Handling your accounts while cruising?

[ekerr19]

I'm curious how other people handle their banking and finances while they are away cruising. It's not like most of us have accountants and such to handle our affairs for us; I think most of us try and plan the best we can - but something that happened to me yesterday really got me thinking...

 

I check my bank accounts via the internet almost daily, so when I saw some strange activity (as it was happening), on the account my DH uses primarily for business, I called the bank immediately. The charges were different amounts, but all large sums, and totaled quite a bit of money. Because I couldn't identify any of them, I reported the cards had been compromised, and the the last few debit attempts (they were coming through every 20-30 seconds apparently) were declined. This morning I learned that the bank assumes the cards are part of the new wave of counterfeit credit/debit cards being produced and used primarily throughout Asia. Luckily, we caught it, reported it and started the investigation process in a timely manner, but this scares the heck out of me!

 

Last month when we were on the Noordam, we had no internet or phone service for about 4 days - the last days all at sea. In fact, I changed a hotel reservation and cancelled a room at the Grand Hyatt; but apparently, the internet was already malfunctioning while I was doing this and the Hyatt received no record of my cancellation and charged me one night's penalty. I did not realize the cancellation had "not gone through" at the time, but even so, once the internet went down, there was no way to confirm or double check.

 

This is not the first time we've had internet interuptions while cruising, in fact, I can't recall a cruise lately when we didn't have some type of interuption, and normally it isn't a problem for us - but in today's world with identity theft, fraudulent credit card transactions (and the like) which all happen so quickly, we worry how to protect ourselves when we don't have access to phones or internet.

 

Had this fraudulent activity occurred while we were onboard the Noordam, we would not have been able to catch it until after we were home - well beyond the usual 48-hour period for reporting unauthorized debit card transactions.

 

I'm really curious how other people handle things when they are gone for extended periods of time... I've come to rely so much on the internet that it is hard for me to be without it, especially when it comes to moving money between accounts, paying bills, monitoring banking activity etc. But, when I think of how vulnerable we truly are - it scares me a bit.

 

I realize on a 10-day cruise, it's probably not much of a concern to most people, but I still got hit with a $250 penalty from Hyatt for a cancellation they say they never received. When I saw how quickly funds from one of our accounts disappeared (and it only promises to get worse in the future) I am going to be looking for alternatives when we are in Europe this summer.

 

Does anyone else worry?

 

Isn't there a better way to handle finances while traveling?

[RuthC]

Perhaps I'm stupid. Perhaps I'm just blissfully ignorant of the ways people could find to rip me off. But I don't worry.

I am fairly low-tech---I don't use the Internet for any financial dealings, to speak of. I have been known to place an order using a credit card---but it's one I use only on the 'net, and has a fairly small limit.

I pay my bills the old-fashioned way---by check. I go to the bank to transfer money from savings to checking. And I don't sign the withdrawal slip until I'm at the teller's window.

When I take long cruises I pay my bills in advance.

When it comes to all the ways devious people can find to take what's mine, I'd rather not know.

[RevNeal]

If I'm going to be out of town for a substantial period of time -- more than just a 7 day cruise -- I'll have my Administrative Assistant pay all my bills. She goes by the rectory every day, checks on the cat, picks up my mail, and brings it back to the church. She opens my bills, pays them with checks I have prepared and she keeps locked in the safe. If I'm out of town over a pay day she takes my paycheck to the bank and deposits it for me. If something unexpected or fishy happens with my bank account the bank knows to call the church office, and they have it in their files that my Administrative Assistant is authorized to handle emergencies in my absence.

 

I don't know what I would do without her.

[dakrewser]

1. Notify bank and credit/charge card companies where and when you will be away.

 

2. Use automatic bill paying facility of bank and set up most payments before leaving home.

 

3. Check balances from time to time, but don't fret over it.

 

 

But your hotel experience does make me re-think using the in-cabin phone, even at $10/minute, to confirm arrangements if there's no other way! :rolleyes:

[ptoronto]

An administrative assistant - now THAT'S what I need! :p

[obriendan]

For the last two cruises, we have taken a laptop with us. When I had my wallet stolen in Antwerp, I was able to cancel the credit cards immediately. We pay virtually all of our bills online, and several are autopay. Since our "Bank" is also our investment company (Morgan Stanley) we can check our account online. Similarly, we can follow our credit cards online. If the internet is down on the ship, we go ashore at the next port to an internet cafe. Since we can follow the accounts day-to-day, we feel there is little to worry about

[Druke I]

Old tech here also - still like hard copy checks, etc.

