The Two Most Important Things When Traveling Internationally: Your Passport and Money
Packing lists tend to focus on clothing, chargers, toiletries, adapters and other useful travel gear. Those things can make a trip easier, but most are replaceable.
When you strip international travel down to its essentials, two things matter more than almost everything else: control of your passport and reliable access to money.
Your passport comes first because it is the one essential item money cannot immediately replace. It establishes your identity and citizenship while allowing you to cross international borders and return home.
Money comes second because it is the universal travel problem solver. It can buy replacement clothing, transportation, lodging, food, a new phone, medical care and help with the cost of replacing a lost passport.
Your phone and essential medication also deserve special attention. A phone has become a central hub for communication, directions, payments, reservations and account access. Medication may be personally more important than anything else on this list, although many replacement situations can ultimately be addressed with money, documentation and medical assistance.
Stuff happens. Wallets are lost, bags are misplaced, cards stop working and pickpockets target distracted travelers. The goal is to make sure that one lost wallet, stolen bag, misplaced document or missing phone cannot disable your entire trip.
In This Post
Why Your Passport and Money Come First
A useful way to rank travel essentials is to ask two questions:
- What happens if I lose this item?
- Can another resource solve the problem?
Your passport ranks first because there is no true immediate substitute for it. A copy can help with replacement, and money can cover fees, transportation and emergency lodging, but neither allows you to cross a border or board an international flight in place of the original document.
Money ranks second because it can solve or reduce most other travel problems. If your luggage disappears, money can buy clothing and toiletries. If your phone breaks, money can buy a replacement. If you miss a train or your hotel reservation falls apart, money gives you other options.
Your phone earns honorable mention because it may provide access to maps, reservations, communication, digital payments and account authentication. Medication follows closely behind and may personally rank first for travelers who depend on medically essential treatments.
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Number One: Your Passport
Your passport is the most important individual item for international travel. A lost passport does not necessarily end a trip, but it can cause delays, added expenses, visits to an embassy or consulate and major itinerary changes.
Money can pay for transportation to an embassy, passport photos, fees and replacement lodging. It cannot authorize you to cross a border without the required travel document.
A Passport Card Is a Useful Secondary ID
A U.S. passport card can be useful in limited circumstances, but it is not valid for international air travel and should not be treated as a complete replacement for a passport book.
Even with that limitation, I recommend carrying one when possible. It is a quality backup identification document that takes up very little room and may be helpful if your passport book or wallet is lost.
Make Multiple Passport Copies
The U.S. Department of State recommends making copies of important travel documents and leaving one with a trusted friend or relative.
A practical passport backup system can include:
- A printed copy carried separately from the original
- A secure digital copy available from your phone or computer
- A copy stored securely with a trusted person at home
A photocopy does not permit international travel. Its value is in providing your passport number and identifying information that may make replacement easier.
Consider keeping the passport copy in a secure digital travel file along with your visas, travel insurance, reservations, emergency contacts and prescription information. Do not depend entirely on internet access; a securely protected offline copy may also be helpful.
Store the Original Safely and Consistently
Avoid repeatedly moving your passport between pockets, bags and different locations. Choose a consistent location and return it there immediately after use.
When you do not need to carry it, a hotel or cruise cabin safe may be appropriate. When you need it with you, use a secure travel wallet, concealed pouch, zipped interior compartment or secure zipped pocket.
Do not place your passport in an unattended bag or carry it loosely with cash, cards and receipts.
Consider a passport holder that is designed to hold an Apple AirTag or similar tracker. This can provide another layer of protection, but it should not replace secure passport storage.
Know How to Get Help
Before departure, identify the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate at your destination. The State Department provides instructions for replacing a lost or stolen passport abroad.
A passport copy, another form of identification, your itinerary and information about where the passport was lost may help with the replacement process. Consular personnel may still be able to assist when every document is not available.
U.S. travelers can also consider enrolling in the free Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, commonly known as STEP. It can provide embassy messages and make it easier for officials to contact you or your emergency contact during certain emergencies.
