The idea of combining your phone with your wallet has led to a a phone accessory category filled with different approaches. The idea began with plastic phone cases having a compartment to hold a couple of cards, and have expanded to include cases that can hold five or ten cards. The concept makes sense if you want to minimize what you carry each day. Some have gone even further – they just carry their phone, relying on its wallet app to store their credit cards and drivers license.
That hasn’t worked for me—I like having a few credit cards available, especially for the times when vendors don’t take electronic payments or I need to retrieve my credit card details. Also, I have no interest in handing over my phone to show an ID or pay a bill.
For the past couple of years I’ve been using a wallet case with a folding cover to carry a few of my credit, insurance, and health cards, a license. I also like how the case provides screen protection when it’s in my pocket. A well-designed wallet case means leaving the house with just your phone—cards, cash, and ID all integrated into one pocketable package.
In recent years, I found a design that I really like. It’s a two part case, one holding the cards and currency, and the other the phone, that magnetically attach to one another. You can quickly remove the phone and case for charging, mounting it in your car, or taking photos. The photos below show the two parts of the Vaja case, the wallet and phone case.
The Vaja V-Mag case is my favorite among all the many cases I’ve tried. At $198 it’s pricey, but it’s one of the most attractive and functional cases available, and it lasts for years. Occasionally it goes on sale at 20% off. Vaja cases are made in Argentina from a high-grade Patagonia leather that’s soft, supple, and thick enough to provide protection without adding bulk. The embossed grained ages well over years of use. The V-Mag case holds four to six cards in four slots and has a long pocket for bills.
The BookBook ($59.99) above from 12 South takes a different approach—it’s designed to look like a vintage leather book. Made from a stiffer full-grain leather, it also covers the entire phone when closed. Inside you’ll find slots for four cards, a pocket for cash, and a removable shell that holds your iPhone with MagSafe compatibility. While it uses the same two-part design as the Vaja with, its bulkier, stiffer, and a bit less refined. But it’s a good value for what you get.
If you don’t need the removable wallet, Nomad’s Modern Leather Folio offers an attractive wallet case made of Horween leather from its Chicago tannery. It’s about $120, but as little as $22 for older phones. (That’s not a typo!)
The leather darkens over time and its inside is vinyl rather than leather, but it’s attractive and functional.
Finally, the Shieldon wallet case ($40) above from Amazon is a good budget option. It offers the same folio design with a removeable phone case as the Vaja and BookBook. The leather is thinner and lighter weight – but it’s good for the price.
When you do carry a wallet case I recommend adding a screen protector to protect your phone’s screen from coming in contact with the edges of the credit cards, which can scuff the screen over months of use. A good protector is esentially invisible and offers another layer of protection. While you can buy them for as little as a few dollars, I recommend those from ESR or Spigen that are easy to apply, use a stronger glass and have additional coatings to reduce glare and smudging.
