The next thing on the “To Do” list was to replace any of my credit cards that were expiring in the next year or so. This turned out to be incredibly easy. My American Express expires in 7 months, and after a quick call to customer service, they sent me a new card via overnight delivery (not that I even needed it that quickly). The same thing with my debit cards, although they were sent via normal postal mail. No problems whatsoever.
On foreign transactions, American Express charges the Interbank currency exchange rate as posted in the Walll Street Journal plus a 2% conversion fee. This will be something to keep in mind when making purchases.