Cancelling a Credit Card to use as a 'dud'
 

Sorry for asking this question in two places at once... (also in 'paperwork')


I'm thinking of taking a 'dud' wallet with a small amount of cash in it which can be given up if needed. For 'authenticity' I'm thinking of applying for a couple of credit cards and then cancelling them as soon as they arrive. This means that the name on the cards would match and the expiry dates would still be valid - but the cards would be useless to anyone.

Has anyone any experience of doing this?

Dud cards
 

I did this but still needed the cradit card so claimed I'd lost them! They replaced with no problems - also did this with licence and logbook.

same here, but do allow a couple of months before you go. they will ship new pin number with it

The Day use wallet
 

Should be expendable ...

Should have enough money for the days expenses
Should have old credit cards .. robber will not be checking the expiry dates..
Should have laminated copies of your riding licence, IDP etc etc ..


You should be able to use this day to day .. untill someone steals it .. when you'll need another one .. you can make it difficult to steel by ataching it to a length of rubber cord .... and tie that to the inside of your pocket .. sew a loop on the inside of all your pockets ... you do want it to be 'the wallet' so the robber will think it is real and valuable. Do not smile when they take it!


On my keys I have a snap thingy that attaches to the pocket loop .. make them difficult to lose too. It also can be used to attach hotel keys to.

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The credit cards have magnetic strips on the back .. put these on a strong magnet and they will lose their information. They also have a long number printed on the back .. remove the last 3 digits ..


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Handy to have a few wallets - one for use, the others can contain money of different nationalities .. saves getting them mixed up. They should also be replacements for lost/stollen wallets and contain more copies of stuff.

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There are 'new' credit cards availble here .. they are purchased so they have 'x' amount of money on them .. if you made 'x' small you could use that in the wallet .. it would be real and you can use it .. once used up it still looks real...

We started off doing the 'dummy wallet' thing on our trip but soon found it a pain to carry as well as my own wallet/cash.

Get an account that doesn't charge for foreign withdrawals and only take out reasonable sums at a time. If we were in a town/city we only took what cash we needed for the day (like a kitty) plus our faked up licences (needed for I.D.) and carried those in one wallet for the two of us. Everything else (cards, licences etc) was locked in the panniers in the room or if camping, on the bike with the bike's alarm on.

I also had spare cards under the tank but after a few months on the road, they were a slightly different shape thanks to the heat of the engine- still works though!

Yes . you actually want the 'dummy wallet' to be your real wallet .. except you can lose it and easily carry on without loseing much of anything.

--- Those 'new' credit cards - they are calling them 'travel money' ..