Would you bring your LTC with you if traveling abroad?

[real_name]

Credit Cards have been better than cash and Travellers Checks abroad for a few years now, since the global proliferation of Visa/MC/AE really took hold. But the companies seem to have wised up to the fact that the low transaction fees are a winner for the customer and are changing/have changed the rates for withdrawals in foreign currency or withdrawing dollars overseas. Check before you go. It might be more prudent to get a pre-paid Credit Card. Or revert back to TCs.
Also, always have some cash. If your budget for the trip is $2000 then take $400 of that in $20 bills. You will need to buy/tip/taxi at weird hours and away from the ATMs.
I should have posted this earlier, there is much useful information on this forum: http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/

 

[mp510]

real-name, +1 on avoiding travelers checks. I have an acquantance who recently went overseas and was in a pretty tight place for a few days because they only brought tt's and couldn't cash them, and had to get a relative to wire them money (so they said)

As for taking the LTC with you, I'm not sure if it would create a negative image, some countries (I know Russia for sure) require you to indicate on the visa app whether or not you have any sort of firearms training or experience or .mil training or experience.

I would consider keeping it with, if it is a laminated photo ID (like a DL) for ID purposes (you never know), but isn't MASS just a printed card?

It is good to avoid the unnecesary. I keep my NRA card in my wallet and have managed to misplace several without haveing to leave CT

 

[Limeyfellow]

No one where I live take travellers checks in the US which was troublesome when I first came here. I finally found a bank that would take them. I found a debit card with the visa and cyrix symbols on much more useful. Normally the only countries I switch between now is Britain and the US which I have bank accounts in both countries luckly and its easy enough to switch funds between both or use either debit card in any country.

 

[Rockrivr1]

Update - Just got back from Italy yesterday. Left the LTC home. Awesome country. I would of gained a ton of weight, but we were walking everywhere. Burned it off quickly. Didn't see one fat italian. You could tell the Americans. We were ALL fat. Anyway thanks for all the replys. Some tips definitely helped. Only down side is that I didn't see one gun store anywhere. You can bet the wife found MANY jewelry stores. Ahhhh, now I just have to pay for it. Credit Cards took a beating.

 

[PvtPyle]

Yeah, sorry I think it is stupid. You need your passport and your drivers liscense. I dont even carry my military ID unless I am going someplace where there is an instalation that I can access.

 

[atlctyslkr]

See no need to carry my firearms license somewhere (domestic or abroad) where it is not going to be honored. One more thing to have to go through the hassle to get replaced. It could also cause you trouble if you get harassed by foreign customs or domestic airport security clowns. I like the idea of getting a special wallet for it. Maybe I should get one of those CWP badges too

 

[bruss01]

I think I know what RockRivr was orignially getting at...

After a while, some of these things (ltc, drivers lic, nra card, wedding ring) become a part of our identity, part of how we "see ourselves". Without them, we feel a little less of who we really are. Not any less married, for sure, nor less "authorized" to carry (at least within the terms of the permit) but certainly without the external validations of those conditions.

To some extent, these things become adult versions of the "blankie" or teddy bear that children habitually lug around with them, just an extension of who they are. Only when stripped of the "actual" and justifiable uses of these things (such as going abroad where they are not honored) do we become aware of this more subtle role they play in our lives.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

As for taking the LTC with you, I'm not sure if it would create a negative image, some countries (I know Russia for sure) require you to indicate on the visa app whether or not you have any sort of firearms training or experience or .mil training or experience.

Is this a new regulation? I visited Russia in 1997 and 2001, and Ukraine in 1999, and there was nothing about firearms training on the visa applications. I don't recall that they asked about military experience, either.

 

[lbmii]

Oh yeah! When I spent two weeks in New Zealand I carried mine. Every time someone would bring up the nasty American gun culture I would whip that puppy out and say; "Hey check this out!"

It sort of freaked them out.

 

[jamz]

Japanese Customs Officers can be tough, my worst were the Czech border guards who tore my Passport in two and pulled the laminate off the photo to see if it was 'real'.
That made for great fun getting out of CZ and getting back into the UK as I had to duct tape it back together.

Heh, the only time I've had every single item on my person stripped down into their component parts was leaving Czechoslovakia.