Fast Facts

American Express -- In Seattle, the Amex office is in the Plaza 600 building at 600 Stewart St. (tel. 206/441-8622). The office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 5:30pm. For card member services, phone tel. 800/528-4800. Call tel. 800/AXP-TRIP or go to www.americanexpress.com for other locations or general information.

Area Code -- The area code is 206 in Seattle, 425 for the Eastside (including Kirkland and Bellevue), and 253 for south King County (near the airport). The area code east of the Cascade Range is 509.

Business Hours -- The following are general guidelines; specific establishments' hours may vary. Banks are open Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm (some also on Sat 9am-noon). Stores are open Monday through Saturday from 10am to 6pm and Sunday from noon to 5pm (malls usually stay open until 9pm Mon-Sat). Bars generally open around 11am, but are legally allowed to be open Monday through Saturday from 6am to 1am and Sunday from 10am to 1am.

Drugstores -- Rite-Aid (800/748-3243; www.riteaid.com for locations) and Walgreens (tel. 800/WALGREENS for locations) are two large pharmacy chains found in the Northwest.

Emergencies -- Call tel. 911 for fire, police, and ambulance.

Liquor Laws -- The legal minimum drinking age in Washington state is 21. Aside from on-premise sales of cocktails in bars and restaurants, hard liquor can only be purchased in liquor stores. Beer and wine are available in convenience stores and grocery stores. Brewpubs tend to sell only beer and wine, but some also have licenses to sell hard liquor.

Lost & Found -- Be sure to tell all of your credit card companies the minute you discover your wallet has been lost or stolen and file a report at the nearest police precinct. Your credit card company or insurer may require a police report number or record of the loss. Most credit card companies have an emergency toll-free number to call if your card is lost or stolen; they may be able to wire you a cash advance immediately or deliver an emergency credit card in a day or two. Visa's U.S. emergency number is tel. 800/847-2911 or 410/581-9994. American Express cardholders and traveler's check holders should call tel. 800/221-7282. MasterCard holders should call tel. 800/307-7309 or 636/722-7111. For other credit cards, call the toll-free number directory at tel. 800/555-1212.

If you need emergency cash over the weekend when all banks and American Express offices are closed, you can have money wired to you via Western Union (tel. 800/325-6000; www.westernunion.com).

Identity theft and fraud are potential complications of losing your wallet, especially if you've lost your driver's license along with your cash and credit cards. Notify the major credit-reporting bureaus immediately; placing a fraud alert on your records may protect you against liability for criminal activity. The three major U.S. credit-reporting agencies are Equifax (tel. 800/766-0008; www.equifax.com), Experian (tel. 888/397-3742; www.experian.com), and TransUnion (tel. 800/680-7289; www.transunion.com). Finally, if you've lost all forms of photo ID, call your airline and explain the situation; they may allow you to board the plane if you have a copy of your passport or birth certificate and a copy of the police report you've filed.

Police -- To reach the police, dial tel. 911.

Smoking -- State law prohibits smoking in all restaurants except special smoking clubs.

Taxes -- The state of Washington makes up for its lack of an income tax with its heavy sales tax, and counties add on their own as well. In Seattle you'll pay 8.8%. Hotel-room tax in the Seattle metro area ranges from 10% to 16%. On rental cars, you'll pay not only an 18.5% car-rental tax, but also, if you rent at the airport, an additional 10% to 12% airport concession fee, for a whopping total of around 30%! You eliminate 10% of this by renting your car somewhere other than the airport.

Time Zone -- Washington state is on Pacific Standard Time (PST) and observes daylight saving time, which usually lasts from the first Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October, making it consistently 3 hours behind the U.S. East Coast. In 2007, daylight saving time will be extended from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November.