[jackz]

Being affiliated with the U.S. Embassy in Rome, I wanted to share some tips for those of you who are planning International Travel in the future.

This past week Americans reported on average 4 - 6 lost or stolen U.S. Passports per day in Rome. You can only imagine the inconvenience of losing your passport especially if you are intransit to your cruise ship which was the case in a number of these losses.

If you were to lose your U.S. Passport, report it immediately to the closest U.S. Embassy or U.S. Consulate, there are duty officers available 24 hrs per day. Normally, with proper ID your passport can be replaced on the next "business" day at the Embassy with a new application, photos, and full payment.

My suggestions to make your life easier during your travel are the following:

- Xerox a copy of the inside page of your passport that contains your identifying data and photo. Keep this document seperate from your passport. After you check into your hotel secure your passport in the room safe or locked luggage or container. You can carry your xerox with you. Should your passport be lost or stolen, having the xerox will easily identify you to Embassy officials and assist in obtaining a new passport quickly

- Xerox all credit cards to include the back that contains the phone numbers to call in the event you need to cancel them and report them as lost or stolen. This will save you loads of time in getting lost/stolen cards cancelled and reissued. Again, keep the xerox seperate from the original cards. As an alternative, email yourself a list of all your credit cards with numbers, expiration dates and contact numbers to call in the event they are lost or stolen. You can always go to an internet cafe and pull up the info from your email account if needed. My choice would be the hard copy.

- Be sure to call your credit card companies and or bank card issuers prior to departing the USA and inform them of your exact travel plans to include countries to visit and dates. This will ensure that your card will not be declined during an overseas purchase by the credit card company.

- Obtaining ATM withdrawals in foreign countries for local currency is normally the best way to go and affords you a better exchange rate. Prior to leaving the USA ensure that your PIN number consists of 4 digits, not 6 or more as most European ATMS only accept 4 digit PINS.

Hope this info helps some of you in your future travels.

Ciao for Now.

[swrinfla]

jackz:

A wonderful post!

As I prepare for my first European trip in almost a decade, I have only one other matter that I hear about now and again:

American credit cards may or may not work properly when "swiped" in Europe. "Swiped" in this case means slid through a card reading device. Not "stolen!"

The advice I've heard is to have the vendor manually enter your card's numbers; then, all should be okay!

SWR

[jackz]

Originally Posted by swrinfla

jackz:

A wonderful post!

As I prepare for my first European trip in almost a decade, I have only one other matter that I hear about now and again:

American credit cards may or may not work properly when "swiped" in Europe. "Swiped" in this case means slid through a card reading device. Not "stolen!"

The advice I've heard is to have the vendor manually enter your card's numbers; then, all should be okay!

SWR

The difference with US issued credit cards and European issued cards is that the European cards have a micro chip in them and normally require the cardholder to enter a pin when the merchant swipes them. I have not had any problems because when the merchant notes the card is US issued they handle it differently and do not require a pin. I have also used my Visa debit card issued by USAA as a credit card in Europe with no problems either. Travel safely and enjoy.

[rubicon]

Jackz thank you for the post. Lucky you...tough duty but someone has to do it. Say ciao to my relatives

[buzzy]

Thanks Jackz. Another tip is to carry your passport, cash and credit cards in a pouch around your neck and under your clothing. That protects you from pickpockets and purse slashers. Better safe than sorry. It might sound extreme, but we heard some horror stories in Rome.

[jojo]

We have traveled abroad a fair amount. The only time we had a problem was in Rome. My husband had his wallet in his front pocket but it was "lifted" when we were on a subway. We spent the rest of the day cancelling credit cards - no fun. This is good advice. Thanks.

[gmcneill]

Originally Posted by jojo

We have traveled abroad a fair amount. The only time we had a problem was in Rome. My husband had his wallet in his front pocket but it was "lifted" when we were on a subway. We spent the rest of the day cancelling credit cards - no fun. This is good advice. Thanks.

I use buzzy's excellent suggestion for carrying money, credit cards, etc.

I use three other precautions that proved effective against a front pocket pick pocket on a subway in Paris last summer.

1. I carry my cellphone in my front pocket. I wrap the phone with a rubber band. The rubber band "grabs" the inside of the pocket, preventing the phone from sliding out easily.

2. I twist the pocket with the phone in it.

When carrying a camera, slide the strap through a front belt loop, pull the camera through the loop, and tuck the camera into your other front pocket.

A small inconvenience to access the phone is worth it.

[salpal]

I was traveling in London on business (alone) and my purse was stolen. I had left a list of credit cards and the phone numbers to cancel them at home with my husband. I called him immediately and within 30 minutes of the missing purse, all the credit cards were cancelled.

Luckily, I was not carrying a large amount of cash and had my passport in hotel safe. Now, I always wear a money belt and keep credit cards and cash in that.

Another tip: Leave your jewelry at home! Only wear a wedding ring and costume jewelry and a cheap watch.

[GTTPF]

This is great information and should be followed. There are some exceptions that can arise if you are not carrying your passport on your person. My son in law travels the world extensively and while in Saudi Arabia, after his bussiness was completed. The king set up a special tour of secure sights and protected historic sights. As he travels so much he leaves his passport locked in his hotel and carries a photo copy with him. At certain sights they weren't going to let him enter with a photo copy. He just told them to contact the king and they let him in. There was one facility that wouldn't let him in. It happened to be one that he would have really liked to have seen. His theory is that he doesn't want anyone to have there hands on his passport. They may not give it back. For the average traveler your advise is excellent.

[rjm1cc]

Originally Posted by jojo

We have traveled abroad a fair amount. The only time we had a problem was in Rome. My husband had his wallet in his front pocket but it was "lifted" when we were on a subway. We spent the rest of the day cancelling credit cards - no fun. This is good advice. Thanks.

Friend of mind was in Rome and both her husband and son had attempted pickpockets on the subway. Seems it is a team effort and the pick pocket does it as he is getting off and the door is closing so you are still on the subway.
The advice was to keep you hand ON your wallet at all times in the subway.

[rjm1cc]

Originally Posted by GTTPF

This is great information and should be followed. There are some exceptions that can arise if you are not carrying your passport on your person. My son in law travels the world extensively and while in Saudi Arabia, after his bussiness was completed. The king set up a special tour of secure sights and protected historic sights. As he travels so much he leaves his passport locked in his hotel and carries a photo copy with him. At certain sights they weren't going to let him enter with a photo copy. He just told them to contact the king and they let him in. There was one facility that wouldn't let him in. It happened to be one that he would have really liked to have seen. His theory is that he doesn't want anyone to have there hands on his passport. They may not give it back. For the average traveler your advise is excellent.

My daughter had an airport official in Turkey ask for a bribe before he would return her passport.

[taylor111947]

One more tip:

I created a .pdf file with a copy of my passport and credit card info. I then emailed it to myself so if I ran into a problem I could have the information handy. You could also send them to Google Documents if you use Google.

One problem I ran into was that my ATM card was attached to my Savings account and it wouldn't work in all ATM machines.