Originally Posted by
Badenoch
I travel with two debit cards (business and personal) and three credit cards (one business, two personal.) I've had credit cards cancelled mid-trip or not had them work to make a purchase (service stations in the U.S.) and had to resort to a debit card. I've also had debit cards not work to withdraw local cash (Namibia, French Polynesia.)
In places where theft risk is high I will split up my cards and leave one debit and credit in my hotel safe in the event I lose the others.
IMO, what is really crazy is travelling without enough room on your cards to manage an emergency or an unforeseen last minute change in plans. I have high limit cards that can get me back home from anywhere in any fare class at a moment's notice.
I am similarly rather judicious in carrying backups and then backups for my backups.
Two debit cards: one Schwab (my primary) and a CapOne 360 as backup.
Three credit cards: Chase Sapphire Preferred, Citi TY Premier and Amex Plat. The Citi card is my primary as I've found MasterCard often has *slightly* better forex rates and the Plat mostly comes along for the benefits.
Similarly, those cards all have ample credit limits to get me home from anywhere.
I carry only the Schwab and Citi cards, leaving the rest in the hotel safe. I have a slim card case that I keep all of those in, along with Priority Pass, insurance cards, etc. Add to that $300 in backup cash (all crisp recent-issue twenties in good condition).
My daily-carry cards go into a stick-on card slot on the back of my phone.
The wallet also has a card with my Gmail password and backup 2FA codes (though I obfuscate the password slightly and mentally note how to transpose it back). That card case, the money clip and my passport all go directly into the hotel safe after checking in.
If I'm in a place with very high CC acceptance like London, I don't even bother carrying the Schwab card around.