>>> good thing that in US you are only liable for $50 of fraudulent charges (by most US bank CCs).
>
>IME the fun happens when you're on the other side of the world and your CC suddenly is stopped. IOW not the losses but the PITA even if you travel with multiple forms of currency.

Emily was held up getting money on her arrival in Prague yesterday, which is about the worst case possible, in a foreign country with no local currency. We tried to get some Czech cash here and there was none to be found. We were told to just write a check at the dorm. Something went awry. I made some phone calls to her Visa and debit card providers with little effect. She worked it out somehow. Good training for an engineer.

You should have seen her pack. (You will see a similar scene in just a few short years). Technically she abided by the limitation of two checked (Czeched) bags and one carry-on. The carry-on wasn't too outrageous. The two suitcases, that's another story. One is hers and the other was lent by her current and future roommate Allison. She stuffed them to the gills. She went out the other day and got some vacuum bags to maximize the amount of clothing in the suitcases. When all was said and done the suitcases had the specific gravity of lead. They have rollers so she didn't have to lift them very often. I lifted them into the trunk of the car and that was about all I could manage.

You know how you miss someone more when they aren't there? That's what it's like.