copies of credit cards

I would just write the numbers down including the phone numbers on the back. Perhaps as a spreadsheet.

Lisa gave you the right info. All you need is acct no and tel. I'll add only that you need the tel no to call from overseas (usually collect), because the 1-800 number will not work unless you call using Skype.

While you're at it, make a copy of your passport and keep it separate. It can make things easier in case of loss of the originals.

If you screw up and only have the 800 number, it'll work. What happens is that a voice comes on and says something like 'push one to continue at normal international rates'. If you don't want to carry the account numbers around, you can go though a quiz and still get served. You don't need a copy of the passport. The number might help, but you can walk into a consulate bare nekkid and empty-handed, bat the breeze, and come back out with a passport. I've been down both roads. What I've done now in case it happens again (and the credit card business has) is put the account numbers (disguised) in the notes section of the phone and the both phone numbers in the phone directory. We also have photos of both passports in both phones and both tablets. It's an overkill, since I've self-proven it's unnecessary, but we still do it. Using paper seems like having something else to keep track of. Leaving it in luggage might have some small degree of pilferage risk that wouldn't exist if the information were kept on two spots on your body. What I do keep on paper in the luggage is the country codes for the world (also on screen shots in the phone and tablet) as well as all the international out-going codes.

Having a passport copy is good sense for travellers. A friend was able to get a passport replaced in Italy quick enough to make a next day flight because she had a copy. Also, at the US and Mexican borders, guards have authority to accept a passport copy if you have additional id.

Not to belabor the point, but when I lost mine that one time I did have my wallet. I asked the clerk in the consulate what would have happened if I'd lost the whole mess. Her reply was essentially that I'd still get the passport in short order. The whole deal took less than an hour. You can also get back in without a passport. Embarrassingly, I somehow lost mine on my own boat (it's a mystery, I was alone, I never found it). A wallet dump in the quarantine area during the customs search got me in without even having to trot up to the office. I've also come home with an expired passport and been let in. Bear in mind that we own the country......and the bureaucracy. We're very politely and efficiently served. And it ain't like we're introducing an unheard of happenstance.