This is not only a tip for General Travel, it can also be under Health and Safety. And it is something that my late wife and I learned the hard way.
Quite simply, you and your travel companion should carry different credit (or debit) cards when you travel. If you are not married, that might not even be a consideration as you likely have different cards anyway. But if you ARE married, or even just have shared accounts, then heed this word (actually a lot of words) of caution. There are several reasons for this advice, and you just might find yourself and companion in a difficult situation if you forget to follow it. I sure hope you don’t because it caused us some problems.
Here’s the backstory. My [late] wife and I were in New York City, a place that we liked to visit at least once a year. If there were a special concert (such as Andrea Bocelli’s debut New York Met recital), or an art exhibit (when the Metropolitan Museum of Art had on display for the first time EVERY Picasso item in their entire collection) or a play (going to see Lion King for her birthday), we would make a special trip to midtown Manhattan. There was this one trip when we walked from the 42nd Street area down to Macy’s on 34th. It was a warm day, and so after shopping we decided to take the [packed] subway back up to Grand Central Station. We went to our next-door hotel, got ready for dinner, and she asked if I had seen her wallet.
Without going into more detail, her wallet had been lifted out of her purse while on the subway. Once we realized we didn’t have it, we called the credit card companies to report it and to cancel the cards. The thief had already been charging many items in the area (which the card company said we didn’t have to pay). But, in canceling her [stolen] cards, it meant that mine (same companies, same numbers as hers) were no longer valid. And, of course, she didn’t have a Drivers License for identification as we were to fly home in a couple days.
Here we were in New York City with no credit card, and she doesn’t have any identification.
Well, we were able to fly home (this was pre-9/11), but it taught us a big lesson. We never traveled carrying the same cards again. Fortunately, we also never had a wallet or cards stolen from us again.
The lesson from all of this: Never travel with the same cards as your travel companion!
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Happy Travels — Thanks for reading!
Stuart Gustafson, America’s International Travel Expert®