Hi All,

I was wondering if what people's thoughts are on these ? My passport seems to be getting a little worse for wear lately and I am toying with the idea of getting some sort of wallet/cover for it.

Any recommendations ?

Also, assuming there are people who use these, what is the correct "etiquette" at immigration ? Does one remove the cover/wallet and hand it to the official or can you leave it in the cover while they to flip through/stamp..etc.. ?

Thanks
J

I use a ticket holder that holds the pasport, before that I was using a leather wallet.

Immigration doesn't want any part of a wallet, so you have to remove your passport before you hand it to them or they will hand it back (sometimes tossing it back) and ask that you remove it so it can be scanned. They have always asked it be totally removed from the wallet, after the second or third time you just do it before you get to them (same on check in with the airline)

I would still be using the wallet if the passport didn't fit so nicely in the ticket holder wallet.

They are all over the place to purchase, we got ours at a leather factory outlet store a long time ago. It makes a huge difference in how long the passport lasts, indeed recently the wear on the main page (lpastic laminate starting to come loose) caused immiration in Amsterdam to spend a very long time looking at my passport. They told me if it wasn't so full of stamps (indicating it was used quite a bit) they would have been even more suspicious of it, as it was looking like a bad copy.

Personally I like a wallet that holds the boarding cards and all the ff cards, etc, but my wife likes the passport cover to stick in her purse.

I use a simple, generic leather passport wallet to protect the cover. Due to the reason stated above about the immigration officers kept removing (no tossing yet) the passport from the wallet to scan or to stamp, I would now first withdraw the passport out of the wallet before approaching the immigration counter.

Also, to save the officer from fanning the passport front and back looking for the picture, I would mark this page, and place the opened passport at the counter with my picture staring right at him/her.

It also projects goodwill to greet and thank the officer with the language of the country you are visiting. So far I have never failed to get a smile and/or equally pleasant greetings in return.

I bought a little Samsonite leather case for my passport and affinity cards -- I LOVE it. Only one thing to keep track of, and it's a great size for both passports and oodles of cards. I got it off the back of my American Express bill -- one of those "special" offers (cough, cough) for $4.95.

I also use the SAMSONITE PASSPORT WALLET from American Express. The price is $3.97.
The order form is on the Amexco reply envelope (mailing address: P.O. Box 1110 Newburgh NY 12551)

Before there was Starwood, I was a "Westin Premier" member. They had sent me a beautiful leather travel wallet to hold, passports, tickets and credit cards. Thanks to my dog Bosco, (who was a puppy at the time,) it was completely chewed up. I was just relieved that my UA "500 mile" upgrade certs were still intact. So I went and bought an almost identical one. They run around $50.00 in practically every store or catalogue. I love those things!

That would be New York, English in the tossing case. He was obviously having a very bad night, and even in line I was hoping they didn't give me his booth. That was a while ago, and I still to this day don't get in his line if I can help it when he's there.

I am looking for a leather travel wallet without a zipper. Though I have found some for sale, I am wondering if anyone can strongly recommend a specific brand/model.

FT

I recommend against one with a brand name, mainly because they simply cost way more then the generic ones. There are many many generic ones out there that cost way less then the brand names, mine is a brookwood whoever they are, picked it up in the Altanta airport while looking for a pen and totally love it.

The hard part is if you go looking for one you will not find exactly what you want, so get something for now, and then at some store, where you never expect it and are not looking for it, there will be the perfect wallet for you.

Magellans.com has a good looking one, search for product SV637, I was thinking of that one when I found the one I purchased, my first real choice though was and still is the Rawlings leather one, but it was a bit more money then I wanted to spend. I just love the concept of rawlings leather just like the baseball gloves from when I was a kid. Check it out at
http://sportsaccessories.com/newsportsaccess/c.html

It will certainly be the next one I buy someday. OK you got me thinking about it again, it may be sooner then later.

Of course, the wife totally loves her coach one, though that is a totally different story

TUMI has a nice leather one that has a slot for the passport for easy extraction. Also plenty of room for foreign currency of any size and plenty of slots for credit cards. A little on the expensive side but worth it.

I keep my passport in a plastic zip-lock bag and it works great. Never have to worry about it getting wet from the weather or while fishing.

I have a leather travel wallet by Bosca that I love. Can't really remember how much it was, but I know I would pay it again. Holds my passport, my ticket, my itinerary, all my cards, and even has a window pocket for my RCC card. It is the only way I stay organized while travelling.



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The question isn't "what are we going to do," the question is "what aren't we going to do?" - Ferris Bueller

The Continental Airlines Exec Pak is a great Leather wallet to hold tickets, passport, credit cards, money, travelers checks, etc. Fine heavy leather will outlast me and my travels. Never travel without it. The passport retreival is easy and there is no need for a seperate wallet for the passport. It is a Bargain with all the coupons, that come with it.