Travel Tip Tuesday: Decoy Wallet and Credit Card Theivery

In case of credit card theft, it's helpful if you have a copy of the front and back of your credit cards somewhere so you know which number to call and your credit card number.  Another variation of this is to program your credit card company's lost card number into your cell phone with the last 4 digits of the card number in the 'memo' field to help you identify the card.

If you live in the USA and are traveling outside the USA, make sure to get the non toll-free number for the bank or card provider before you go.  There are a lot of places outside of the USA that won't allow you to dial a USA toll-free number (or so I hear).

For those supremely worried about being mugged, pick up an inexpensive wallet before you travel and fill it with old stuff (old library cards, fake money, old gift cards, etc).  It can be used as a decoy.  Keep a little of your cash in there and use it for transactions so that you never have to bring out your real wallet when buying stuff from vendors.