This is a trick I have never had to experience.

Carry a second wallet while traveling with a couple of fake or expired credit cards and money in small denominations. If mugged,I am told throw the wallet two metres away from your attacker in the opposite direction of where you will then run. Throw and run. They will go for the wallet while you make your escape. My fear is that I will throw  the wrong wallet.

Of course, being aware of your surroundings, looking confident, not wearing expensive jewellery can also reduce your risks.

In Washington DC, last week, I inserted my Visa card into a subway ticket machine to buy a metro card so I could ride the trains.

The machine requested I type in my five digit zip code. I don’t have one as it is an Australian card. I entered the four digits of my Australian postal code. Not accepted. So I tried again but added a “0″at the start of the four digits. Believe it or not, this sometimes works in other machines! Not accepted, this time. I then entered 00000 which I have also successfully used in some other machines. I still could not use my cards to buy a ticket.

The number of retail outlets and services where I have this experience is increasing as more organisations automate more transactions.  I am assuming things like a zip code help reduce fraud. It means, though, I have been unable to buy gas (petrol) at self service pumps, groceries at some US supermarket automatic check outs, airline tickets or train tickets.

At the Charles de Gaulle airport Regional Express Station, on the edge of Paris, none of the ticket machines will accept a non European card. This leads to many tourists searching for a human or an ATM. How many tourists pass through there every day? How many start their Parisian experience with unnecessary frustration?

This week, at a Tesco supermarket in England, the check out operator refused to accept my Visa card. The UK like many countries, have adopted “Chip and Pin” which requires customers to enter their PIN number into a small number pad instead of signing. It is a much more secure system than signing and my Australian cards have the facility. In fact, I use chip and pin in Australia all the time. However, for some reason the Australian issued chip and pin cards do not function in the UK and require a signature instead. This operator told me that her accepting my Visa card would be illegal. It took a call to the customer service department of the chain to get her to accept my card.

How many others are experiencing the frustration of these incompatibility issues? More and more of us are abandoning cash in favour of credit and debit and preloaded cards. If at the same time, some outlets are making it harder and harder to use them, then we are going to start having some real frustrations and potentially lead to a less than positive travel experience.

Have you had an international card comparability fail?

How to get around potential problems:

• Carry more than one sort of card
• Tell your bank that you are travelling
• Have some local cash when you arrive in a city- enough to get a taxi or train from the airport
• Get a local card either a prepaid or a local bank’s product
• Know what codes you can type in if you are asked for a Zip or postal code

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Travel Tip Back up Your Documents

Recently, my partner and I stayed at a small rural hotel in Australia’s Sunshine Coast. Check in was pleasant and friendly. We dumped our bags in the room, had a shower and went out to dinner.

As I reached into my pocket in the restaurant at about 1020pm for the car keys to return to the hotel, I realised that I did not have the room key.

I immediately rang the hotel and got the voice mail of reception.  I left a detailed message and then rang again 30 minutes later.

When we arrived at the hotel at 1105pm, we found reception was closed and the hotel silent and deserted. I called again.

I discovered at the reception, a night bell. I pressed the bell and it connected through to the same number at reception. I left another message and we waited. My other half decided to put the seat in the car back and fall asleep! There was what looked like an apartment labelled “Private”. I banged on the door and window calling out. Nil response. I noticed that there were two car park spaces and only one car there. I hoped that the car owner was the hotel manager and was out for a few drinks with friends.

At that point, another guest arrived. I asked her if she could call the number listed for after hour emergencies in the hotel information pack. This she did. It too went to the main hotel number. She left a message.

I rang a few more times. I then called the hotel chain booking service to see if they had another number for the owners. They didn’t. I rang our travel agent’s 24 hour support line. They had no other numbers and rang the hotel and also left a message.

I tried to find a way through the locked windows of our room.

I did a search on the business registration websites to see if there were any other numbers I could call someone, anyone on.

I looked up how to open a door with a Credit Card, on the Internet. Its very practical and helpful but does not work. I wrecked two cards.

At 240am, I called the local  police station thinking they may have local knowledge of the owner. The call switched through to the central police switchboard. The person who answered was very helpful but no hulking policemen came around to smash the door down.

I admitted defeat at 330am and joined my now snoring partner!

The sun came up between 4 and 5. At 5am, 530 and 6am I rang the hotel. At 630am, the owner answered. We were in our room by 636am. I carried my partner into the room. We slept to 9 and then checked out. The owner admitted he normally sleeps with the phone by his side but decided not to this night!

He charged us full price. Should he have?

I used Kayak to research a flight: Austin-Pittsburgh-Boston. The best option price and schedule- wise was an American Airlines/USair combo sold by American Airlines for $US357.60 ($A345) in Economy.

Kayak gave me a link to American Airlines which I clicked on. This deposited me on the onto the American Airline homepage (www.aa.com). I entered all my personal data and scrolled through to payments page where I entered my Credit Card details. The form asked for my country. I discovered there was not a drop down box for “Australia”. I could enter USA, Canada, UK but no Australia. So I called American Airlines. Turns out I cannot book and pay for a ticket on AA.com with an Australian Credit Card. I had to start the whole booking process again at the Australian American Airlines site: http://www.americanairlines.ie/intl/au/index.js

This I did. The cost to fly on the same flights was $574.60- that is $US594.81. This is a massive $US 237.21 difference. Excessive? Solutions:

1. Get a US Credit or Debit Card
2. Get a friend to pay
3. Book and put on hold and pay for the ticket at the airport. They wont let me pay over the phone. How bizarre is that?