Credit Card Travel Notification

[rothbury]

Just a head's up for new cruisers and cruisers leaving soon.

 

Don't forget to notify your credit card company about your travel plans. If the company thinks the charges are suspicious they may stop your credit card. Especially after the latest breach from Target. Happened to my brother on vacation not too long ago.

 

Also, maybe an hour ago now Citibank/Citicard announced they now have international chip technology available upon request. No charge to upgrade. Might be worth considering if you are a cardholder with them or any other company that has "chip technology".

 

Not sure, some of our foreign travelers would know more than me but I believe some countries are almost not accepting cards without embedded chips.

[pris993]

Good info, we always notify our credit card companies of travel plans. Did have a friend who had a credit card refused in port on a Baltic cruise because it did not have a chip.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Good information

We used to always call American Express to give them our travel dates and plans. About 4 years ago they told us that we don't need to call them each time. They keep track of our dates for airline flying and cruising as we purchase and pay for those items.

[Cruising-along]

Good information, and I'd like to add something. We always notify our credit card company when we'll be traveling. None the less, a few years ago when we were driving from Paris to Dordogne, our credit card was refused! :eek: We did have another card with us as a back-up, but needless to say we were furious, since we had notified the company of our travel plans, and it is our major card we use for points. It took over an hour on the phone, on hold, to get it straightened out. (their dime)

 

As it turned out, they did send us an email letting us know, but we weren't checking our email regularly. So, lesson learned on several counts.

[boards]

Also be cautious and very careful when putting in pin number. I apparently made a mistake when putting in my number and was refused. Tried again, but still was refused. We were fortunate that DW had her own number and also another charge card. My card worked okay when we got back home. No one at the bank could explain why.

[RJ2002]

We always notify our credit card issuers when we are traveling out of the country. However, recently I received an email from Chase indicating this was no longer necessary.

 

Here is the email:

 

Travel notifications no longer required

Your Account Ending in xxxx

 

Dear Mr RJ2002:

 

As part of our continuous efforts to improve your experience with your United MileagePlus VISA card, we've made an update to your account.

 

In the past, you may have notified us of your travel plans to ensure uninterrupted service while traveling. Because we value your business and your use of this card, you no longer need to provide us with your travel information.

 

Our fraud detection systems will continue to protect and monitor your account, and we may still decline charges that appear fraudulent.

Your account satisfaction and security is our priority. Should you need us while traveling, call the number on the back of your card anytime. Thank you for choosing Chase.

 

Sincerely,

 

Chase Card Services

[runnergirl71]

We always notify our credit card issuers when we are traveling out of the country. However, recently I received an email from Chase indicating this was no longer necessary.

 

 

 

Here is the email:

 

 

 

Travel notifications no longer required

 

Your Account Ending in xxxx

 

 

 

Dear Mr RJ2002:

 

 

 

As part of our continuous efforts to improve your experience with your United MileagePlus VISA card, we've made an update to your account.

 

 

 

In the past, you may have notified us of your travel plans to ensure uninterrupted service while traveling. Because we value your business and your use of this card, you no longer need to provide us with your travel information.

 

 

 

Our fraud detection systems will continue to protect and monitor your account, and we may still decline charges that appear fraudulent.

 

Your account satisfaction and security is our priority. Should you need us while traveling, call the number on the back of your card anytime. Thank you for choosing Chase.

 

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

Chase Card Services

 

 

Of course that is assuming you paid for the travel with that card. Otherwise how would they know?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[NMLady]

Just a head's up for new cruisers and cruisers leaving soon.

 

Don't forget to notify your credit card company about your travel plans. If the company thinks the charges are suspicious they may stop your credit card. Especially after the latest breach from Target. Happened to my brother on vacation not too long ago.

 

Also, maybe an hour ago now Citibank/Citicard announced they now have international chip technology available upon request. No charge to upgrade. Might be worth considering if you are a cardholder with them or any other company that has "chip technology".

 

Not sure, some of our foreign travelers would know more than me but I believe some countries are almost not accepting cards without embedded chips.

 

We have traveled to international ports on a dozen cruises and have also traveled to Europe on two land trips and have never notified our credit card company. Have never had a problem.

[Boytjie]

I forgot to notify my credit card companies about our recent cruise and had no issues using it in Florida, St. Maarten and San Juan.

 

Last December when we were in Ft. Lauderdale my cards were denied. Go figure.

[VermeulT]

Let me tell you a quick story.

