Credit cards are a safe and convenient way to track expenditures when traveling, although they can be stolen rather easily in the right circumstances.
If you are planning a vacation this year in a heavily populated area, take a few precautions before leaving home to protect yourself against theft; thieves often target the busiest vacation spots to steal someone’s credit cards and other valuables.
First of all, you should pare down your wallet; if you usually carry a whole fist full of credit cards, change this practice.
Go through all of the cards to find out which ones have the largest credit line, the most credit still available and the lowest interest rate on purchases. Make a choice of which two cards would be best to carry, so if one gets lost you will have a back-up card; then as soon as you arrive at your destination, place your back-up card in the hotel safe or the in- room safe.
If you have a home safe, put the other cards in it while you’re away; if not, consider storing them in a safe deposit box at the bank. Unoccupied homes sometimes will attract observant burglars, so don’t leave credit cards or other bank cards in your desk drawer or stuck in a kitchen cabinet, in plain sight.
Record the contact information on your credit card issuers and place it in your luggage where it will be safe. Suitcases, purses and wallets can also become misplaced on vacation, so you should also make a couple extra copies of this information and carry them in different places.
Under the terms of the Fair Credit Billing Act, your maximum liability for charges on a lost or stolen card is fifty dollars and some card issuers have zero-liability policies.
It could be smart to inform your credit card issuers that you will be going on a vacation, how long you plan to be gone and where you are planning to stay, because some card issuers send up red flags on your account when they notice excessive activity on your credit card. If you fail to notify them of your intentions, a freeze could be placed on charges that they cannot authorize by reaching someone at home to verify that they are legitimate charges.
If you make the purchase of an item while on vacation and the item is stolen, you can get a credit on your account by notifying your card issuer of this, since many card issuers offer theft and loss protection as a second benefit of using your credit card for vacation purchases.
If you are having a hard time getting merchandise you have ordered or if the delivery of it was on time but the item was damaged when you got it, this mess can be straightened out easier if the purchase was made by credit card.
Traveling can be fun and it can be stressful, tiring and expensive, but credit cards can be very helpful when you try to keep track of those expenses.
Visit JSNet.org for more information on credit cards available and also great deals on student credit cards. JSNet.org also have more of Alisdair Cosgrove’s great articles including ‘Compare Credit Cards Before Sign Up!‘, visit today to read more of these great credit card articles!