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Number Two: Reliable Access to Money
The most important financial travel item is not one particular card or stack of cash. It is reliable access to money through more than one method.
A wallet containing every card you own is not a backup system. It is a collection of payment methods that can all disappear at the same time.
Access to money creates options. It may allow you to take a taxi, book an emergency hotel, replace a damaged suitcase, obtain medical care or purchase a new ticket after a cancellation. Some solutions may be expensive, but access to funds can prevent a disruption from becoming a full-scale emergency.
Carry Cards From More Than One Issuer
Travel with at least two cards from different financial institutions when possible. Ideally, your backup should not rely on the same bank account, issuer or payment network as your primary card.
This protects against a card being lost, declined, frozen because of suspected fraud or rejected by a particular ATM or merchant.
Before departure, confirm that your cards can be used internationally and check whether your issuer accepts or requires travel notifications.
Keep Payment Methods Separate
Keep your primary card in your wallet and at least one backup somewhere separate and secure.
That could mean:
- One card in your wallet and another in a secure travel organizer
- One card carried by you and another carried by your travel partner
- A backup card stored in your hotel or cruise cabin safe
- Emergency cash stored separately from your daily spending money
The objective is simple: losing one wallet should not eliminate every way you have to pay.
Strongly Recommended: Wise Travel Account
A Wise account and card can be funded with a limited travel balance rather than providing direct access to your primary checking account. Wise can also be used to hold destination currency, make purchases and withdraw money from compatible ATMs.
If your Wise card is lost or stolen, you can freeze it and generate a new digital card. This makes Wise a useful primary or backup payment method that can act as a firewall of sorts between travel transactions and your everyday accounts.
For a limited time, get a fee-free transfer of up to $600 USD when you use my referral link.
See: Using Wise for Travel: Convert Currency, Spend Abroad & Protect Your Everyday Card.
Carry Some Emergency Cash
Cards are widely useful, but they are not infallible. Cash can help when a payment terminal is offline, a taxi does not accept cards, an ATM is unavailable or a small business requires local currency.
The appropriate amount depends on the destination. Avoid carrying an unnecessarily large sum, and divide your emergency cash between secure locations.
Use Digital Wallets
Adding eligible cards to Apple Pay, Google Pay or another supported digital wallet provides another way to pay if a physical card is damaged or unavailable. When traveling with a partner, consider setting up payment options on both phones.
We have found digital wallets to be one of our main payment methods when traveling in Europe. I primarily use my Apple Watch for payments. Using it means I rarely need to take out my wallet, reducing the chance that the wallet will be dropped, misplaced or exposed to a pickpocket.
Backups to the Backups
A trusted person at home should know how to reach you and may be able to transfer money or help coordinate assistance during a serious emergency.
The U.S. Department of State publishes information about emergency financial assistance for U.S. citizens abroad. This should be viewed as a last-resort resource rather than a replacement for your own backup plan.
Strategic Money Plan Summary
- Set up a Wise account and card. It offers several useful travel features and can act as a buffer between travel spending and your everyday financial accounts.
- Carry multiple credit cards from different issuers and, when possible, different payment networks.
- Carry a small amount of emergency cash in the destination’s local currency.
- Keep backup cards and cash separate from your primary wallet, such as in another secure bag, a hotel safe or with your travel partner. Make sure you and your travel partner know where the backups are stored.
- Set up Apple Pay, Google Pay or another supported digital wallet on each traveler’s eligible phone or wearable device.
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Honorable Mention: Your Phone
Your phone is not as irreplaceable as your passport or as universally useful as money, but it has become one of the most important tools carried by an international traveler. Beyond communication, we rely on our phones for directions, payments, boarding passes, reservations, authentication codes and more.
Losing a phone can therefore create several problems at once. You may lose your primary communication device while also losing access to payment methods, authentication codes, directions and important travel records.
Money can usually buy a replacement phone, which is why the phone does not outrank reliable access to funds. The immediate challenge is regaining access to your phone number, accounts and travel information.
