You must have heard from a lot of travelers, or read it online about being vigilant of your passport while traveling. And a lot of travelers don’t pay attention to that detail, until you come across someone who’s backpack got stolen and along with that was their passport, smartphone, etc. In such cases, the copies you may have made of the passport or credit cards come handy.
It’s always advisable to scan your passport (if possible, scan the whole book) and save the images on an online cloud account. Why save images to the cloud? Because if your bag gets stolen, your smartphone is also going to be gone, and you need to be able to access your information from a public computer anywhere, anytime. Take three VERY high quality images of the following and save them to the cloud for emergency backup before boarding onto a plane:
Primary passport pages:
These are the pages with your photo, home address, and passport number. Having your passport number will speed up the process at your home-country Embassy if the original is stolen, lost, or needs to be replaced. Some countries provide the alternative in form of a passport card, which has the same number on it.
Credit card:
A lot of hotels won’t allow check-in without the credit card the reservation is associated with. While some hotels might be more lenient in the case of a stolen card, it’s helpful to be able to source the numbers should this situation arise. Also keep images of the back of your card that has the credit card company’s contact information in case you need to report your card stolen.
Prescription information:
Being sick while traveling is annoying, and more so if you run out of prescription medicines. Many airlines recommend carrying medications in your hand-baggage; and many travelers do so for ease of access while visiting tourist spots, but don’t think about the consequences of situations when access to those meds is limited or blocked. Many pharmacies in highly traveled areas will be able to fill pretty standard prescriptions if they have access to appropriate information. While some countries offer them over the counter, many require you to show your prescription information before they can hand over the pills. In this case, scanning barcodes on your prescription bottles, or even noting down the name, manufacturing company and doctor’s information come in handy.
Baggage:
We all know bags can be lost or stolen while you’re traveling, so take good quality images of your bags; and even content in your bags that makes it easier to file for claims at the airports, or report to the local police.
