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Travel Alert for your banks?


Liz CA
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I never before had to notify my bank when we traveled out of state. My bank and one credit union now suggest we contact them so there is no red flag on any card charges. Makes sense but adds another thing to the to-do list when packing, making reservations, etc.

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It's usually very quick & easy. One of my credit cards even has an automated system where you just tell it to a machine & it saves the info. Definitely helps because you don't want your card or accounts stopped for fraud alerts when it's actually only you using it.

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I find this annoying. Dh has a card that has recently turned down charges that were made less than 2 hours away from our house, as well as charges made when he tried to reserve a hotel room in advance. They told him to call them any time he makes a charge that is not to a local business...which is not really as easy as it sounds because we can be in three different states within an hour and we go somewhere every weekend. I get that it's for fraud protection but my credit card doesn't ask me to do that, nor does my bank or credit union.    I get calling when you're going on a trip, but this is a bit extreme.  

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We gave them an alert for when we went to Iceland. They said this was a good thing because since it was our first international trip since becoming their customer, and an unusual destination choice for people in this area, on the nfirst transaction they would have put a hold on the account until they could reach us by phone to confirm the cards had not been stolen.

 

I appreciate that they take credit card theft and fraud so seriously.

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While I appreciate the effort to take fraud seriously, I was in a real bind when I traveled to CA last month.  I tried to buy groceries after a VERY long day and my CC was rejected.  Actually, TWO of them were rejected - both with Chase. This happened to us two years ago too.  We called at that point and asked if they would please call us before turning off our access to our card.  I know I should have called ahead, but this was a last-minute trip and that detail was overlooked.  It ended up ok after a 30 minute phone call to the  credit card company.  But there was a moment of panic because I didn't have enough cash for the rest of the trip!

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I don't have to do that for out of state. However Citibank just issued me a new credit card with chip when my old one isn't expiring yet. Kind of funny since my hubby was the one that goes on business trips overseas but they didn't change his.

 

I haven't seen chip enabled card readers here yet even though the bank advise I use the chip reader instead of swiping. Chip readers are common in Asia.

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We do this with our bank for ATM use, and also with our credit card company.  Both will sometimes put a block on your account, which can be a real hassle when you're traveling abroad and don't have easy access to a phone, etc.

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There are good things and bad thing about it.

 

They WILL shut your card down if you don't notify them, so don't neglect informing them. But, if your plans change etc you really have to know how to get ahold of the company and inform them you are still overseas.

 

My mom was stuck in Ireland when that big hurricane hit the east coast and she was scrambling to get through to her credit card company to tell them that she was still overseas.

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While I appreciate the effort to take fraud seriously, I was in a real bind when I traveled to CA last month.  I tried to buy groceries after a VERY long day and my CC was rejected.  Actually, TWO of them were rejected - both with Chase. This happened to us two years ago too.  We called at that point and asked if they would please call us before turning off our access to our card.  I know I should have called ahead, but this was a last-minute trip and that detail was overlooked.  It ended up ok after a 30 minute phone call to the  credit card company.  But there was a moment of panic because I didn't have enough cash for the rest of the trip!

 

Do you mean I have to call the credit card company too? I just called the regular bank and our credit union (both bank account cards) in case we decide to use that card. The other CC too?

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They shut ours down on two separate occasions.  So, I would.  What a pain, right?  

 

Well my credit card is with a larger company and they had an option for travel alerts on their website, however, after I dutifully typed in the dates and states, it said "not necessary for domestic travel." :)  Well, better safe than sorry...or out of money. We never travel with more cash than $20.

 

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Well my credit card is with a larger company and they had an option for travel alerts on their website, however, after I dutifully typed in the dates and states, it said "not necessary for domestic travel." :)  Well, better safe than sorry...or out of money. We never travel with more cash than $20.

 

Interesting!  Our CCs are with Chase and they have that option as one of the first choices when you call the 800 number.  But, we didn't call.  We were within the US when they canceled our card both times.  I always carry two cards just in case and BOTH were canceled.  And, like you, I don't carry much cash.  I think I had $40 on me, but that was needed for tips!

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If you like traveling which I do, make sure you tell the credit card companies the countries you are going to transit in. I like to shop while in transit and my AMEX and Citi card doesn't have the exchange fees.

 

ETA:

The banks do hold the transaction and call very soon if they suspect fraud but not cancel the card.

