Robespierre

The cardholder's billing address is on the card? How bizarre.

Gretchen

Bill Boy, my reply was really to the people who are calling the CC companies for the collect number--it's there already.
As for the UK, I have NO idea. How can they create a fake card? Who would likely be able to do it? In all our travels, the possibility of someone stealing the copy paper of our credit cards is one I choose not to have to worry about.
Do you really think the maid in your pension is going to order a whole bunch of stuff on the internet IF she could find your credit card info. Puhleeeze.

For what it's worth, MasterCharge has one number and Visa has another. You really only need those two master "collect" numbers. I have copied our cards (when all 4 had to be replaced overnight) and I have written the numbers in a notebook in my purse.

Christina

There is no reason you need a copy of your credit cards. What's the point of that, it's just more paper to carry around. I always have the phone numbers of my card companies in my address book. YOu don't need a copy of it to have that. I also have my card number written in a place that is cryptic, in my address book. There's no need for copies of this information, you just need the phone number.

People can use credit cards with just the number. I use mine all the time online or with a phone order.

Gretchen

Guess what Christina, there is more than one way to do things, as I said in my post--copy, write to disk, write to memory stick, write to paper.
And yes, of course you use your CC number all the time online. Will your maid in Tuscany use it?

dina4

Like LoveItaly, I leave photocopies of credit cards and passports with at home with my mom. I bring along the credit card phone #s--the backs of my VISA and AM EXP both have international (non US) phone #s. I put my flight itinerary and other reservations in a hotmail account.

djkbooks

All you need is the "call collect" number for each of your cards.

suze

For each card, I simply write the call-collect-from-a-foreign-country telephone numbers in the back of my address book.

ezlivin

".... And yes, of course you use your CC number all the time online. Will your maid in Tuscany use it?....."

If a slew of hackers in Nigeria and China were able to use it, I wouldn't trust a maid in any other country getting hold of my CC number.

MissPrism

I am registered with a card insurance company and they keep a record of my cards with their numbers.
if you lose a card or have it stolen, you just ring the company and they get it cancelled for you.
I have only used the service once, last month as it happens.
I noticed that one of my debit cards was missing, informed the insurance company and received a replacement card within ten days or so.
I didn't need the number, just the name of the bank to which the card belonged.
I'm sure that you must have similar insurance schemes in the US.

Robespierre

A Card Insurance Company? That you pay?

Which you call if a card goes missing? Instead of calling the card issuer?

What am I missing?

LoveItaly

Robespierre, I don't know if they still have this option but my AT&T CC card had this service which had an annual fee. We were travelling a lot. My husband "lost" his wallet (not really as it turns out but that is another story). We made one phone call to the service offered via the AT&T card. They contact all the financial institutions that he had various cards with. It was quite convenient. All cards were cancelled immediately. However more then one financial institution required he call them directly before they would issue a replacement card. So although one phone call took care of various cancellations of all of his cards we did have to do some follow up calls.

Only year we subscribed to the service..it was good timing!

BTW, I inform and reconfirm with all of my fiancial institutions that my daughter and/or SIL can call and they have my permission to discuss the accounts with them. So I have my own "inhouse" service if I am every on a trip and am unfortunate enough to have a problem with any of my cards.

Edward2005

Before your trip, get an internet-based email account such as yahoo! or hotmail. Send an email to yourself with all the key information you would need. If disaster strikes while on your trip, you can access your email account and get all the data you need. This way, there are no copies for a nefarious person to steal and no papers for you to misplace.

bill_boy

Except for a disgruntled Yahoo/Hotmail employee or a lot of very knowledgeable computer-hacking geeks all over the workd.

MargaretandTony

One final comment on the credit cards - my husband and I found out the hard way that not all cards are 'instantly' replaced. When we were in England we needed a credit card replaced and found that it is the level of card ('regular', platinum, gold, etc.) that gives you a level of service. At the time only the gold cards provided same or next day replacement. It is worth a call to your bank to verify how long it would take for a replacement. We ended up having to call back to the states to have a BIL wire us money - how embarrasing!

Gretchen

Gee, Edward. All I have to do to get my Credit card info is FIND an internet cafe SOMEwhere. I have been to Europe numerous times and have never used an internet cafe. What is UP folks. Make it easy.
And yes, it may depend on the level of card you have as to how quickly it will be replaced, but does anyone except students have less than gold.
BUT you have to absolutely demand it--either in the US or abroad. Just tell them how much you will not be able to charge on their cards if they don't replace it immediately.

francophile03

I don't prefer to store the c/c information online. I prefer to make extra copies as other mentioned and leave a set at home and take another set with us. But I don't agree about leaving it in a locked suitcase. Suitcase can be stolen along with your c/c information that's why.

MissPrism

The company we use is called Card Protection Plan http://www.cpp.co.uk/

I'm sure that you must have similar companies in the US.

Edward2005

Gretchen, internet cafes are common in most towns and neighborhoods. Most hotels and hostels also have internet access. Many laundromats also have it. You can't swing a dead cat without hitting internet access.

Gretchen

I lost or had stolen our CCs in Avignon. Discovered it when renting the car. Why would I go to an internet cafe rather than get our hotel room and start the phone calling. I do not go to France to sit in an internet cafe. I had informed our CC companies of our loss in 30 minutes (now where is that internet cafe in Avignon?) and the next morning we had our first two replacement cards.

Gretchen

BUT Edward, you are free to do whatever you want to spend your time. I won't do it that way. On our past trip it was necessary to use an internet cafe but I let our daughter do it--we needed to keep track of our airline load totals for our standby tickets. That is the only reason I could ever see using one.