If you ever travel to other countries, particularly to the same ones repeatedly, register an Apple Account for each country with an easy to remember format. For example joe.uk@example.com, joe.es@example.com, joe.jp@example.com. Obviously this example only works if you own “example.com”, but you get the idea.

Around the world, there are businesses whose services are available, intentionally or not, only to locals. These services often offer corresponding apps that you will be encouraged to install but, if you’re using your primary Apple Account, will appear as “Not available in this region.”

Even though I’m not exactly a global jet-setter, I’ve run into this repeatedly over many years. The problem is getting worse as more and more businesses expect customers to install their apps in order to make the most of their services.

Here’s where your local Apple Account comes in: switch the App Store login on your phone from your regular, at-home account, to the geographically local one. Now you can install whatever app is appropriate for the regional service you’re trying to use. Your old apps will coexist happily with apps installed under your international identity.

Loyalty cards are a concrete example you might relate to. At home, you probably opt in to the local supermarkets’ loyalty programs so you can save a buck or two on items with “club prices.” These loyalty programs exist in many if not all of the countries I’ve visited, but joining them, or at least easily using them in-store, requires installing a business’s custom app.

Many apps that offer in-store virtual cards also support the ability to add the card to Apple Wallet. This not only makes it easier to pop up at checkout time, but gives you the ability to share the card with anybody traveling with you. Just “Send” the card from Apple Wallet to your traveling partner’s phone, and they have it without even needing the Apple Account.

Bonus tip: always get an eSIM when you travel that offers data and a local phone number. You might not make many voice calls (though occasionally a take-out order still requires one), but you’ll be able to easily satisfy many companies’ expectation that customers have a local phone number. You will have one, at least for long enough to set up the membership, and the next time you visit, the app and membership will be waiting for you.