 

I pay ahead on most accounts before I travel, and catch up when I return. As we are rarely gone for more than a month at a time, it has worked for me.

 

My wife, more modern than I, does some of her banking by internet, and thus far has been satisfied.

[SDHALFAN]

Oh Gee thanks ekerr19 - Just another thing for me to worry about:eek: .

 

Seriously, though, thanks for bringing it up. I had never given that a single thought and I am going to be gone for 49 days early next year. I had planned to pay my outstanding bills before leaving home, making extra payments on bills such as utilites, etc. and now, thanks to dakrewser's suggestions I will also notify my bank and credit card company that I'm going to be out of town, probably even give them my itinerary.

 

I get a little sick and tired of the constant "dress code", "smoking aboard ship", "tipping policy", etc. threads at times, but threads like this one make it worthwhile to check in because there is a ton of very useful information on these boards.

 

Thanks again for all the suggestions.

 

Valerie:)

[Grumpy1]

Those questions were asked fairly early in our 2005 GWV thread. People wondered how we could handle the financial stuff for almost 4 months, especially at tax time.

 

We filed for an extension of time to pay taxes after doing a quick estimate and made sure we had paid in more than enough to cover the eventual total. That way there was no penalty or interest.

 

I set up everything that I could for direct debit. All utilities and recurring payments. Payments that I knew would come due that I didn't want to pay early, I set up as an electronic bill pay account so I could initiate the payment by internet. Some bills, if I knew what the amount would be, and some birthday cards, I made out checks in advance, got everything ready to mail, put the mailing date on a post-it note and gave that stack to my sister to handle. I signed a few checks that she could use if something came in that I had overlooked. She only lives two miles away and could pick up the mail. If you don't have someone close by, have mail temporarily forwarded to a relative while you are gone.

 

I notified my credit card companies of the itenerary which they told me they wished more people would do.

 

Your homeowners insurance will usually cover fraud that happens before you can notify the bank. Make sure you have some sort of waiver of liability coverage. A business account might not be covered, except through a business policy, so it might be a good idea to put a hold on a business account for direct debit or electronic withdrawals while you are gone.

 

Don't use an internet cafe in a foreign country to access your accounts. A keystroke logging program installed on the computer would give an unscrupulous operator your account numbers, user ID's and passwords, and lots of time to do damage before you checked in again.

 

With a little planning and a few precautions, you should be able to cruise and not worry about everything back home.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

1. Notify bank and credit/charge card companies where and when you will be away.

 

2. Use automatic bill paying facility of bank and set up most payments before leaving home.

 

3. Check balances from time to time, but don't fret over it.

 

 

But your hotel experience does make me re-think using the in-cabin phone, even at $10/minute, to confirm arrangements if there's no other way! :rolleyes:

 

I can say that I do exactly the same as Dave, Tom and I both have payroll that is automaticically deposited and and have all bills set up automatically to pay. I do know that when I have taken my lap top I have checked by credit card for incoming charges but I pretty much do not fret too much. I have not ever had a hotel stay after the cruise so have never worried about that part but I agree with Dave about the phone call but... I also remember that when the internet was done on the ship so were the phones. I remember when we were on the Maasdam last year and the internet only worked hal foof the time, I also was trying to but future cruises while on board but the phone lines were also down:(

[CathieM88]

That is a great idea and I'm ashamed that I never thought of it. While we were in Hawaii last year we almost got scammed by someone posing as Paypal. I had to cancel by Visa check card while on the 2nd day of an 8 day vacation (how does a girl shop???).

 

Do you write, email or call your banks & credit card companies?

[SDHALFAN]

 

We filed for an extension of time to pay taxes after doing a quick estimate and made sure we had paid in more than enough to cover the eventual total. That way there was no penalty or interest.

 

I notified my credit card companies of the itenerary which they told me they wished more people would do.

 

 

Thanks once again Grumpy - you truly are a font (or fount) of incredibly useful information. I must admit that I had not thought about the tax situation, but then realised that I will be back home in time to take care of that.

 

I will most definitely inform my credit card company of my plans to be out of the country and will give them my itinerary. I only have two credit cards (apart from a couple of local department store credit cards) and I only use one of those while travelling.

 

Thanks again, and I am still hoping that HAL will provide me with one of those great tote bags you got on the last GWV (another thread :)).

 

Valerie:)

[SDHALFAN]

That is a great idea and I'm ashamed that I never thought of it. While we were in Hawaii last year we almost got scammed by someone posing as Paypal. I had to cancel by Visa check card while on the 2nd day of an 8 day vacation (how does a girl shop???).

 

Do you write, email or call your banks & credit card companies?

