gail

While on vacation our 19 year old son lost his wallet. While it was later recovered, he encountered some reporting problems that might be useful for others. For him, just remembering the 2 banks involved in credit and debit cards was a challenge. Then he had to find the phone number (you know - the one printed on the reverse of the cards he no longer had) and he obviously no longer knew his account number.

This would have been only a minor time consuming process, but he had no idea what is social security number was. He had taken the time to write it IN CODE in his wallet, but of course that was of no use.

He had also taken the time to photocopy the contents of his wallet and leave that at home before he went to college - but we were 2500 miles from that photocopy.

I suspect that many young people do not know their social security number anymore - us old people do, but almost no one is using it as an account ID number anymore, it is not on driver's license in most states - the only place I have been asked for it recently is on job applications.

Just a word of warning to be more preapred than he/we were.

Anonymous

Yikes, what a pain in the neck! I guess when you're making that photocopy of the cards, it would be a good idea to make a couple of spares, to keep in car, suitcase, etc. Then there is the risk of THAT list getting into the wrong hands.

Some organizations will keep a registry of your CC's so you can can cancel them all with just one phone call. AAA has done this in the past for free, not sure who does it now.

J62

Gail,
Sorry to hear about your troubles.

Here are a couple of tips I've picked up here on Fodors or from other experienced travellers.

- bring two credit cards and two debit cards on a trip, but keep them separate, i.e. carry one set in the wallet and keep one set hidden away in a suitcase. If there are problems with one debit card PIN, or other access problems, you have a 2nd to fall back on. Ditto if your wallet is stolen.

- scan passport and email the file to yourself, plus bring a printout. If you passport is lost, you can retrieve the info anywhere you can access the internet.

- email yourself a list of credit card accounts & toll free #'s.

gail

Thanks for responses - for us it was nothing more than time consuming since we were together as family with enough credit cards, etc. to handle any eventuality. It was mainly the reporting problem (so no one else used them) that was the issue.

But as our forgetful son is now at age when he is off without Mommy and Daddy to fall back on, and is traveling alone, it could be an issue for him.

I like the idea of emailing info to yourself before you go - never thought of that!

Incognito

J62, I like your idea of e-mailing yourself this important information.

However, why would I want to bring two credit cards and two debit cards on a trip? Well, my spouse bring Visa and I bring MC. We also have one ATM card and always bring travelers checks when traveling abroad but only for emergency situation. For years we never used them and after returning home we redeposit them in our checking account.

But why would one want to bring two debit cards? What debit card does that cc cannot? I never had debit card and don't see any need for it. What is an advantage of having one? Any charge is taken on a spot from your account? What is an advantage here? Am I missing something?

Anonymous

For college kids, having them use the debit card for regular expenditures and have a real CC only for emergencies and other authorized categories (medical copays, books, etc.) help them learn to keep in a budget. Also, if you pay for something with a debit, most places (especially groceries) will let you take cash back, saving a trip to the ATM and possibly some fees.

And it's always good to have a backup in case a cc is compromised, through demagnetization or other damage, or by a false-alarm hold put on the card. One of my card issues got excited when two large charges were made at the same store, an hour apart. (We bought a large item, then went back for smaller ones.)

A college kid away from home might have separate debit cards for the home bnk and the bank in the school location. I agree that it doesn't make sense to carry them both all the time, but it might not occur to a kid to not just keep all his cards in his wallet, to make sure he has the one he needs.

Gretchen

Not knowing the account number is a pain, but the 800 numbers on the back can be accessed as VISA or MC, I believe, not necessarily specific to the issuing bank.
Losing CCs is a real pain. On a trip to France, at our first real stop at the car rental we discovered my wallet gone with 4 credit cards missing--we always split up cards (between husband and me) so we aren't carrying the same ones, but had not done it yet. I spent the next hour in a hotel room cancelling cards. Fortunately because of the time difference it was morning in the US. The reason I am taking the time to write this is to tell you that you can have a replacement card inyour hands overnight (during the week), both in Europe and in the US, IF you demand it.
Some were quicker than others but we did have one card by the next morning and all the rest by the third day.

Incognito

I still can't figure out logistic of having a debit card. How often two credit cards, MC and Visa, would get compromised, through demagnetization or other damage, or by a false-alarm hold put on both cards at the same time?

JJ5

Please do note something mentioned briefly on this thread.

And that is that many young people (and this is the very first year I can remember it ever happening)- have now shown up at college for the very first time and do not know their own S.S.#.

Up until the last privacy acts etc. they were used for many venues and in High School for their student code etc. No longer. Now they have different student codes for each school etc. Another big, big problem when people have the same or similar names or when your name is George Foreman. LOL!

Seriously, please keep some ID with photo at their home plus make sure that they have State ID if not a driver's license at school away from home as well. The same for credit cards, photos of both sides in both locations.

