That way, consumers don't have to go through the process of punching in their credit-card information.

WSJ: Bad Credit? Start Tweeting

But as long as they had at least a gold credit card and a solid professional or civil-service job to go back to, they were free to come to Japan, to shop until they dropped.

ECONOMIST: The Chinese in Japan

Several countries offer cash for phones through a scratchoff card like those used to recharge pay-as-you-go phone plans.

FORBES: Emerging Markets Mobile Banking Runs Ahead Of Google Wallet

The Oyster card touch-and-go system was first introduced in London in 2003 to help speed up passage through Tube gates and bus doors.

BBC: London buses to offer NFC contactless card payments

Read location-specific travel guides before you go to learn about the ease or difficulty of using a credit card at your destination.

FORBES: 8 Considerations For Using Your Credit Card Abroad

That prompted then-White House Counsel Gonzales and President Bush's chief of staff, Andy Card, to go to Ashcroft's bedside in an intensive care unit at George Washington University Hospital.

NPR: Cheney Blocked Promotion of Dissenting DOJ Official

SonicBlue (nasdaq: SBLU - news - people) opted to go with SanDisk 's (nasdaq: SNDK - news - people) smaller Multimedia card, which holds 64 MB, for its Nike-branded MP3 player.

FORBES: Ten O'Clock Tech: Mini Megabytes