Last year (Jan 2013) I went on a land vacation to Jamaica. I called & told the credit card company of my travels.

The day we left - fraud charges were made. (we suspect the number was stolen from the airport parking place who knew we were just leaving for a week).

Because we had said we were out of the country - the US charges were immediately flagged as fraud. I had an email notification before I had connected & logged in at the hotel.

 

The card was a Sandals Rewards Visa, and Sandals was VERY helpful - letting us call the bank to settle everything and they didn't charge us for the international call.

 

Now - I make sure to notify the bank for any card I'm taking.

[sail7seas]

Good information

 

We used to always call American Express to give them our travel dates and plans. About 4 years ago they told us that we don't need to call them each time. They keep track of our dates for airline flying and cruising as we purchase and pay for those items.

 

 

 

Ditto for us.

We always used to notify AmEx but they told us the same thing about the same 4 years ago. :)

 

We also bring along a bank credit card and I always notify them about our travel plans. They still require notification or strongly suggest it.

 

[matondo]

I used to work in the check fraud department and picked up extra hours working in the debit card side which is very much like the credit card. There are computers that analyze all transactions as they are taking place. If something about the charge raises a red flag the computer will send the information to a real (LOL) person to analyze. Depending on who is doing the analytics on your card depends on how flexible they are in putting a card on hold. So experiences will vary. Having been on the fraud side I am much more cautious when I travel and always call.

[sugarlipz]

You should also notify your bank if you are going to use your debit card while you are travelling.

 

We were in Mexico a couple of years ago & could not get money out of an ATM with my card - luckily my DH's card worked!

[RJ2002]

I used to work in the check fraud department and picked up extra hours working in the debit card side which is very much like the credit card. There are computers that analyze all transactions as they are taking place. If something about the charge raises a red flag the computer will send the information to a real (LOL) person to analyze. Depending on who is doing the analytics on your card depends on how flexible they are in putting a card on hold. So experiences will vary. Having been on the fraud side I am much more cautious when I travel and always call.

 

Thanks for this information.

 

I suspected that the technology the issuers use to analyze transactions had something to do with Chase saying they didn't need advance notification any longer. Still, I feel uncomfortable not notifying them since I'd done it for so long.

[Cruising-along]

I used to work in the check fraud department and picked up extra hours working in the debit card side which is very much like the credit card. There are computers that analyze all transactions as they are taking place. If something about the charge raises a red flag the computer will send the information to a real (LOL) person to analyze. Depending on who is doing the analytics on your card depends on how flexible they are in putting a card on hold. So experiences will vary. Having been on the fraud side I am much more cautious when I travel and always call.

 

That makes sense. We were told that a pay phone call I made to our hotel raised the flag. We had to call to let them know we would be getting there late. We thought it was so odd, because we had been using the card for several days with no problem.

[prescottbob]

Bank of America & Capital One still requires travel notification (among many I suppose). As mentioned, Amex has not required notification for some time know.

 

If unsure or in doubt CALL the CC or debit card folks & let them know where your headed. BTW, many of the banks & CC companies have links on their web sites that allows you to do it on-line.

 

We use the Schwab debit card for foreign ATM's (no transaction / conversion fees, etc.) and use the Capital One for meals, independent tour & purchases (again fee-free, etc.). I only carry the BofA card as a backup of sorts. Amex gets our on board account stuff for the yearly rebate thingy. There's a plethora of no foreign transaction fee cards and rebate & rewards cards out there these days.

 

Speaking of which, we were over in Hawaii a few years ago (non-cruise) and I paid for some groceries using a BofA debit card. The charge was not authorized and I ended up paying cash.

 

Needless to say I was a bit taken aback at the time & called the fraud unit to straighten things out. Apparently, at least with BofA, if you go out of your home zone (we live in AZ) & use the card it will automatically be considered fraudulent unless they've been notified prior to travel.

 

I guess it's all a good thing with all the identity theft and such going on these days.

 

Bon Voyage & Good Health!

Bob:)

[bernie5]

Just FYI

If you follow/pay your CC online you may be able to notify the bank about your travels online. It is really easy on Cap One's website. Not sure about others.

[rharejr]

i live in jersey. we were visiting family in AZ. called boa and told them where we were traveling. half way through the trip we got a call from the bank. they asked if we were in Utah. we said no. apparently someone was trying to make a charge using our card in Utah. good thing the bank had our number.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[rharejr]

Just FYI

 

If you follow/pay your CC online you may be able to notify the bank about your travels online. It is really easy on Cap One's website. Not sure about others.

