Travel Safety Tips to Keep Your Identity and Wallet Out of Harm's Way

We all need to take a vacation sometimes. Lean back, kick your feet up and close your eyes. To take a break and clear the mind. 

To really let go and relax, we've found that it helps to practice a few travel safety tips. Whether flying international or staying nearby for a Phoenix staycation - knowing your identity and finances are safe gives you that extra peace of mind. 😘👌

Watch our news segment on Arizona's Family or read below to hear our top tips!

1. Notify Your Bank or CU

If you’re swiping your card at Costco for lawn furniture on Tuesday and two days later you’re at a resort in Mexico, that will seem suspicious to your financial institution if you don’t notify them. They may end up locking your card!

For Copper State CU, it's as simple as sending us a secure message within online banking. Or, you could call or chat with us in one of our branches.

Letting your financial institution know that you'll be traveling ahead of time allows them to keep an eye out for the following activity on your account:

• Location
• High Dollar Amounts
• High Volume of Transactions 

2. Make a Budget

It can be so easy to slip into vacation mode and swipe that credit card without a second thought. 😅

There's nothing wrong with having some "fun money" to spend during vacation, but be careful to not dig yourself into a hole (been there, done that).

To protect yourself from your own hard-earned money, it might be smart to sit down before your trip. Take a little bit of time to estimate costs for meals, activities, airfare, fuel costs and more. Knowing these amounts up front can help you avoid excessive impulse spending in the moment.

Our best money travel safety tip for summer vacation? Start saving right now for next summer’s trip.

If you put away $200 a month, you’ll be able to pay without borrowing for a $2,400 vacation next year. If you do need to borrow, consider a personal loan rather than putting it on your credit card, as credit card interest rates tend to be higher if you don’t pay off the full balance each month. 

3. Consider Travel Insurance 

Travel insurance can cover cancellations, medical issues and lost bags. It's particularly helpful if you are traveling to a high-risk area of the world or engaging in high-risk activities.

It's a wise choice if your trip is non-refundable or if you’re traveling internationally. You never know!

4. Secure Important Documents

Make a copy of important documents such as your passport and leave the copies at home in a safe place or with someone you trust. Always keep originals of passports/ID and other important documents on your person or secure in a safe if available. 

5. Beware of Public Wi-Fi

Public Wi-Fi can be very tempting at times, but it's not always the safest. It exposes you to security risks where hackers can intercept your personal information, financial details or even infect your device. 

We recommend using a paid version of a secure VPN (virtual private network). It's like a private tunnel between you and the internet you’re using! 

The next best thing to use is your personal hotspot if possible.

...but if you have to use public Wi-Fi, it's best to: 

• Turn off file sharing
• Turn off Airdrop
• Double check the network name
• Stick to HTTPS websites only (you should be able to see a lock icon in the address bar) 

If keeping your identity safe from hackers is important to you - it's worth checking out our Identity Theft Protection Checklist. It was crafted by our Technology and Fraud experts at the credit union. They know what they're talking about!

6. Pick Payment Methods

Don’t take all your payment methods with you – consider leaving some behind in a safe and secure location.

If traveling internationally, contact your card issuer ahead of time to find out if they charge foreign transaction fees. You don't want to be surprised when you are charged an extra 3%. Side note - our foreign transaction fee is 1.50% of the transaction amount. 

Need to take out more cash from an ATM? Go for 1 larger transaction rather than several small ones to save on fees. 

7. International Travel Safety Tips 

🌎 Dining in Mexico? State that you want to pay in Pesos. You’ll pay less overall than if they convert to dollars (and you're forced to pay the exchange rate).

✋ Also, avoid using the currency exchange in the airport! They offer significantly worse exchange rates AND charge additional fees. It's an expensive way to convert money. Instead, you can get a better deal by pre-ordering currency from your bank or credit union, withdrawing from ATMs abroad or using your credit card for most expenses.

👉 Make sure you know which of your cards have foreign transaction fees & how much they are. They can be up to 3% adding quite a chunk to your overall cost. To avoid fees altogether, use a travel-focused credit or debit card or obtain a prepaid travel card. Contact your FI or card issuer to determine what foreign transaction fees apply to your specific card. You may also find this info on your monthly statement. 

Wherever you're off to next, we send you our best wishes! Enjoy the adventure. ❤️ Safely. 😉

This article is intended to be a general resource only and is not intended to be nor does it constitute legal advice. Any recommendations are based on opinion only. Rates, terms and conditions are subject to change and may vary based on creditworthiness, qualifications, and collateral conditions. All loans subject to approval.

¹All loans subject to approval. Rates, terms and conditions are subject to change and may vary based on creditworthiness, qualifications and collateral conditions. Membership is required.