 

But, if your plans change etc you really have to know how to get ahold of the company and inform them you are still overseas.

 

At the back of the credit cards there is a 24/7 call collect number for calling from out of states. I had done call collect from my hotel room to the bank for unexpected issues like raising my credit limit temporarily for an extended business trip.
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Interesting!  Our CCs are with Chase and they have that option as one of the first choices when you call the 800 number.  But, we didn't call.  We were within the US when they canceled our card both times.  I always carry two cards just in case and BOTH were canceled.  And, like you, I don't carry much cash.  I think I had $40 on me, but that was needed for tips!

 

Credit card companies must have different policies on this. Ours is with Capital One. My bank and credit union are local and rather small.

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My daughters debit card was just locked after charges were attempted in Washington DC (we're in NJ).  Evidently there were a bunch of charges attempted - purchases, hotels, restaurants - none of which went through.  We're glad they didn't because they weren't legitimate but we were surprised that they would lock the card for charges which certainly could easily have been legit.  She's now waiting for a new debit card.

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I had two cards frozen when I traveled internationally. Interestingly enough, it wasn't until the second week of the trip when we changed cities that the fraud alert kicked it. That international phone call to get it straightened out was a pain.

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Yeah it's not a bad idea.  We've had issues where they tried to contact us while on vacation.  They never cut off use of the card or anything like that though.

 

My dad, who travelled frequently for his job, starting having his cards cut off more and more often.  He retired as of the end of 2013. But in the last yer to 18 months it got to be a great pain. (Twice right here in Texas where he has a LONG credit history of having travelled to and purchased things in)

 

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I don't have to do that for out of state. However Citibank just issued me a new credit card with chip when my old one isn't expiring yet. Kind of funny since my hubby was the one that goes on business trips overseas but they didn't change his.

 

I haven't seen chip enabled card readers here yet even though the bank advise I use the chip reader instead of swiping. Chip readers are common in Asia.

 

The banks here in Colombia are converting all of their customers cards to cards that have a chip on them, as fast as they possibly can. I believe all of the ATM machines here are equipped to read the chips.  It is an expense for the Banks, but cards with chips are more secure.   

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Interesting. How is the chip making fraud more difficult?

I must have shop too much to get a new card before my hubby :lol:

The short answer is that it is harder to read the information on the chipset since it requires a chip reader (like a sim card reader) and it is more expensive to buy blank chip cards to make fake credit cards with your information. Basically it is more work for fraudsters. My first chip enabled card was issued in Asia before Y2K so it is an old tested technology.

 

From Citibank's FAQ

 

" By 2015, Chip Cards will be standard in the U.S. as well, and we expect to continue to see more merchants in the U.S. adopt this technology over time."

 

"Q: What makes the Chip Card more secure?

 

A: Traditional magnetic stripe cards require a signature for security purposes. A Chip Card adds an additional layer of sophisticated fraud protection through an embedded microchip that turns cardmember information into a unique code when used at a chip-enabled terminal that is difficult to duplicate or copy. This type of card has been around for more than a decade and is safe to use; it is already standard practice in more than 80 countries worldwide."

 

ETA;

Long explanation

"How does EMV address payments fraud?

First, the EMV card includes a secure microprocessor chip that can store information securely and perform cryptographic processing during a payment transaction. EMV cards carry security credentials that are encoded by the card issuer at personalization. These credentials, or keys, are stored securely in the EMV card’s chip and are impervious to access by unauthorized parties. These credentials therefore help to prevent card skimming and card cloning, one of the common ways magnetic stripe cards are compromised and used for fraudulent activity.

 

Second, in an EMV transaction, the card is authenticated as being genuine, the cardholder is verified, and the transaction includes dynamic data and is authorized online or offline, according to issuer-determined risk parameters. As described above, each of these transaction security features helps to prevent fraudulent transactions.

 

Third, even if fraudsters are able to steal account data from chip transactions, this data cannot be used to create a fraudulent transaction in an EMV or magnetic stripe environment, since every EMV transaction carries dynamic data."

 

Link

http://www.smartcardalliance.org/publications-emv-faq

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even when you notify them, they might block your card to make sure it's not fraud.  at least the bank called us, and we could say "yes, dd is in italy. the charges are legit.".

 

last summer, she went to the arts and crafts fair, made a rather large purchase, then went back to purchase another matching item.  the bank blocked the card from going through.  she did have another card she could use - but they thought they were protecting her from fraud.

