What to do when you leave your bank card at home

Picture this scenario. You’re going on a day trip to a new place, but you’re in big rush in the morning. You quickly pack your things in your backpack, then leave to go to the train station. You get to the train station to purchase your ticket, and you get your wallet out to pay for it. But when you open your wallet, you find it’s empty and you have no cards or cash on you. You then remember you left your card on your table last night… Now what do you do?

We’ve been in this situation several times before, and although the easiest option would be to go back and get your card, this isn’t always ideal… So, what other things should you do?

What to do in this situation

Use another card on you

This is the easiest solution, as you can use one of your other cards, and then pay for your ticket. But don’t always rely on having your extra cards on you though. It may not always have sufficient funds on it, so it’s back to square one.

Note: Never use your overdraft or take out a loan in any form or manner, as you’ll regret it later on.

Contactless payment using Google Pay/ Apple Pay

If you haven’t set up contactless payments with bank cards on Google Pay or Apple Pay, then ignore this step…

Use the Trainline app

If you have your card linked to the Trainline, then you can buy a ticket using your Trainline account. If you don’t have your card linked, then ignore this step…

Go to your nearest bank branch

I should’ve probably put this step first. If you haven’t been able to do the above steps, then the best thing to do is to go your nearest bank branch ASAP. You can either ask them to withdraw cash or transfer it to another card if you have one on you. The latter only works if you’ve transferred money to it in the past.

They’ll go through some security questions with you. Once you complete those, then they can transfer the requested amount to one of your other cards or withdraw cash.

If all this fails, then the best option is to go back and get your card

If you don’t have another bank card on you, and you don’t want to carry cash, then it may be best to go back and get your card.

What can you do to stop this from happening again?

Set a reminder on your phone to check your stuff the night before

Set yourself a reminder on your smartphone, and don’t forget to turn notifications on. Set this the night before so you don’t end up having to rush in the morning.

Link your bank card to the Trainline app

This is very easy to do in the ‘Payments’ section on your Trainline account. You can also download the app onto your phone, so you can easily purchase tickets on it. What’s also good is you have the option of using an e-ticket or collect your ticket from one of the station kiosks. You may also be able to save money too if you book your tickets earlier in advance.

Pack your things the night before

Pack your items the night before, so you don’t have to rush around in the morning and end up forgetting something. Doing this will also make your morning routine a lot shorter. You can read my post for ideas on important things you should bring on your travels. And things that you shouldn’t take as well.

Set up contactless payments on Android Pay/ Apple Pay or download a banking app.

This is particularly useful if you don’t want to carry your wallet on you. With banking apps, you can also track your spending. You can also set up a budget too to avoid overspending, and receive notifications when you make transactions.