I hate to say this, but some people suck. I do not know their life situation, but I struggle to understand the theft of people’s property. Picture this: you are on vacation, exploring new destinations, being totally present with friends, soaking up the beauty of life, and indulging in the local cuisine. Everything seems perfect until you get text alerts from your credit card companies about unexpected charges. Suddenly you realize that your wallet has gone missing. Panic sets in as you come to terms with the fact that your identification cards, credit cards, and cash have all been stolen. Unfortunately, this nightmare scenario became a reality during our recent vacation.

Discovering that a wallet had been stolen was an instant jolt of disbelief and disappointment as we re-traced steps, and it became more evident that it was lifted from our possession. But, then, realizing the potential consequences started to sink in: identity theft, unauthorized credit card charges, and, most importantly, How Do We Get Back On The Plane To Get Home?

The first step was to call the impacted credit card companies and notify the local authorities to file a police report. This step is crucial, as it establishes an official record of the incident, which may prove useful when dealing with banks and government agencies.

I had no appreciation for a couple of challenges we had unknowingly set ourselves up for until this situation happened to us.  

Big Challenge 1: My wife and I have joint accounts with the same account number on the credit cards. You turn off one card, and the other is dead as well. Great. How do we pay the hotel much less eat until a new card can be sent to us?

Big Challenge 2: How do we get back on the plane to get home?

Some things we learned:

Challenge 1 caused us to realize that we need at least one different credit card account between us. This way, we would have at least one working card should the other have their wallet stolen. Second, I have to give it to American Express and Chase. AMEX overnighted a card to my hotel. Also, they auto-updated Apple Pay. While it was not fine dining, we could eat. Chase has a cool feature where we turn the card off via their mobile app. I turned it on to close out my hotel bill and then turned it right off. Once we got home, we had new cards issued.

Challenge 2 was the airport. TSA has a plan for this situation, but you must get to the airport early. This takes some time. The TSA agents were great. Hands down. No Gripes. They asked many questions to confirm our identity, and we made our flights. 

Having your wallet stolen while on vacation can be a distressing experience, but it’s essential to remain calm and take immediate action. By promptly reporting the theft to authorities, contacting credit card companies and banks, and getting to the airport super early, you can mitigate the impact of the incident.