How to Pack Your Sports Cards for a Flight

By Sal Barry

Summer is here, and so are some of the biggest sports card shows in the hobby. The Chantilly Show in Virginia and Fanatics Fest NYC take place this month. And of course, later this summer is the National Sports Collectors Convention. Even the fall has several large card shows that are worth the trip, such as the Dallas Card Show and the Chicago Sports Spectacular. Some of these conventions may be within driving distance from you, but others might require you to fly there. So, if you plan on traveling, here is some advice on how to safely and efficiently pack your cards for the flight home.

Any trading cards that you buy should be put in either a carry-on bag or a personal item bag, and not in your checked luggage. Luggage that you check in with the airlines is subject to inspection, items from it can get stolen, or the luggage can get lost. Even if none of that happens, items in a checked piece of luggage can sometimes get damaged in transit by baggage handlers who, frankly, don’t care about the two dozen Shohei Otani rookie cards inside.

Carry-On Bags

A carry-on bag is typically a small suitcase that measures approximately 22 inches in height, 14 inches in width, and 9 inches in depth. You can also use a large, flat-bottom duffel bag of comparable dimensions. The bag must be able to fit in the overhead bin on your flight.

Caution: Crowded flights often run out of overhead compartment space. Some travelers – usually economy-class passengers boarding last – still must check their carry-on bags. At best, a checked carry-on bag will be given to you on the boarding bridge when you get off the plane. Sometimes, you may have to go to the luggage carousel to retrieve it. That said, if you are bringing a graded Michael Jordan rookie card home with you on a flight, put it in your personal item bag instead.

A carry-on bag can nicely fit four 14-inch Toploader Storage Boxes, five 5-inch Toploaders Storage Boxes, and one Graded Trading Card Box. The reason I like this configuration is that it maximizes the use of the carry-on bag’s inner dimensions.

Assuming your cards are in sleeves and toploaders, here is how many cards each box fits and what it weighs:

• Four 14-inch Toploaders Storage Boxes. Each box can hold 210 cards and weighs about 4 pounds 13 ounces.

• Five 5-inch Toploaders Storage Boxes. Each box can hold 75 cards and weighs approximately 1 pound 12 ounces.

• One Graded Trading Card Box. While this is designed to hold graded cards, it can accommodate two rows of cards in toploaders if you place them sideways. This box can hold 180 cards in toploaders and weighs about 4 pounds 1 ounce.

If you use my suggested configuration, you can fit about 1,395 cards in sleeves and toploaders in a carry-on bag.

That’s great, but one disadvantage of fitting so many cards in a carry-on bag is the weight. That’s 32 pounds of cards, plus around 8 pounds for the bag itself, meaning you will have to lift a 40-pound carry-on bag high enough to fit into the overhead storage bin. Keep that in mind when packing.

Caution: Some less-expensive airlines may charge a fee if your carry-on bag exceeds 35 pounds.

Of course, you can fit more cards if they are not in toploaders. Likewise, you won’t be able to pack as many cards if some of the cards are thicker, like memorabilia cards, or are in graded slabs. You may also want to use more Graded Trading Card Boxes if you plan on buying a large number of slabbed cards, or consider removing some boxes altogether if you are packing unopened boxes of cards, trading card albums, and similar items.

Pro Tip: Put some foam Monster Pads along the inside top and bottom of your carry-on bag to provide extra cushioning for the card boxes and keep them in place. Use Monster Pads to fill any half-empty boxes, ensuring that cards do not shift around while in your carry-on bag.

Personal Item Bag

A personal item bag is typically a backpack, although it can be any similar-sized bag. While dimensions vary by airline by about an inch here or there, a personal item bag can measure 18 inches tall, 14 inches wide, and 8 inches thick. The key is that it must fit under the seat in front of you, but you can usually get away with being an inch off in any direction, as most backpacks can squish to fit the required dimensions.

Pro Tip: If your backpack is too bulky to fit under the seat in front of you, remove one or two items, such as a book or laptop, after you board and place them in the pouch under the fold-out tray. That should make your backpack small enough to fit under the seat.

A backpack can fit three 14-inch Toploaders Storage Boxes, which would hold about 630 cards in sleeves and toploaders, adding about 15 pounds of weight. However, I tend to use my backpack for items like my laptop, charger, smartphone, and other essentials that I can’t pack in checked luggage. Still, if I bring high-dollar cards on a flight, such as when I bought a Wayne Gretzky rookie card at a convention, I will put them in my personal item bag.

Final Advice

Purchase card boxes ahead of time and experiment with the configuration that works best for you and fits in your carry-on bag and personal item bag, if you plan to use that for cards as well. You can always fold flat any card boxes you bring on your trip, but don’t use them. 

Also, before you fly, be aware of the rules your chosen airline has for carry-on bags. Some airlines allow you to bring a free carry-on bag, while others charge for it. Know if your airline has a maximum weight for carry-on bags. And know what their maximum dimensions are for personal item and carry-on bags. Having to check a carry-on bag is stressful, as your new cards will be out of your possession during your flight. However, a little planning and preparation will go a long way in ensuring that your new collectibles arrive home safely.

What advice do you have for traveling with sports cards on a flight? Leave a comment and let us know.

Sal Barry is the editor of the hockey collectibles site Puck Junk and the host of the Puck Junk Podcast. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X/Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.