Why you need as many credit cards as you can get
Here’s another highly recommended piece of advice, apply for as many credit cards (preferably ones that allow cash advances) as you can before you leave.
Yesterday I tried to pull some money out using my UK high street bank’s debit card. But because of the low value of the pound at the moment, I tried to pull out more than my “daily limit”. Apparently these are automatically set for every customer and the default is a very low 300 pounds per day. No problem I thought, I’ll just try and withdraw something less. But oh no, thanks to wonderful “anti-fraud” measures they have once you go over the limit it flags your card and you can’t use it!
Local solution
Luckily I had Skype back at the hotel so could ring them, going round and round automated call centres for ages before they let me use my card again. Another tip is to always have the phone number of your local bank branch or bank manager handy, they have a lot more discretion and power to sort things out quickly compared with often very badly trained call centre staff. Oh, and make sure you complain if they give you wrong advice, last month I got 100 pounds compensation back because a Halifax staff member had given the wrong advice and had me running round in circles!
Just in case
Anyway, back to where we were… oh yes, this time it wasn’t too much hassle for me as I only had a hotel bill to pay and they let me pay it the day after. But the main reason I, and you should too, carry lots of cards is for emergencies. Strikes, bombings, earthquakes, airport closures and military actions can happen wherever you are from the UK to France to Bali (I’ve been caught up in 4 of those 5!) In those cases you need to be able to get out as quickly as you can and if your bank lovingly decides to cancel your cards because of their under researched anti-fraud measures (they can’t be that sophisticated if something like today tripped them off!) then you need to make sure you have plenty of backups just in case.
Risky? The other way is!
You might also want to ring your branch and ask them to increase your daily allowance, mine is now set at 500 pounds which is the maximum they allow. Also always carry cash around in your different bags, money belts, pockets etc. in case the electronic systems don’t work. Carrying $400 or $500 dollars in various places may sound reckless, as may increasing the daily limit on your card, but I’d prefer to have that stolen than be held up in some risky place with no money.
All safe now
One other tip is to apply for lots of cards before you start your location free life. If you wait till you are non resident or don’t have an address it is much harder to get them approved.
Luckily bad things don’t happen that often, and can often be amazing beer stories later (Oh yeah, I haven’t told you yet about the plane I was in over Hong Kong that caught on fire!), but be prepared with lots of spare credit and debit cards just in case!