replacing with RFID Blocking items

While technically possible, actual real life remote scanning of your credit cards is practically mythical. Canadian and US passports are already protected. Would i go out and purchase new travel items just for RFID protection? No. My new travel purse happens to have an RFID protected pocket, but I didn't buy it for that reason. If you are really worried, you can buy sleeves for your credit cards.

Our Global Entry Cards came with RFID envelopes and an admonishment to use them. One of our bank supplies them with their debit/atm cards. They might not be necessary, but they are cheap and it does not hurt to use them.

I saw that someone else recommended just wrapping your cards in aluminum foil.

sblazer, this is a solution looking for a problem. Do you worry about this in your USA transactions? Do you know anyone who has actually lost money this way? I don't mean "... my child's teacher's nanny's sister..." After many trips to Europe, I find that the risks are forgetting a card during a transaction (or wrapping or bagging), leaving something behind, a card slipping out of a wallet while closing it, or a physical pickpocket. Concentrate on the real risks.

Exactly- a complete waste if money. And if you don't use it at home, why use it when traveling?

RFID protection is an outdated feature these days.
As long as your cards are all "tap to pay" you should be fine, and if you use a digital wallet it's even better. Even if someone skimmed your card it would be of no use to them since tap to pay cards generate one time codes for each transaction.

With respect to Global Entry cards specifically: my experience at SFO has been that the card is not needed. (Why it is provided I have no idea.) I know this because my card was misplaced for quite a while. I dreaded having to go through the regular line. But, not to worry -- I was only asked to smile for the camera. There was no way to use a card.

The card has now surfaced, but I don’t carry it.

Possibly other travelers have a different experience when returning from abroad. And possibly someone might want to carry the card as a backup ID. This issue is just something to consider.

Happy travels, all!

Anne, CBP website explains that the GE card is only valid for land and sea border crossings (ie., Canada and Mexico, etc.) The real GE info is connected to your passport when you are approved. Some people like to carry the GE card for ID purposes.

I’m sure if you do a search, you can find a link to the articles that I have posted in the past where reputable sources had pretty much confirmed that RFID blocking is unnecessary technology.

I admire the companies that have managed to make a lot of money off of people convincing them that they need to protect themselves from scammers, but you don’t need to waste money. And here’s how to prove that to yourself. go to the grocery store and try to pay for groceries with your card in your wallet in your back pocket or in your purse. Do the same thing at the gas station. it doesn’t work and why? because the card is not actively transmitting, you have to put the card on the reader so in order to get your information, the scanner is going to have to have physical contact with your card. Which means someone will be standing on your foot, you’re probably going to notice.

And then let’s get to why would they even do this? For the price of one scanner that might if they’re really lucky get one card that they probably couldn’t use cause they don’t have the rest your information they can go in the dark wb and they can buy 100 cards with demographic information that are guaranteed to be good- they don’t need to do this.

I work in cyber security and imho this is one risk that is just not worth protecting yourself for

I carry my global entry card because I come back to Atlanta

And in Atlanta, we like to play games to make it hard for citizens to return

So we do things like turn off all the kiosk for global entry and only let you use the GE line if you have your card. After having that experience once my card now goes to Europe with me.

Oh wow - now I am really glad I always carry my GE card - I most often re-enter the States in Atlanta. Have yet to see this but am pleased to know I am already ready !

There are many reasons to carry your GE card:

--it can be used as a form of ID including Real ID for TSA;

--can be used to access speedy entry lines, like Nexus and Sentri, when crossing land borders;

--will get you to the front of the immigration line at cruise ports;

--will get you to the front of the lline at airport immigration if GE kiosks are not working

Mine sits in my moneybelt at all times. That and my passport cards both in their provided sleeves. (Not so much for RFID protection but just in general.)

As for RFID, pretty much overblown. I wouldn't buy something just for RFID protection but I wouldn't NOT buy something because it had RFID protection.

RFID protection these days is pretty well useless as the technology it protects is outdated. It would only be useful if you have an old passport issued pre 2017, old credit cards that are old chip technology, although most would be expired or if you travelled to a country with high risk, low-tech environments and you had these old things with you.