Know Before You Go: Travel Documents
Before you head to the airport, check off these must-do travel chores to prepare yourself. These tips can help turn a possibly disastrous situation into a manageable one. Be prepared and know before your go!
- Call your credit card and banks inform them of your travel itinerary. Ask customer service which department is in charge of handling the travel alerts. It’s possible that you may have to speak to the fraud department. Inform them of your complete travel itinerary. Be sure to include layover destinations. After you hang up, save that phone number in your mobile phone. Now that number is handy when needed.
- Make Paper Photocopies (and/or scans if possible) of the following documents:
- Passport – the whole front page.
- Credit/Bank Cards – Front & Back side. Remember, the back has the important international toll free number in addition to other valuable information used by your cc company to verify information
- Driver’s Liscence
- Insurance Card
I know this sounds “old-school” to make paper copies, but I’ve learned from first hand experience how handy and helpful these copies can be in a pinch. I find that they are much easier to access in the blurry haze of an emergency. Also, be sure to always keep these copies in a safe place and separate from your actual passport, credit cards, etc…
- Have a document from your doctor or pharmacist listing any medical conditions or current prescription drugs you may be taking.
- Prepare your travel wallet by taking any un-necessary cards out. Also, put your passport and any chip-and-pin credit cards in a RFID blocking wallet, RFID organizer or RFID security wallet.
TAGS
