Having your plastic handy on vacations in foreign countries is a good idea. Credit cards let you book reservations, rent a car, make purchases, and withdraw cash at any ATM machine around the world. Moreover, many credit companies offer special travel insurances: the flight insurance, the travel accident insurance or the baggage delay coverage. However, nobody can be protected from all troubles that can occur while you are traveling worldwide. Your plastic can be lost or stolen. Our article will tell you about card-related emergency assistance that lenders offer and how it works.

Just imagine: you are far from your home and you realize that your wallet or purse is missing. Credit cards, cash - all has gone. You would ask your friend or workmate to help you out, but they are miles (or even thousands of miles) away. It could be a heart stopping situation, couldn't it? Don't panic. Credit companies provide special emergency services that will let you replace your plastic and get necessary cash in case of credit fraud or other unexpected situations.

How does the emergency card replacement service work?

If your plastic has been lost or stolen, credit card issuers will replace it quickly and with a minimum of hassle. First of all, contact your bank. Typically, its international assistance number is written on the back of your card. Just write it down in advance and keep separate from the credit card itself. If you do lose your plastic, you will have your bank's phone number handy.

Customer service assistance is available 24/7. You will be connected with a person who speaks your language. Tell them your credit card information, and describe when and where your plastic was lost.

Typically, a replacement card will be issued free of charge. The process may take several days. You can pick your new card up at the nearest partner bank, or have it mailed to wherever you are staying, for example a hotel room.

What is the best way to get cash in an emergency situation?

Just the same scheme: contact your credit card issuer and tell them about your situation. All credit companies will help you out with small sums drawn either from your credit line or from your bank account back home. You can get cash advance, a traveler's check, or a personal check from a partner bank located nearby.

Additional card-related emergency services

Due to the stiff competition on financial services market, credit companies offer additional emergency assistance services for their cardholders. For example, American Express provides medical assistance. They arrange hospitalization or refer you to carefully chosen specialists. The company also can deliver supplies that may be hard to find where you are - like contact lenses or prescriptions.

MasterCard customers can rely on MasterCard legal assistance. If you have troubles with local authorities, the company will put you in touch with the relevant embassy or consulate and find you a respected local lawyer. Discover offers passport and travel document replacement assistance that is extremely useful if your passport, identity cards or other papers necessary to return home are lost or stolen.

If your nightmare situation is to realize that you are abroad and your documents are missing, or you are needed back home as soon as possible, or someone in your family is ill and you have no idea where to find a doctor - you can rely on your credit card worldwide assistance. A 24-hour helpline will you ensure trouble-free vacations abroad and bail you out of most troubles.

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Comments

Hazel, 11:53 PM, June 15, 2008
And if your card is stolen, you have zero liability for fradulent charges!

Jefferies, 12:30 AM, August 11, 2008
Those perks make credit cards a more preferrable mode of payment than debit cards!

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