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You can leave home without it

by Harriet Johnson Brackey
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
July 23rd 2006

Credit-card alternatives are a way for travelers to curb ID-theft

You bought the tickets online. You booked your room. Now there's only one word you need to think about: Vacation.

Yes, but don't let your guard down against identity theft. It doesn't stop because you're heading out of town or across town to the beach or over to your family's reunion.

If you are uncomfortable about what happens to your information when you use your credit card, there are a few simple ways to avoid using it and still charge your vacation arrangements. Often, there are no extra costs involved.

Since the best travel deals are often found online, that's the first place you have to take care. Sure, airlines and hotels and vacation rental sites promise security. But if that's not enough for you, here's an idea: Use a "disposable" credit card.

That's what I call them. Citibank uses the term "virtual account numbers" that are good for online purchases. Sign up, at no cost, and Citi will generate a single-use number for its cardholders. Discover's "secure online account number" service is also free. The merchant never knows these are one-time-only numbers. And you can keep the real number to yourself.

Ironically, the only way you can sign up for these disposable credit cards is online. You'll have to put your account number into your credit card's site in order to get the service started. To allay your fears, spokespeople for Citi and Discover both pointed out that their sites have extensive security protections. And, as a cardholder, you're working with a company you already know. You're not foolishly offering up personal information in response to a come-on that you received in an e-mail.

Slightly more effort is required to use the Verified by Visa program. For this one, you register online and create a password. Then, when you shop online, a merchant that's part of the Verified by Visa program will prompt you to enter the password when making a purchase. You can't use your Visa online unless you know the password.

That sounds good, but there are only a small number of merchants in the travel business that participate in the Verified by Visa program. JetBlue and Northwest Airlines are part of the program, other airlines are not. None of the major travel sites, such as Expedia.com, are part of the program. Some other options look smart at first glance, but they have disadvantages, too.

The American Express Travelers Cheque Card looks like a way to travel without carrying too much cash or risk the loss of your regular credit or debit card. It's less cumbersome than traditional travelers checks, too. This is a pre-paid card that can be used at any merchant or ATM that accepts American Express. It is not linked to your bank account. If you run low on funds, you can re-load it, for a fee.

But at $14.95 each, these cards aren't cheap.

The Visa TravelMoney Card works in a similar way, and this card has the interesting option of allowing you to keep your name off the card.

A cheap one that I found is from AAA Auto Club South. Its version requires only a $4.95 activation fee and there's no charge for reloading the card. But you have to be an AAA member to get it. You buy it from AAA, either online or at an AAA office.

For others, the Visa TravelMoney Card offered nationwide by National City Bank of Cleveland has a purchase price of $7.95 ($12.95 if you want your name on the card), but there also is a menu of fees for ordinary uses, such as $3 if you use the card to check your bank balance and $2.95 every time the card runs low and you want to re-load it with cash.

All three of these cards have one other significant disadvantage. "The downside is you have to put the money on them first," said Justin McHenry, of IndexCreditCards.com, a Web site that compares hundreds of credit card offers.

That means you have to be the kind of person who actually saves money and pays for vacations when they happen, not the kind who would rather put off the bill. "You're not floating your vacation for a month like you would with a credit card," McHenry said.

"My number one identity theft tip while traveling is: Be paranoid," McHenry said. Don't leave your credit card in your hotel room or at the side of the pool. And take as few cards with you on the trip as possible.

Finally, let me put your mind at ease about one other connection between travel and identity theft.

It's not true that hotels that use key cards store your credit card data on your room key.

Enica Thompson, manager of media relations for the American Hotel and Lodging Association, says it just doesn't happen, despite persistent reports that circulate on the Internet. There are three tracks that are embedded and encrypted in the typical card and she said most of the association's 10,000 members use just one of them, to record your room number and your arrival and departure dates. Not even your name. That way, the card can be coded to stop working after you leave.

If the same card can be used for purchases, the card simply routes those purchases to the room number.

So enjoy your hotel room and relax.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/local/sfl-sbharriet23jul23,0,5108672.
column?coll=sfla-business-headlines

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