable, and holds the "deep storage" items nicely. I put my passport and back up cards in baggies in its several pouches. One time, ironically on a RS tour, my tour kit money belt came unclipped- fortunately I was sitting on the tour bus!
I also have acquired a few pieces of clothing (women's) with excellent and secure pockets.
I use a tiny zip into itself shopping tote for my city day needs ( water bottle, jacket, snacks, purchases) or a similar style travel backpack if hiking.
I have a Tom Bihn "pocket" for my phone, which is on a tether, small first aid kit, hand sanitizer and tiny wallet with some local currency.
I also agree about using the common sense measures just as you would anywhere, includibg at home. Have a wonderful trip!

If you are looking for consensus, good luck. I think your plan is sound.

For us, personally, we tend to not use a moneybelt/ neck pouch, except when we are "in transit" between cities and on a train, or when we arrive via plane and are making our way to the accommodation. My husband has zipper and/or button pockets that a wallet/passport fit securely,

I typically do not carry my passport with me for sightseeing. However, there are countries, in which it just seems prudent, and I make an exception. I carried my passport in Turkey. It was hot. I had lightweight bike shorts with a pocket that I wore under short dresses, so I carried the passport there.

I never carry all my credit cards with me. We split our cash (we rarely have more than a hundred euro) between us, and leave some in the accommodation. I carry my phone on a lanyard for multiple reasons. One is to have it handy for photos and navigation. I have a luggage tag attached to my purse, that can carry my room key, if its a card, and one credit card, often used for tap in tap out public transportation, sometimes I might put in my driver's license and some cash.

I believe that over time, travelers come up with "hacks" that work well for them. Whether its lanyards, bike shorts with thigh pockets, pants with zippers, etc.

I'm going to hop in with a question, if that's okay! To those of you who leave your passport and/or extra credit cards/money back at the hotel: during the day, do you use the safe or what's your process there?

For years I owned an apartment in a European city. I let it out to an AirBnb company. The company cringed when the cleaning crew called and said there was another passport left in the safe. Pretty common occurance.

"I had a fraud alert on my Citi last month. Before I was off the phone with customer service, my Apple Wallet had been updated with the new card. The physical card arrived a week later."

I completely agree with jeanm. I had this same experience last summer with my Amex card here at home. It literally had updated in my AppleWallet by the time I'd hung up with the AMEX.

I also agree that your plan for your purse is good. IF you decide you are worried, I have "installed" a split ring (like a key chain ring) on the inside bottom of my purse's interior zipper pocket as well as a split ring on my small travel wallet and connect the 2 with a coil tether. That way I can take my wallet out of my purse but it's still connected....if that makes sense.

I put my passport, cash and backup credit and ATM cards in a money belt for travel. I left this hidden in my suitcase in the hotel during the trip. I had a small wallet with my driver's license and one credit card in my day bag, which was a Costco brand belt bag worn crossbody style in my chest. I rigged a ring on one strap so I could use those little double carabiner hooks they sell on Amazon as an additional deterrent to thieves. My hand was always over it when out and about. My phone was on a should strap lanyard. The other items in my day bag were sunscreen, tissues, OTC meds like Tylenol. Also any flyers I picked up along the way. It worked well for me.

I had the same experience as jeanm and Pam last summer and I was leaving town the next day and would be gone for 3 weeks. Thankfully the new card number was available to me in my Apple wallet immediately.

“I also agree that your plan for your purse is good. IF you decide you are worried, I have "installed" a split ring (like a key chain ring) on the inside bottom of my purse's interior zipper pocket as well as a split ring on my small travel wallet and connect the 2 with a coil tether. That way I can take my wallet out of my purse but it's still connected....if that makes sense.”

I do the same as Pam does. With the coiled tether my small RS coin purse that I use as my wallet won’t leave my purse.

I keep my passport and wallet in the ‘Napolean’ pocket of my Duluth Trading Company action shirt ( I have several ). A few other companies have similar pockets - zipped pockets behind a regular pocket on your left chest. I’ve never had a problem. Of course don’t keep a wallet in a back pocket. My ‘dummy wallet’ was picked at the Karlsruhe train station.

If you use a cross body or similar bag, KEEP A HAND ON IT in crowded areas. Last week my wife’s wallet was picked out of her bag on the Rome metro. Fortunately for her, there were 2 undercover policemen on board to witness it and nab the perps !