This Travel Tip is about why you should carry different brands of credit cards while traveling. It seems like a simple question, but there are a couple of main reasons to do so.
It is very common for stores or vendors to not accept credit cards
Many times when traveling you will stop at a small shop or street vendor and find a local delicacy to eat or something you’d like to take home. Small vendors many times will not have the ability to process credit cards. This means you’ll need to pay with cash, and also have a credit card in case there’s an emergency.
Even when at a larger store or chain, some locations will not accept cards for certain items.
A vendor may not accept a card for an item that is expensive or too big to fit in your luggage. Or, you could be looking at something like jewelry and the store won’t take cards as part of their policy even if they process them elsewhere.
It doesn’t matter where you’re from – we know that it’s always smart to travel with more than one credit card when visiting other countries just in case!
The main reason many stores don’t allow credit card transactions is because there are high fees associated with processing the card (as much as five percent). Even if the seller is willing pay those fees, banks may charge the merchant account of a store that carries balances.
Your card may get Geo Locked
Sometimes when you are traveling your card may simply stop working. Did you remember to call the credit card company to let them know what you would be traveling out of the country? If you normally live in Chicago and you card starts racking up charges in Copenhagen it could get Geo Locked requiring you to call in to get it unlocked. But having another card to try while your standing in front of the cashier would be helpful.
You may be charged a fee from the other card company if you use it outside of your home country. Carry different brands of credit cards to avoid being unable to purchase something because your current bank’s geo-location has been blocked by international borders.
ATMS may only serve one brand of credit card
Another reason to carry two different brand of credit cards while traveling is that many ATMs will only serve one brand of credit card. You may go up to an ATM with your Mastercard only to find out that that particular works with Visa cards. If you only have one type of card with you then chances are you’ll need to take a trip over to another ATM.
Lost or theft
Having two credit cards while traveling and carrying them in two different places will limit the loss if you have all of your cards in your wallet or purse and it is lost or stolen. When you are out and about carry the two cards in two different pockets or one on you and one in your purse.
Personally, I am far more likely to put the card down on the counter and forget it somewhere than anything.