Five Useful Credit Card-Sized Gadgets

The idea that a credit card is a useful item to have has spawned a whole range of credit card-sized gadgets.

The beauty of these is that they do not have to be loose in your pocket or bag but can be neatly slotted away with your real credit cards in your wallet or purse. Here a few such items:

The credit card light bulb:

It would be a neat trick to hide a real light bulb inside a credit card, but until that is possible you can purchase an LED Credit Card Pocket Light. This is a credit card-sized gadget, where the light source is contained in the centre of the card, and folds out in the shape of a light bulb. It is not a torch, rather it glows as a light bulb does, and is powered by a 3V built-in battery. With that kind of power, its uses are pretty limited, but that’s often the nature of gadgets – fun to have with you, but of limited practical use.

The credit card USB:

This operates much like the light bulb gadget, in that the USB is a fold-out device that lies flat in the card when not in use. This is far easier to store on your person than a regular USB, which could easily get lost, or lose its cap at the very least. A USB that sits neatly in your wallet or purse can be used as a back-up in case of emergency. These are the slimmest kind of flash storage device, and they include password protection & encryption software, although the storage capacity is not likely to be the highest.

The credit card pocket knife:

There are various versions of these, and they offer different blades and functions. Victorinox, makers of the Swiss Army knife, offers one that includes a small blade, scissors, a pressurized ballpoint pen, ruler, four different types of screwdriver, tweezers, a bright LED light and a magnifying glass. How useful one one of these may actually be in the real world is debatable, but the alternative would be to carry a proper Swiss Army knife or utility tool around with you. A few millimetres thicker than a credit card, which is unsurprising, but still able to fit in a wallet or purse.

The credit card knife:

These tend to be credit card-sized blades housed in a thin sleeve. Sometimes made of titanium, giving extra strength to compensate for how thin they are, these are potentially a little contentious, as they are akin to a large razor blade and are effectively concealed as a secret weapon.

The credit card bottle opener:

A gadget that is very useful if you regularly get caught short in the high street unable to open your alcoholic purchases. As most homes and all bars will have a bottle opener of some sort, this is more a bit of fun than a must-have item.