It's been a miserable story this year with lost c.c.'s etc. And some of these people have "permissions" on these cards that they themselves do NOT know.
Like their mother's maiden name etc. The soc.sec.# trace avoided some of this, now that isn't all on the same page either.

I do know that stolen cards were used for gas purchases and the owner of the card did not have to pay for these charges as they attempted to report the card stolen on the same day.

Sorry for the double post, I was trying to edit and hiccuped.

JJ5

To the person who doesn't understand debit cards.

(And I didn't double post, but it page jumped so I thought it did for sure, I think Fodor's changes have started already, folks- good feature if it deletes double posts.)

Some people and many young people among them can ONLY handle the responsibility of a debit card. They are automatically denied when they do not have funds in the bank with a debit card. And that process is the only way they can keep themselves from getting into financial disaster.

I give them lots of praise for only using debit cards, whatever age, if this is the problem they are trying to avoid.

Worst Freshman college problem has become getting into BIG, BIG credit card debt- please educate them about interest rates etc. before they leave home.

J62

for clarification, by debit cards are visa branded cards that are linked to my bank account or credit union account. I use my debit card to get cash, and my cc to make purchases.

Some people use the term ATM card and debit card interchangably, while others make a distinction. In my vernacular they mean the same thing.

gail

(Hijacking my own thread). I use a debit card because it is an immediate and direct charge to my checking account. For me, it is the most effective way to not end up with a big "surprise" on my credit card at the end of the month. Certainly, I could keep track of charges and pay them off - I do that anyway. But since it is linked to my checking account and I do my banking and record-keeping on-line, it also shows up immediately on my on-line bank statement.

I use it in the same way I used to write checks - except that a debit card with PIN is much faster and less annoying than writing a check.

To each his own.

Incognito

Thank you JJ5, that's what I thought. I couldn't get it because I never charge anything if I can't pay in full when the next credit card statement arrives. But it makes sense for college students.

goodbog

this is something i do. i have an ipod loaded with music when i go on a trip, as a backup to the other suggestions posted here. if you own an ipod, i would suggest, to save a text file (windows user) with all that info...code it, so you understand it. and macintosh user, you can upolad your contacts from the address book onto the ipod.

nytraveler

The advantage of a debit card is that it eliminates the need to carry a check book - or write checks. Debits are faster, easier, and more convenient than writing checks - and you don;t have to carry a lot of money around with you.

I rarely carry more than $100. At the supermarket, dry cleaner, drug store or whatever - whenever the charge is above about $20 or so I simply use the debit card to pay. It also saves the trouble of going to the bank to get cash - or paying for a withdrawal at a commercial ATM machine - since when you start to run low on cash you simply take some cash back when you make a purchase,

I don't know how we ever lived without them - it saves a huge amount of time - I haven;t been to the bank in over six months.

Incognito

I never carry more than $40.00 cash. I pay for everything with credit card except The New York Times during a week. Dry cleaner, grocery, gas, restaurants, car wash, stamps in the post office. I charge everything regardless whether it is more or less than $20.00. Only checks we write are four times a year to IRS and to send deposit for some of our accommodations in Alaska. Only times we carry check book with us is when we travel in the US. As someone mention if something is wrong with a credit card it can be replaced within one-two days. I guess I still don't get a reason for having a debit card instead od cc if you are not a student. Our bank does not charge for withdrawals not only in the US but also in any other countries

CAPH52

Just to elaborate a little on something that's already been mentioned...We rely on our debit card to get cash when we're traveling. Most grocery stores, WalMarts, etc., will give you up to $100 back on a purchase. Our bank charges us thirty cents. (There's no charge when we use it as a credit card rather than a debit card. Still comes out of our checking account but we sign rather than using a PIN and cannot get cash back.) Obviously, much cheaper than an ATM. And since we travel by car and always carry a cooler, we stop at that type of store every few days to restock.

Patrick

I'm still confused by comments like that of nytraveler above. Sure, it's easy to see why a debit card is better than carrying around a check book (does anyone still do that?), but I still don't understand why the debit card is better than a credit card. Instead of having to keep track of each purchase with money automatically coming out of your checking account, with a credit card -- they do all the figuring for you and you only have to take one lump sum out of your checking account each month, when you write your check (or transfer online) to pay your monthly bill.

Incognito

Patrick, thank you for stating my point so much clearer.

Our both credit cards take automatically full payments directly from our checking account

lcuy

My college daughters have debit cards. Two reasons why:

1) Free cash back with purchase, so no ATM or CC advance fees

2) Amounts available to use (or steal) are much lower, providing some limits for people who need them.

I use credit cards for everything, except I also have an ATM card without the VISA/MC debit feature. (It was hard to get my bank to issue me one).

It can only be used in an ATM machine with a pin, so if stolen can't be used to "charge" things. I use it only to get foreign currency on trips.