 

 

 

Hi Cathie, I'm so sorry that you almost got scammed - unfortunately it is happening more and more nowadays.

 

Okay, the first thing to do is call your bank and/or credit card company immediately and explain the problem. Follow that up ASAP with a written (or typed) letter and be sure to get a "return receipt requested" at the Post Office so you have proof that the bank or credit company did actually receive your letter. If you send an e-mail then there is no proof, as far as I know, that the bank or credit card company ever received the e-mail.

 

Valerie:)

[arzz]

Timely topic -- especially as we plan for our 30 day adventure next January.

 

In the past 15 months, sadly, we have had two credit card accounts and our checking account used by others. The checking account was most likely a data entry error (but who knows?) -- suddenly someone in Texas was paying SBC out of our Illinois checking account! (That was a hard one to prove as no one was "authorized' to tell us who was using the account, and without that the Bank was reluctant to agree that the charges were not really ours -- and also we would have had to travel to Dallas to file a police report since the crime had occured in Dallas -- but, in the end, we were not held responsible for the charges and now have a new checking account.)

 

Both times the credit card companies called us on the day that the first bogus charge appeared. We were also called once by the credit card company because I was in the Caribbean charging on the same card that my husband was still using at home. That put a stop on our card that seemed impossible to reverse until we finally said that we wanted a new card.

 

We never travel with just one credit card. When we leave the ship we only take one with us at a time. The credit card company took us to task for not letting them know that we were travelling. Since then we have notified them of our travel arrangements....but.....how do we know there isn't someone at the credit card company who could not use that information to damage to us in some way or other while we are out of town? After all, they have our address......?

 

If I prepay my bills, then my mortgage company, utility company, etc knows that we will be gone and our home will be empty......I suspect we will put as many charges as possible on direct debit for the time that we are gone. I am old fashioned enough to not be cool putting my banking and credit card info out on the net as I would be doing if I were to monitor my account by computer. Having already suffered from credit card theft I have cold feet.

 

Others out there, please, continue to share what you do while gone for extended periods. We are open for suggestions.

[pmenefee]

My wife had her credit card frozen in Italy last month, and when she called the card company (CITI) they said that was common if your last charge was at the local grocery store, and a day later you're in Italy buying dinner. It was a safeguard to avoid ID theft, or credit card theft and abuse. Bottom line from Mastercard.............please call us in advance and inform us of your travel plans so we'll know it's you charging somewhere other than your home country. The card was re-instated, but it was an inconvenient hour or two. We will call next time.

Pete

[lougee1043]

first i always notify the cc company --so they know there will no local charges during the time im away and at the same time they know the countries i am travelling to so they can accept those

 

i pay most of my bills online---if i am gone up to 2 weeks any bills that come in while we are gone can wait to be paid til i get back---------over 2 weeks i leave signed checks for the housesitter (relative) to fill in and pay by mail

 

dont laugh at this one but i try never to travel between months --try to book all travel between the first and last days of the same month

[kakalina]

Grumpy1:

 

Thanks for an interesting thread. We generally have our regular monthly bills on auto-pay at our bank. The very few that are not we do pay in advance. We have only one credit card that we pay in full every month and we never use it in foreign countries. We also never, ever, enter our personal informaton in to the internet. In this day and age it is just too darn dangerous for us to take a chance.

[Grumpy1]

That is a great idea and I'm ashamed that I never thought of it. While we were in Hawaii last year we almost got scammed by someone posing as Paypal. I had to cancel by Visa check card while on the 2nd day of an 8 day vacation (how does a girl shop???).

 

Do you write, email or call your banks & credit card companies?

On the back of your credit card is a toll free number. Call that number and request the security department. You can usually bypass the stupid menu trees by hitting "0". Tell them you will be travelling and ask if they want to take the information or if they would prefer a fax, a mailed letter or an Email. They'll let you know what is best for them.

[Grumpy1]

but.....how do we know there isn't someone at the credit card company who could not use that information to damage to us in some way or other while we are out of town? After all, they have our address......?

 

If I prepay my bills, then my mortgage company, utility company, etc knows that we will be gone and our home will be empty......I suspect we will put as many charges as possible on direct debit for the time that we are gone. I am old fashioned enough to not be cool putting my banking and credit card info out on the net as I would be doing if I were to monitor my account by computer. Having already suffered from credit card theft I have cold feet.

 

Others out there, please, continue to share what you do while gone for extended periods. We are open for suggestions.

With the pattern recognition software they use, they pretty well know whether you are home or not. But if you want to make sure no one at the credit card company passes the information to his cat burglar friend, just tell them that you will be travelling, but your brother will be staying at your home to care for your rotweiller.

