Some people bin a boarding pass the moment they land. Others have a drawer full of them, curling at the edges, a paper trail of every trip since uni. If you're the second sort, this guide covers how to display boarding passes so they look like a collection rather than clutter. It also covers what to do with old plane tickets you'd rather not keep, how to save a pass that only ever lived on your phone, and the one privacy step worth taking first.
Paper or phone: how to keep a boarding pass either way
Boarding passes come in three forms these days, and each needs a slightly different approach.
- Printed at the airport. The classic card pass from a check-in desk or kiosk is ready to keep as it is. These are often printed on heat-sensitive thermal stock, so they need a little care (more on that below).
- Printed at home. Usually an A4 sheet. Trim it down to the section with your name, route and flight details, or fold it neatly so that part faces out.
- On your phone. A mobile pass is easy to lose track of once the trip is over, so save a copy while you still have it. Take a screenshot, or download the PDF if your airline emails or offers one, then print it at home on thick paper or card.
A printed copy of a mobile pass looks surprisingly good in a display, and nobody needs to know it never went near a check-in desk.
Before you display: protect your booking details
That barcode holds more than it looks. In 2015, security journalist Brian Krebs showed that a boarding pass barcode can contain your name, your booking reference and sometimes your full frequent flyer number, even when the printed pass masks most of that number. With a name and booking reference, someone may be able to open your booking on the airline's website; in the case Krebs described, that was enough to see future flights, change seats and even cancel trips.
- Online: cover or blur the barcode and booking reference before you post a photo of your pass, and ideally wait until you're home.
- On display: if a pass is for a return flight you haven't taken yet, keep it out of sight until the trip is over, and tuck the barcode behind another ticket or turn it to face the back.
- Passes you don't want: if you're wondering what to do with old boarding passes that didn't make the cut, shred them rather than dropping them in the recycling whole.
How to display boarding passes: 5 ideas
1. Post them into a slot-top memory box
For a collection that keeps growing, a boarding pass memory box you add to from the top is hard to beat. The Wandersake Memory Box has a slot about 11.5cm long in its top edge: a pass goes in short end first and drops in behind the clear acrylic front, which has a black wire world map across it. To take things out or rearrange them, release the tabs on the back panel and open it up. It hangs on a wall from the hook on the back or stands on a shelf, with no glue, pins or tape anywhere near your passes.
2. A travel wall with passes, a map and photos
A gallery wall works if you have the space: a large map in the middle, with passes and photos around it. Hold them with photo corners, mini pegs on a string line or a clip frame rather than tape. The National Archives lists self-adhesive tape among the things that damage photographs, and thermal paper makers advise keeping adhesive tape off printed thermal paper too. Keep the wall away from radiators and direct sun.
3. Frame one 'big trip' pass with a photo
Some passes deserve a boarding pass frame of their own: the honeymoon, the first long-haul, the one-way ticket to a new job. Pair the pass with a single photo from the trip in a double-aperture mount. If you're having it professionally framed, ask about UV-filtering glazing, which helps cut down light damage.
4. A scrapbook or travel journal
A journal keeps passes alongside the story of the trip. Fix them with photo corners rather than glue so they can be lifted out later. If you use plastic pockets, choose polyester or polypropylene rather than PVC: archival suppliers rule PVC out as unstable, and thermal paper makers warn that the plasticisers in PVC products can damage the print.
5. Mark the route with flag stickers
Add a splash of colour and a running tally of countries. Our Flag Sticker Set has 192 flags in waterproof vinyl. Put them on a journal page beside each pass, along the edge of a frame, or on a small card posted in with the pass. Stick them next to the pass rather than on it, so the printing stays readable and nothing sticky touches the paper.
Will a boarding pass fit? Sizes explained
A standard airline boarding pass is about 20cm long, so the size of your boarding pass display box matters more than you might think.
| What you're keeping | Medium (20 x 20cm) | Large (30 x 30cm) |
|---|---|---|
| Airport boarding pass (about 20cm) | Goes in short end first, then sits at an angle or upright | Goes in short end first, with more room around it |
| Lots of full-size passes | Fine for a few, mixed in with smaller tickets | The better choice |
| A6 postcards | Better in the Large | Recommended |
| Gig, train and museum tickets | Ideal | Ideal |
Both sizes come in White, Black and Natural Wood and are about 4.5cm deep. If you're torn, our memory box size guide goes through what fits in each.
Keep them legible for years
Airport passes are often printed on direct thermal printers, and thermal coatings react to heat, light and certain chemicals. A few habits help:
- Keep them out of direct sun and away from radiators and other heat sources.
- Don't heat-laminate them. Thermal paper reacts to heat, so a hot laminator can turn a pass dark and ruin it. If you want a cover, slip it into a polyester sleeve instead.
- Skip PVC sleeves. Polyester or polypropylene are the safer plastics.
- Handle them with clean, dry hands (hand cream is best avoided), and keep them away from cleaning sprays and solvents.
- Scan or photograph each one when you get home, so you have a backup if it fades.
There's more detail in our guide on how to preserve tickets and stop them fading.
FAQs
Should you keep your boarding pass?
It's worth keeping at least until any air miles have been credited and any delay claim is settled, as it can be useful proof that you flew. After that, it's up to you. If it's from a trip you loved, it's worth displaying. If not, shred it rather than binning it whole, because the barcode holds booking details.
Is it safe to throw away a boarding pass?
It's safest to shred it. The barcode can contain your name, booking reference and sometimes your frequent flyer number, which someone could use to view or change a booking. Shredding takes seconds. If you'd rather keep the pass, display it with the barcode turned away and never post an uncovered photo of it online.
What can you do with old plane tickets?
Post them into a slot-top memory box, build a travel wall around a map, frame a single favourite with a photo, or tuck them into a travel journal with photo corners. Keep thermal passes out of direct sun and away from heat so they stay readable, and shred any you don't want to keep.
Give your passes a home
If your boarding passes are currently sharing a drawer with takeaway menus and spare batteries, they deserve better. The Wandersake Memory Box takes them straight through the top slot and keeps them on show, ready for the next trip.