Like most nice frequent travelers, I have my airport security routine. When you make 40 to 50 flights a year, you need to be efficient. With Pre-check TSA, I can leave my shoes and keep my laptop and other electronic devices in my bag. And for those times when PreCheck isn’t fast enough, I have Ventilation membership status. Registration is required
My belt, shoes, and watch never trigger the metal detector at the airport. After my ID and boarding pass were checked—although most airports now only scan IDs—I put my phone in my carry-on bag.
So when the metal detector at LaGuardia’s Terminal B started beeping on Thursday morning, I assumed I was randomly selected for additional screening. I don’t wear a belt. There is no metal in my body. I’m wearing sneakers with rubber soles.
Then I gave my wallet to the TSA officer.
Bingo.
I currently have two dozen credit cards in my name. I travel a lot and each serves a purpose. No, I don’t carry them all at once. The physical tokens in my wallet are rotated regularly to maximize the portfolio rewards and set me up for elite status.
On Thursday morning, a combination of tags appeared to have triggered the metal detector. Now, some of my colleagues at The Points Guy were shocked to learn that I hadn’t passed my wallet through the x-ray machine. Others said they did the same thing as me and kept their wallets in their pockets.
But I digress.
When checking my wallet, the TSA agent said, “Wow, there’s a lot of metal cards.”
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And it was.
In recent years, credit card companies have launched heavier cards; cards with a “plunk element” meant to impress your diners when you put it down on the table to pay a check.
At TPG, we have tested the card’s durability and weight. And one of our content directors, Nick Ewen, commented on why It’s time for card issuers to stop producing all these heavy metal cards.
Unfortunately, I happened to have three of them with me when I went through airport security: Chase Sapphire Reserve, Platinum Card® from American Express and Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card.
My Delta Reserve Card is limited edition made from an old Boeing 747. (For the aviation enthusiasts out there: the plane’s registration is N667US and it has flown 68 million miles in over 27 years of service.)
The limited edition Boeing Reserve Delta Card option is no longer available.
That magical combination slows me down. In the future, I will need to put my wallet in my handbag or just carry fewer cards. I think we all know that I would choose the first option.
The heavy metal tags cost me a few seconds of security, but at least I got a good story out of it. How many people can say that the TSA pushed them aside because they carried too many metal credit cards?
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