Build a Phone Backup Plan
- Use a screen lock and device tracking. Make sure Find My iPhone, Find My Device or a similar service is enabled before departure.
- Back up important information. Store reservations, emergency contacts and document copies somewhere you can reach from another device.
- Protect account access. Save backup authentication codes, confirm that account recovery information is current and know how to freeze or lock your payment cards. Do not make your phone the only way to access banking, email and travel accounts.
- Download essential information. Keep offline maps, reservations and important contact details available when internet service is unavailable.
- Carry backup power. A phone with a dead battery is temporarily almost as useless as a lost phone.
- Have a connectivity backup. A second eSIM, physical SIM or another service can help if your primary carrier does not work as expected.
- Save important contact information separately. Keep card issuer, mobile carrier and emergency contact information somewhere you can access without your phone.
- Leverage your travel partner’s phone. When traveling with a spouse or trusted companion, distribute important capabilities between both phones. Make sure the loss of one phone does not eliminate every way to authenticate accounts, retrieve reservations or communicate.
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Also Essential: Medication
Medication deserves special attention because it can be just as important as money or a passport for an individual traveler.
For someone who relies on insulin, seizure medication, an epinephrine auto-injector or another medically essential treatment, medication may personally rank first. This hierarchy is a general travel framework, not a judgment about anyone’s medical needs.
Medication ranks slightly lower in the broadest sense because many lost-medication situations can usually be addressed through a physician, pharmacy, clinic, hospital or travel insurance assistance service. Those solutions generally require access to money.
Replacement is not guaranteed, however. Brand names, formulations and dosages vary between countries. Some medications may be unavailable, restricted or classified as controlled substances. That is why “I can just buy more” should never be the entire plan.
Medication Backup Steps
- Keep essential medication with you. Do not pack medication you cannot easily replace exclusively in checked luggage.
- Bring extra doses. Carry enough for the scheduled trip plus a reasonable reserve for delays, cancellations or lost doses.
- Retain original labels. Original containers can identify the medication and show that it was prescribed to you.
- Carry documentation. Bring a prescription copy, generic medication name, dosage, prescriber contact information and any necessary doctor’s letter.
- Check local laws. Verify medication restrictions for every destination and transit country.
- Plan for special storage. Confirm how refrigerated or temperature-sensitive medication will be protected during transit and at your destination.
See: CDC guidance for traveling abroad with medicine.
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Quick International Travel Checklist
Before leaving the country:
- Confirm your passport’s expiration date and destination validity requirements.
- Create printed and secure digital passport copies.
- Store the original passport in a consistent, secure location.
- Carry at least two payment cards from different issuers.
- Keep cards and emergency cash in separate locations.
- Set up Wise or another independent travel payment option.
- Add eligible cards to your digital wallet.
- Enable your phone’s screen lock, tracking and backup features.
- Save offline maps, reservations and backup authentication codes.
- Pack essential medication in your carry-on with extra doses.
- Carry prescription information and verify destination restrictions.
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Final Thoughts
Most things packed for an international trip are conveniences. Your passport and reliable access to money are infrastructure.
Your passport preserves your ability to identify yourself, cross borders and return home. Money gives you the ability to respond when plans fall apart and can solve or reduce nearly every other ordinary travel problem.
Your phone follows as an honorable mention because it now provides access to communication, directions, reservations, payments and important accounts. Medication also deserves special attention because it may be essential to your health, even though replacement is sometimes possible with money, documentation and medical assistance.
The real travel hack is redundancy. Protect your passport and maintain secure copies. Carry more than one way to pay and keep those methods in separate locations. Back up your phone and avoid making it the only way to access important information or accounts. Bring extra medication and the documentation needed to replace it.
You cannot eliminate every travel risk, but you can prevent one lost wallet, stolen bag, misplaced document or missing phone from taking down the entire trip.
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Information in this article was believed to be accurate at the time of publication. Travel requirements, government policies, financial services, promotions and medication regulations can change. Confirm current details with the appropriate government agency, financial institution, medical provider or service provider before traveling. hack:intmoney tag:tpr
