Which Credit Card should you take for trips outside the USA?
This is a nice set up for me to promote specific Credit Cards (and earn commissions), but I won’t do that. Instead I’ll give you practical and actionable advice that helps you today.
Do Not take the Credit Card you use every day
You likely use one Credit Card for most of your transactions. While it’s a good idea to track of all your spending in one place, it’s a bad idea to take that same Credit Card with you when you travel outside the USA.
And, if your primary card’s compromised and cancelled, you’ll be left without access to funds and will potentially disrupt your ongoing payments and subscriptions.
Instead, take two Credit Cards that are issued by a bank that you do not have any other ties to and only use them when you travel outside the USA. Use one for your transactions and have the other as a backup.
Why? Identity Theft, including Medical Identity Theft, is real. You don’t want to unwittingly help online scammers build a detailed online profile about you as a potential victim.
If your main Credit Card’s stolen, the criminals can access your Transactional History which gives them valuable financial insights that help them steal money, commit fraud or tailor specific scams just for you to deceive you more effectively.
Why Would Scammers Want Your Transactional History?
- To Identify Your Spending Patterns: They’ll see where you spend money, learn about your day to day life and what’s important to you.
- To Steal Your Credit Card Details: If they get access to your credit card statements, they can attempt unauthorized transactions or sell the information.
- Commit Identity Theft: Transactional history contains personal details that can be used to impersonate you or open new accounts in your name.
- To Bypass Security Checks: Banks sometimes ask for recent transactions as a security question. If a scammer knows your history, they can pass verification steps.
- To Create Targeted Phishing Scams: They might send you fake emails or messages that match your real transactions, tricking you into clicking malicious links.
And, there are two more important things to do:
- Call the Credit Card company’s International Security department before you leave and be sure to make a call log of who you speak with. Get the International 24/7 Security reporting contact phone number that’s answered by a live human being along with their website. Tell them which countries you’ll be visiting and the dates you’ll be outside the USA. Also, give them your contact information.
- You need to have the RFID shielded sleeves for your credit cards, passports and hotel room key card. Here’s an Amazon link that I don’t benefit from:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=RFID+shielded+sleeves
I know this was a lot of information, but I hope everyone reading this takes it to heart and follows through on my advice.
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