According to credit reporting agency Experian, the average American has four credit cards. However, travel rewards card enthusiasts may be a little different than the average American when it comes to credit cards and may carry more than four cards. But if you’re new to points and miles or taking it slow, you may not have a wallet full of credit cards.
Whether you’re above, below, or average with the number of credit cards you have, you probably won’t bring them all with you when you travel. But have you ever wondered how many and what types of cards you should bring with you abroad?
Let’s learn why it’s important to travel with at least two cards and some best practices for your backup card, whether you’re traveling within the US or internationally.
Related: 9 Types of Cards You Should Pack for Your Next Trip Abroad
Card network problems
There are four main ones Credit card networks in the United States: Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover. Credit card networks facilitate transactions between merchants and issuers.
Some, such as American Express and Discover, are both networks and issuers. On the other hand, Visa and MasterCard are network only and have different issuers. If you have a Visa credit card, it will be issued by a bank, such as Chase or Bank of America, while a MasterCard credit card will be issued by Citi or Wells Fargo.
Visa and MasterCard credit cards are widely accepted in the United States and abroad; American Express and Discover are less common, especially overseas.
Let’s say your primary or everyday spending card at home is Amex or Discover. It’s a good idea to bring a Visa or MasterCard when traveling in case you encounter merchants that don’t accept Amex or Discover.
You may also consider using only Visa or MasterCard for the duration of the trip, as these are widely accepted. In the rare case that the network suffers an outage and you can’t make any purchases, you can switch to a backup card on another network.
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Related: 8 Different Types of Credit Cards
Bank or issuer issues
You may also need a second card in case your primary card is lost, stolen, declined or locked due to a fraud alert. If possible, your backup should be a card from a different bank than your primary card.
Worst case scenario, if a bank or issuer flags your account for suspicious activity and locks all your accounts while traveling, you can switch to a card from a different bank. But if all your cards are from the same bank, you’ll be out of luck until you’re able to troubleshoot your account, which can be problematic if you’re in the middle of a transaction, pressed for time, or unable to contact your bank.
The information for the City Premier Card has been independently collected by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Related: How to detect and report credit card fraud
Keep the backup card safe in the hotel room
In some cases, such as if your card is declined or locked, it may be helpful to have another card with you at all times to complete your transaction. However, the general advice is to keep your backup card somewhere safe, such as in your hotel room safe. If your wallet is lost or stolen and all your cards are in it, you’ll want to keep at least one card safe.
Some travelers even go so far as to keep a second, or decoy, wallet. A decoy wallet with some small amounts of cash and some closed or expired credit cards is carried around to fool a robber or pickpocketer in case of an unfortunate incident. A second wallet is used to carry the cards they need for the day, while the main wallet and other cards stay safe in the hotel room.
With the growing acceptance of With mobile payment methods (such as Apple Pay and Google Pay), even internationally, you may want to add multiple cards to your mobile wallet. You or the merchant may still choose to use a physical card, but at least you’ll know the mobile wallet option is there in a pinch.
RELATED: Is It Time To Ditch Your Wallet? Advantages and Disadvantages of Mobile Payments
Should you take more than two cards?
Yes, but if one gets lost or stolen, it can be a headache, as you have to make several phone calls to cancel the cards. And who wants to spend their vacation doing that? It’s understandable why you’d want to bring a variety of cards if you’re trying to maximize rewards by using multiple cards for different cards. Spend the bonus category on your trip but keep at least one card safe in your hotel room.
If you’re traveling internationally, you’ll want to make sure there are no foreign transaction fees on your primary card and any backup cards. We recommend the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card (See Rates and Fees).
Related: Best Cards with No Foreign Transaction Fees
The bottom line
When planning what to pack for your next trip, don’t forget to pack an extra credit card. There are a few scenarios while traveling where having a backup card can come in handy. At the very least, even if you only use one card during your trip, you’ll have the peace of mind that if something goes wrong with your primary card, you’ll still have a way to pay for your purchases.