Playing Our Cards Right

After posting  yesterday's blog entry I called our travel agent to ask when we might conceivably see our passports again. She said they would probably be back that day or the following day (meaning today). Well, this morning I received the good news that the passports have indeed returned, with the visas to India in them. Relieved to hear this, I eagerly went and collected them. With passage to India and beyond now guaranteed, I can rest assured that this trip can really -- I mean really -- go forth. There are still a few flight details to work out once we get to Hawai'i (the island-hopping shuttle flight plans are not solidified, but that doesn't seem critical, I hope; we'll nail that aspect down in a few more days); other than that, all the transportation links are in place.

We have gone over the numbers a number of times. Financing this trip and having the funds in the right places at the right times and having access to them at all times has been a great exercise in strategic money management. The right balance of travelers' checks (how many, if any?) cash (yes, but how much and in which currencies?) and backing for our credit card purchases throughout the duration of this trip have seen us enter the hallowed halls of our bank numerous times. We have collected horror stories from fellow travelers who have told us that they've had their wallets stolen, their possessions stolen and -- even worse -- their identities stolen. One of my friends returned from a trip a month ago and only now, weeks after his return, did he get a call from his bank informing him that someone that day had just made a series of large purchases within the span of 15 minutes before the credit card company managed to cancel his card. The card was no longer good and the stolen money will be restored to him soon, he was told, but at least my friend was home when this happened. Our credit cards will be the only conduit we have through which to draw on our funds the whole time we are away from home. Were a similar thing to happen to us during our trip we would be choked off until new cards could be issued. To cover this contingency we have made a point to have our bank issue us more than one credit card. We've never carried more than one credit card each, so this is new for us. We also raised the limits on each card so that any one card can sustain us until the other card(s) is(are) replaced. We also will be able to monitor our banking activity on-line to watch for purchases we didn't make so we can report any unauthorized activity immediately. Can't be too careful, you know. We want to avoid grief by playing our cards right.