 

 

with all the cyber theft these days don't know if I would give this info online. no matter how secure the site is. imho it's better to make a call.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[kirin]

For those who have cards that require notification of travel abroad, doing so is important, but there are other kinds of trouble.

 

My ATM card was scammed somehow at an ATM machine in Paris and I had no idea. I had informed my bank of my travel dates and that I would be returning to the U.S. on Aug 6 and I did return on that date.

 

At the end of the month (August), I reviewed my accounts and found 8 ATM withdrawals had taken place from Aug 20 and Aug 30 at ATM machines in Paris and Rotterdam.

 

The bank knew my return date to the U.S. was Aug 6, but their computers did not catch withdrawals in Europe after I had left there. Further, I was using the card almost daily in the U.S. after returning there while someone in Europe was also using "my" card to withdraw money on the same days and this did not send up any red flags to the bank's computer system either.

 

I would suggest all travelers keep an eye on their accounts for a month or so after returning home, if they have made withdrawals or used a card abroad.

 

Kate

[Aruba]

I forgot to notify my credit card companies about our recent cruise and had no issues using it in Florida, St. Maarten and San Juan.

Last December when we were in Ft. Lauderdale my cards were denied. Go figure.

Same thing happened to me. I had several large charges come through with no problem...and then my card was denied when I tried to get gas at a station in Tampa. The $1 hold triggered a "suspicion of fraud". Go figure :confused:

[IRL_Joanie]

......Are:

 

1. When you notify your Credit Card Company of your travel plans and itineraries ALSO notify them of a monetary limit it is to be allowed WITHOUT having to call someone (see #2)

 

2. When you notify your Credit Card Company of your travel plans and itineraries, have a 2nd person (in case you cannot be reached via phone) stateside (or in your Home Country of residence) that the CCC can contact if the purchase is over your prearranged monetary limit with the following information:

 

Name

Phone number

Relationship

 

Joanie

[sapper1]

We always notify our CC company of our travel dates as Murphy's law would dictate that the card would be declined at the worst possible moment if we were not to do so.

 

The person I speak with always says that they appreciate being informed in advance.

 

 

A little off topic here but I thought I would warn about waiting too long to print out your boarding passes. I just went online to print our passes for the Zuiderdam cruise coming up in April and found my husband and I had been assigned each other's middle names by HAL. Our TA will straighten it out and fortunately there is plenty of time.

Edited March 2, 2014 by sapper1

[Randyk47]

We always notify our CC company of our travel dates as Murphy's law would dictate that the card would be declined at the worst possible moment if we were not to do so.

 

The person I speak with always says that they appreciate being informed in advance.

 

That's pretty much our reasoning and we do contact the two or three card companies for the cards we'll be carrying. I can't remember which one but one of them said it really wasn't necessary but we got a "thank you anyhow". I don't remember their reasoning for it not being necessary and I felt better having done it. The interesting thing is that a month after we returned from our 2012 Med cruise I got a call from one of our card companies. The service rep said something to the effect "Well you're obviously not in Rome in the Vatican shop". :) Funny yet was that this particular card comes as a part of our full service checking account and it never gets used or even carried. It was, and still is, stuffed away in our safe and wasn't one of the cards we took to Europe. Apparently some thieves use a random number generator to come up with card numbers and they just happened to hit mine.

[IRL_Joanie]

That's pretty much our reasoning and we do contact the two or three card companies for the cards we'll be carrying. I can't remember which one but one of them said it really wasn't necessary but we got a "thank you anyhow". I don't remember their reasoning for it not being necessary and I felt better having done it. The interesting thing is that a month after we returned from our 2012 Med cruise I got a call from one of our card companies. The service rep said something to the effect "Well you're obviously not in Rome in the Vatican shop". :) Funny yet was that this particular card comes as a part of our full service checking account and it never gets used or even carried. It was, and still is, stuffed away in our safe and wasn't one of the cards we took to Europe. Apparently some thieves use a random number generator to come up with card numbers and they just happened to hit mine.

 

Had similar happen to me about 1 year ago Randy....Was sitting here at home on the computer when the Credit Card company called and asked me if I'd just placed an order with Domino's Pizza in London, UK..........It definitely was not me!!

 

We also think it was randomly generated.

 

Credit Card company put a stop to that card and sent me a new one. Hassle was that since it is the main card I use, I had to notify all the companies via e-mail of the new card number and expiration date.

 

Joanie

Edited March 2, 2014 by IRL_Joanie