Last week, I drove to the San Antonio airport to catch a flight for a 3-day business trip. I’ve done these trips so many times over the past 30 years that I hardly think about it anymore. In fact, I can usually pack in 20 minutes to prepare for the days I will be away from home.

After parking my car near Station 4K, I jumped out of my SUV and opened the hatchback. In just a minute or so, I had my computer bag and Travelpro luggage in tow.

I approached the United Airlines counter in Terminal B and confirmed my check-in via the kiosk. The bag tag printed quickly, and the agent glanced at my passport to verify my identity.

I should have been alerted here that something unusual had just happened.

Why did I use my US Passport instead of my driver’s license? I was, after all, traveling domestically. The week before I worked in Costa Rica, and I left my passport in my computer bag.

This forgetfulness worked in my favor today.

I used the Clear service to make my way through TSA. Given that biometrics are used here, there was no need for an ID.

Rental Car

Throughout my flight, I had no need to make any purchases, as I used the United Club for food and beverages.

Upon arriving at my destination, I am walking toward the Avis Rental Car counter, and I get this weird feeling. This is the point I realize that I do not remember seeing my brown wallet.

I stop in my tracks and go through my computer bag. When I do not locate it, I use the Find feature on my phone to search for the wallet. I placed an Apple Air Tag in it just for situations like this.

Sure enough … it showed the wallet at the San Antonio Airport … in my car.

I had no luck getting a rental car because the digital version of my driver’s license did not meet the requirements.

Going Digital

Here’s how I managed throughout the rest of the trip …

• I have the Uber app on my phone, so after collecting my luggage, I requested a ride to the hotel. The driver’s name gave me some comfort regarding my predicament, as this message appeared on my iPhone upon my arrival at the Marriott … “Thank you for reading with Jesus!” Love it!

• When approaching the Marriott counter to check-in, I asked the Bonvoy representative if they could use my AMEX card on file, and she said that was no problem. Good here!

• The next morning, I used Uber to get to my meeting. The driver was a retired teacher from Kenya who shared great tips on how my family and I could enjoy a vacation to his home country. He said, “Make sure to do a Google search for Nairobi National Park when you get a chance.” Exciting!

• For lunch, I walked about a half-mile to Chick-fil-A for lunch, and they gladly accepted Apple Pay. Nice!

• After taking Uber back to my hotel at the end of the day, I had dinner at the hotel, which billed to my credit card on file.

This was my routine during the entire business trip. I did have some cash on me just in case, but I never used it.

Upon arriving to San Antonio on Saturday night, I rushed to my car and did not immediately locate my wallet. Again, I used my iPhone to ping it. As it turns out, my wallet was in the passenger door storage area. Weird!

As I prepared to exit the parking lot, I selected the unmanned credit card station. After inserting my parking ticket, I reached inside of my wallet and removed my business credit card to make payment.

Guess what?

I did use my credit card after all!