5alive

I think you are worried about all the wrong things. The major issue here is that you lost your passports and needed to get them replaced.

If you lose them again within a 10-year period, you could lose the right to get a replacement. Or yours may expire annually.

​​​​​​There is no reason to keep your passports out for easy access except when you are at the airport or otherwise crossing a border.

Get a pouch to wear under your clothing. Use that hidden pouch for 2 passports and one of your credit cards. Have other card and some cash available elsewhere for easier access.

Reading54

OP never said his passport was lost.

5alive

Okay, I see you are right. I inferred he also lost his passport based on the above quote combined with his other comment, "I lost everything."

In my mind the passport is the most important thing to lose. OP, if you did NOT lose your passports, you didn't lose everything. Wear a pouch under your clothes anyway. The one on your belt is a beacon.

​​​

Michael

In that regard we were lucky. Passports and IDP were not taken, and these two items allowed me to pick up the rental car.

suze

OK I read thru the entire thread again. So the point is that Bank of America has high fees. Got it.

But how did you both get pick-pocketed the same day? And this happens often to your wife in Europe? I would take a good hard look at whatever you are both doing. And do it differently.

I'm also not sure why you care about BoA since you don't bank with them? Everyone knows they have high fees for international transactions.

Trophywife007

Yes, if what you are doing isn't working then make some thoughtful changes! I know I certainly intend to do so.
And all of the big banks have big fees. With all the alternatives available, no one has to put up with that unless they wish to do so. Yes, it is a hassle initially but there are fee free online accounts you can use. We started using a Cap One online account in 2016 just for travel and are completely satisfied with it. We still have accounts with the big boys for direct deposit for work and bill paying services.

suze

I bank with BoA. It's positives locally outweigh any negatives for the few time I travel each year. This person complaining isn't even a BoA customer.

Michael

How do you know this?

Michael

I do not know how both of us were pickpocketed on the same day. Pickpockets do not advertise their presence to their target.

I repeat: one day out of 9100 I have been pickpocketed successfully. I am modifying my behavior by adding a clip to my pouch. Even I have to use two hands to uncliip the zippered money section.

marvelousmouse

Trophywife007

I like their bill pay system and I've found a way to skirt the fees I don't want to pay.

suze

How do you know this?

Because you said you were using your credit union account. But I guess you could also be a BoA customer, with an account you chose not to use on this trip, which would at least make your complaint make more sense.

Are you?

Michael

Yes. In fact, my back-up ATM card is a debit BofA card, I do not have a BofA credit card.

Michael

Under normal circumstances how one gets euros is each traveler's own business. I happen to know how much she paid exactly because of an unexpected incident. She chooses to go with her BofA account. She could do the same thing we do, keep a travel account in our credit union which we finance at the beginning of each trip and empty to the bare minimum at the end. The kitty has worked well before, worked well this time, and will work well in the future. It avoids unnecessary discussions or arguments. She did suggest before the trip that she would get enough euros in the States, which would have been even more onerous than using the ATM. We advised against it.

I have used a money belt and find them uncomfortable. I'll stick to what we do, with some modification. My wife mentions leaving tghe spare credit card in the room, but our daughters uned Airbnb in Mexico City, dropped off their belongings and went to see the sights and came back to a burglarized apartment with everything of value gone. It can happen either way, in the street or in the room; choose your poison.

suze

Your family has really bad luck.

marvelousmouse

Michael

She did, so she would likely be paying the fees regardless but the more money you take out—like, say, to cover a pickpocketed friend’s expenses—the more you get charged.

But we are reimbursing her for two thirds of the fees that represent our share of the kitty, plus 100%, fees included, of the petty cash we borrowed from her.

marvelousmouse

suze

Look at it this way: What would you have done if you hadn't been traveling with friends who were able to loan you money (regardless of how they obtained it)?

How would you and your wife have handled this if you were traveling together/alone, and you were both pickpocketed?

Michael

We would have managed to call our friends in Paris who would have sent us money.

As for our friend, we checked that it was OK to carry us for the entire trip, which included ten days in France. She was going to stay another two months in England, and we could have transferred money to her account once home.

From my perspective, speculative comments reflect the writer's anxiety. The episode is long over, we obviously have been affected by it, and will take steps to avoid a repetition, steps which are not always satisfactory to others, but we all have to make our own choices.