 

I would be just as concerned about the cab driver that picks us up, seeing all of the luggage with ship tags, passing that info along to a friend. So while you're chatting with him be sure to mention how much you're going to miss your two rotwieller's and you just couldn't stand to leave them in a kennel... etc:D

[trubey]

A few years ago, the NYT reported that calls for newspaper delivery stops/starts were being handled by a prisoner/work program.

 

Which is the moral: You can never be too careful or That you can be too careful?

 

After almost every trip away, I come home to some disaster. It could be a bill paying problem, or a home maintenance problem, or a pet medical problem. My feeling is that it is all some sort of kismet. And you just have to take care of it when it after it happens. You just don't know what it will be. susana.

[user8]

I learned to call my credit card companies after an experience in Israel when I bought DW a diamond. When I went to pay for it with my card, the purchase was refused. The shop keeper was informed that the card had only recently been used in the USA which was legitimate. and had not been authorized for use in Israel. Fortunately, for DW I had another credit card with me which was not refused.

 

After thinking about it, I called the company who had refused to honor my card and thanked them when I got home. Although it had been an inconvenience, I realized they were really protecting me.

 

Now I keep the phone numbers of all the credit card companies I deal with on my travel check list and always call each of them before leaving on a trip. I also notify the post office and the local police whenever we are going to be gone. The police check our house at irregular hours while we are gone and send me a report after we return. In addition, my daughter drops by our house every day while we are gone to check on things.

 

I try to pay all our bills ahead of time. So when I am gone, I don't worry about being ripped off although deep down I know that is always a possibility whether I am home or not.

[Bramcruiser]

Well the accountant in me.........................I have much of my bills arranged in either they get paid automatically out of my bank account or I manage the days that I pay them which almost always coordinates around the same times each month. I try to simplify my billings by not having too many accounts to pay. Heck I don't even own a cell phone yet!

 

Now get this one! I tend to book my vacations around pay dates and when my billings are due most times. If there is a bill expected to come in while I am gone I simply pay it off over the internet in advance if I know the due date is going to be while I am away.

 

I may not check my account as frequently as the OP but I do check it out regularly and always have an idea where the balance should stand. When I do check online I always see my credit card balance as well as I do almost all my banking exclusive with one bank. So in a sweep I see the whole picture without taking a lot of time.

 

Otherwise, like RuthC, I guess I'm blissfully ignorant and don't worry too much about what may happen because it may not happen either!

 

Now there is one thing I was curious about! It was recommended on my last cruise that we should be informing our credit card companies that we are taking such a vacation to alert them in advance of expected unusual use. Of course, I blissfully was not aware going into the cruise and since we stayed on Canada/US soil there was never any problems. However, one British couple had their card rejected at a store in Victoria, B.C. for that very reason. This led me to think about it for this year's cruise since we're going a bit more exotic - the Southern Caribbean! Has anyone have any experience with alerting the credit card in advance of an expected cruise?

[Bramcruiser]

Thanks user8 for the credit card info. I guess I should have replied after I read ALL the postings.

 

I don't worry too much about the condo. We have people come in regularly to check the cats and we are way up in the sky and our building has security. So only Spiderman or Superman can really break in! Most of our residents are seniors so if they started to break in the day I left they would still be going at it by the time I come home the following week and be able to catch them. he he he! (After being robbed twice in my old rental apartment this place is a godsend!)

[peaches from georgia]

Now there is one thing I was curious about! It was recommended on my last cruise that we should be informing our credit card companies that we are taking such a vacation to alert them in advance of expected unusual use. This led me to think about it for this year's cruise since we're going a bit more exotic - the Southern Caribbean! Has anyone have any experience with alerting the credit card in advance of an expected cruise?

We never did this until a cruise 3 years ago when a large purchase in Mexico was declined by AMEX. I guess 'declined' is not the correct word, but it would not be approved until AMEX had spoken with us personally for verification purposes. Rather than call I tried my MasterCd and it went right through.

 

When we got home there was a phone message from AMEX wanting to verify that we had tried to use the card in Mexico and they would approve it, of course, after speaking with us. Think that one through for a minute!

 

We always now inform both credit card companies of our itinerary before we leave home. Both companies have said that the Caribbean is notorious for fraudulent card activity, especially Mexico, so security is very tight for our own protection, which I appreciate. I'm sure minimum amounts would be approved with no problem, but why take a chance when it is so easy to alert them beforehand, just in case.

[arzz]

Grumpy -- I really like the idea of "getting a rotweiler", however, I have decided to have four of them -- and did I mention I keep them somewhat hungry all the time?