Letters: Money, ‘oh no’ moments, airport security, Gold Line

Thanks for Jane Engle’s terrific advice on travel credit cards and ATMs, etc. [“Cash or Credit? It Depends,” More for Your Money, Feb. 27]. I would add that you should travel with more than one card and/or options and backups.

I once traveled with a tour group in which one couple, on arriving at the airport in Casablanca, Morocco, lost their only card in an airport ATM. They were also traveling with little cash.

Fortunately for them, people on the tour helped them financially. Nevertheless, it put restrictions on their spending they hadn’t anticipated.

John Batjiaka

Westminster

Oh no, she knows that situation well

Regarding Christopher Reynolds’ “Oh No! Moments” [Feb. 27]: Our very expensive “Oh no!” moment came last summer when I misread our departure time from Toulouse, France, to LAX. I thought it said 2:30 p.m. No, it said 1 p.m. We missed our flight and had to find a hotel for that night and leave the next morning. We were shocked when we heard the price of our predicament: about $1,100 each.

Mary Meng

Palos Verdes

Items missing from luggage

Regarding “Damage Done,” by Catharine Hamm [On the Spot, Feb. 13]: We recently returned from a funeral in London on a Virgin Atlantic flight. We went through all the security scrutiny, checkpoints, pat downs, X-rays, etc. It’s for our own safety, so we smiled and put up with it.

Once we got home, I discovered a large slash inside the outer pocket of my suitcase. My backup medicine was stolen, among other things. I don’t expect the airline to take any responsibility other than to point the finger at other people.

Despite all the security measures, we are still at the mercy of petty thieves. Whoever thinks we are safer post-9/11 is a fool.

Jaime Gallo

Northridge

A golden time on the Gold Line

Three friends and I went on the Gold Line from Pasadena on a birthday outing to a Union Station restaurant.

Perfect strangers took the time to walk us through getting the tickets. Another person pointed out where to wait for the train.

At the restaurant, a teacher from Wisconsin joined in our conversation. He had overheard us talking about budgets and cutbacks. We had an enjoyable time talking about the differences and similarities in our cities.

On our trip home, a young woman and her friend from Del Mar, experiencing the Gold Line for the first time, pointed out our train stop, which we would have bypassed. All in all, we agreed it was a fun experience, and we would do it again.

M. Kohatsu

Rosemead