Do you still notify your cc company of your travel plans

[ontheweb]

I have always done this, and will continue to do this. However, both of our credit card companies are now saying that you no longer need to notify them.

Edited August 15, 2019 by ontheweb

[Cruiser_1977]

I do simply because it's easy through the mobile app. I'd rather be safe than sorry.

[ontheweb]

I agree with safe but not sorry. 

 

We just got new cards as they bank we were using moved out of our home town, Also the visa from the new bank has no foreign fees. I was told they monitor your spending and can tell what is real and what is fraudulent. I replied since we just got the cards a few months ago, how would they know we travel every summer?  He then notified them. With our other cc company that I do  online, I let them know in a chat. And even though they also say they do not need to go.

 

Once, though I received an e-mail that I did not have to tell them because we booked the trip with their card.

[capriccio]

Our credit cards no longer want to know when you are traveling.  Before my DH retired in 2013 he spent a decade traveling on average two weeks a month internationally.  I think he notified them initially that he would be traveling internationally a lot and all of them said he didn't have to repeatedly call them.  We were called only twice in that period:  when in Hawaii they suspected fraudulent activity (shrink wrapping a boat!?) and called us because of the activity not the location; once when DH and I were traveling in different cities (he was in Europe and I was in South Carolina) we were called to make sure that both locations (we shared a card) were valid.

Edited August 15, 2019 by capriccio

[mom says]

Our CC companies have told us not to contact them about travel- if we do, they don't make any note on our accounts. With the current activity monitoring, and the fact that cards here are all true chip and PIN,  they don't consider it necessary.

[rkacruiser]

I always notify my cc companies.  Why take a chance for a problem?

 

I think it is interesting the information the different issuing banks want to know to place a travel notification on your account.  One of my banks wants to know only the dates of travel.  One wants to know the dates and countries/states being visited.  One bank has a time limit that they will keep that notification; if my trip exceeds their time limit, I have to call them to re-new it even if I am in the middle of the Indian Ocean.   

[Cruise Junky]

Nope, all of my cards have taken away the online option to alert them.

[John Bull]

Our cc providers don't want to know - when I queried this I was told they don't even make a record of our trips.

 

A few years back one card was declined at Gracelands of all places, even though we'd advised them of our trip to the US and had by then used it there for a couple of weeks.  No worries, we used another, and when we went on-line that evening we found an e-mail asking whether the transaction was genuine.

 

Now if they're suspicious about on-line purchases (I don't know about POS transactions, none have been declined since Gracelands) they automatically hold the transaction & say they need a verification number that's in a text which is automatically sent at the same time.  Cell-phone rings, there's the verification number, pump it into the transaction, job done. 

But there's no rhyme nor reason for choosing "suspicious" transactions.....

I booked open-jaw return air tickets to Tanzania, had to go thro the text verification process. Fair enough. In fact, good for them.

But a couple of hours later I booked an internal flight between the two Tanzanian jaws of the international flights - and had to go thro the same routine 

 

One thing  I've learned from this - keep my cell-phone with me, and turned on when making a transaction.

 

Have American members experienced the verification text system ?

 

JB 

Edited August 15, 2019 by John Bull

[DarrenM]

I have never heard of this practice 

 

 

[Flatbush Flyer]

20 minutes ago, DarrenM said:

I have never heard of this practice 

 

 

It was extremely commonplace years ago before predictive algorithms took on new levels of sophistication.

[Blondilu]

On all 3 of the cards I carried there is a place on my online account to list travel plans including countries and dates.  I alerted them of my trip and thought that was what I needed to do.

 

I used one particular card all over England, Ireland and Scotland.  No problems, which was great because I did not carry my phone.  I turned it off before I boarded the plane and it stayed in a pocket of my carry-on until I get home.

 

But, lately whenever something gets declined for suspicious it's in my own town.  Personally I don't think there is any kind of algorithm, just some kind of random look-we're-doing-something attitude that is supposed to make me feel good about their security procedures.  Cuz, really?  Why in the world would I get declined at the gas station 1 mile from my house and 2 blocks from the store where I had just used that same card?   Maybe I'm dense, but that doesn't make sense to me.

 

 

 

 

[Heidi13]

Last time I called in 2015, I was advised they no longer require this information and respectfully suggested not calling again when travelling.

[ldubs]

1 hour ago, John Bull said:

 

 

Have American members experienced the verification text system ?

 

JB 

 

I haven't seen this, yet.   Currently our Chase Visa asks for specific dates and countries to be visited.  Amex says don't call us, we got it covered.   

[clo]

54 minutes ago, Blondilu said:

something gets declined for suspicious it's in my own town. 

A few years ago when we were in SE Asia a fraudulent attempt was made here in Reno where we live.  Another time we were home and an attempt was made in S. Florida.  ???

[chipmaster]

All banks, CC, financial institutions used advanced machine learning algorithms to monitor activity, location, type of transactions and compare to past usage and profiles and anomalies based on where you sit compared to their larger pool of data base, otherwise known as AI.    That learning and AI also used for all automated and personal calls to, then can detect your frustration level by tone, word selection and route your calls or flag your real person with tips and warnings.

 

Nope no need to call big-bro is watching and knows what you are doing before you even do it 

[ger_77]

I know the CC companies don't need you to contact them about your travel, but I still phone and speak with a representative and make it perfectly clear where we are going and when.  The last time, the guy got a little snarky with me, telling me they would call me if they had any unusual activity, and would just suspend my card at that time.  I knew we had never been to SE Asia before, and didn't want to risk having my card cancelled without warning, as I wasn't going to be turning on my telephone while we were away, and that was precisely why I was advising them of our travel plans.  I made it quite clear I would continue to let them know in the future, no matter what their algorithms said.  I'm a bag, I know, but I don't want to be left in a lurch; I pay for my credit card privilege, so they can take my information and put on my file.

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

[feathersandnananose]

OK, just saying.....we informed our credit card companies that we were traveling and would be OUT OF COUNTRY until a certain date.  I got pickpocketed in Copenhagen.  We called the CC companies about the stolen cards within maybe 3 hours of the loss.  There had been a charge on one card ( a big boost on the thief's transportation card).  We were assured it was cancelled and all was good.

When we got home from our trip (three weeks later) we had a SNAIL MAIL letter from the CC company (who were supposed to know we weren't home yet!) waiting for us.  They denied our request to cancel the illegal charge because the  card was "in our possession" when the charge occurred, in spite of our previous contact with the bank reporting the theft.   Called the bank, the case was closed, and we were responsible.  IF we chose to contest, it would take a month for them to even re-OPEN the case.

 

It wasn't a whole lot of money, but....REALLY?....we'd informed them as soon as we could.  So we contacted them again, with a fax of the Copenhagen police report....and got the funds back, and it didn't take as long as were were told it would. 

 

Lesson learned: if you are pickpocketed, go to the police to make sure you get an official report.  You won't get your stuff back, but it's proof that you really suffered a loss.  It's a pain in the butt, but if you need to verify, it's very helpful to have the documentation.  And go ahead and push your CC company...

[Tapi]

I travel internationally for work almost on a weekly basis and I never inform my credit card company of my travels. My international activity has never been flagged, but it got flagged when I attempted to use my card at my local Target, 10 minutes away from my house. I truly wonder how the algorithm to determine fraud works. 

[clo]

20 minutes ago, feathersandnananose said:

Lesson learned

Wow!  What an experience.  When we got pickpocketed, which we didn't know for two or three hours, we immediately went online, reported it, cancelled the cards, etc. The banks were great.  And we actually got a credit card and a debit card, from different banks, in time to have one of the best and expensive meals 🙂

[14Terry]

Yes we do notify hem, saves a lot of headache! 

[clo]

25 minutes ago, thtalks said:

Yes we do notify hem, saves a lot of headache! 

If they no longer have a mechanism for dealing with the call then I don't know how it helps.

[mom says]

17 minutes ago, clo said:

If they no longer have a mechanism for dealing with the call then I don't know how it helps.

Not all cards attached to all banks are the same. Some in the US still require a call or online notification. Others don't. 

[babs135]

I'm in the UK but even here they are not truly interested if you are going abroad.  However, a few years ago on a land based holiday in Australia DH used his credit card in the airport at Alice Springs and then tried to use it a couple of hours later when we arrived in Perth and wanted to pick up an arranged hire car only to find it had been blocked!  We had to ring the credit card people to get it unblocked.

 

Although they had a rough itinerary of where we were going the excuse was the distance travelled in a short time!  In some ways we were pleased that they had acted promptly (if the card had been stolen) but it was also irritating and slightly embarrassing to have your card stopped when you know there isn't a problem.

 

We still inform the bank and as an emergency back up we always travel with a credit card from another bank.

[cb at sea]

I still call if we're going someplace we don't generally travel....can't hurt, might help.  I've had many cards compromised, and I sure would hate for my cards to be "locked" when I'm not home!  Bad enough when you ARE home!

[ducklite]

ATM card yes.  Credit card, no--they don't even want to know anymore.  

 

From personal experience, BofA will prevent an ATM withdrawl if they don't know you are in another country (although they don't seem to care about Canada).  A quick phone call and they will allow the transaction, but who wants to have to make that type of call while on vacation?

Edited August 16, 2019 by ducklite