 

I have been the victim of identity theft, and all they have to do is hack the system.  you don't even know it.

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My credit cards always send a fraud alert the first purchase of any trip I have never made before, but if I am traveling to a place I have visited before just not often they don't flag it. Usually, I travel with two of my kids and dh gets a call at home and he tells them "yes, the card is being used in X city". If I were traveling out of country I would alert the credit card company up front. 

 

I noticed this always happening when dd, ds, and I started doing little road trips. 

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Our card has been blocked on several occasions in recent years- domestic and international. I've finally gotten it into my mind to call before I travel. I recently made a driving trip through several states and the representative noted the names of every state we intended to drive through.

 

The first time my card was blocked, I was in a central American country and tried to buy about 30 pairs of shoes at a shoe store that is a US based company. For some reason, the card company was suspicious about the amount of money being charged for shoes. Doesn't everyone buy 30 pairs of shoes at once? Shifty eyes..... I was actually purchasing shoes for children at a children's home. Our group had taken the children on an outing and they each got to pick shoes for themselves. But I panicked when my card was declined. We got another card to go through, thankfully. What was even worse was that my husband only found out when he tried to use the card a few hours later and couldn't because of the block on the account. He was able to explain to the card company that I really was traveling overseas and, yes, I intended to buy 30 pairs of shoes. I couldn't make the call myself because I didn't have a phone with international access and didn't know how to contact the cc company.

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Yeah it's not a bad idea. We've had issues where they tried to contact us while on vacation. They never cut off use of the card or anything like that though.

We've had it happen several times. The last time it happened the gal we were shopping with said it is very common if you are traveling from one coast to another. Seeing as that is 95% of our travel....

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We had our credit union issued Visa blocked last year on our cross country road trip. It actually took the bank about six days to catch up with us and by then we had already travelled eight states. They asked us what other states we would be in before returning to our home state as well as to verifie previously travelled states. And they told us to tell them ahead of time of travel plans outside the state.

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I thought it was a big PITA originally, but we did it at the beginning of summer when we set out on a long vacation. We actually only did it because the last time we went to Europe they froze our account and we had to make long involved phone calls from overseas to solve the issue.

Low and behold, 5 long weeks into the trip I received both an email and a cell phone call at 7 am! It turns out someone had attempted to purchase a mountain bike using my CC hundreds of miles from where we were on holiday. Because we had informed them of our approximate whereabouts ahead of time, the CC company declined the purchase, saved us from dealing with any fraudulent charges, and overnighted us both new debit cards and credit cards to our hotel.

 

So, yes. It definitely can be worth it/)

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We are now stationed in Italy.  We have to notify Captial One and Discover every couple of months that we are here.  It's kind of a pain. I get why.  But life would be so much easier if they would note our account for the duration.  Yes, I should still call ahead when traveling to other places in Europe.  But it is not pleasant to go on a day trip and need gas or food and suddenly have your travel card stop working. :p.  We never had to do this state side, and that would be an even bigger pain.  Perhaps we'll be well trained for such a thing upon our return.

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We've also gotten a call from our credit card company *and* our card was frozen within an hour or so of making a couple of purchases while on vacation several states away from home. We don't often travel that far from home and make large purchases there so it would have seemed suspicious. And since we don't go far away too often we usually forget to call. So glad they're really on top of things!

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Last week dh made online hotel reservations for December.  The next day he found out Citibank denied it and locked his account.  When he called, he was kind of upset because he had to make the phone call to the card, call the hotel to see if he can still get the room, etc. So he tells the Citibank girl that he understands they're trying to protect him but he thinks they're going overboard. She quickly tells him they're not trying to protect him- they're protecting themselves because he has no liability if his card is used fraudulently.  So even though it's an annoying inconvenience, they will continue to deny charges as they see fit.   That didn't leave him with a warm, fuzzy feeling.    Several years ago he had a different card that went through a bout of denying charges and locking the card and he cancelled he card. So they might lose another customer over it. 

 

 

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My credit card has never called me. Well, in the 90's, when DH was in Japan yes, but recently they just freeze it and we have to call when we get denied. When we switched to our current card they froze our account. All. The. Time. Finally after having them freeze it on a trip, yet again, my husband told them if they froze it again w/o, very good reason, he was switching cards.

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Yeah, I have this feature turned off. I got ticked a while back after calling about traveling and STILL getting it frozen two weekends in a row.

 

I traveled pretty much every weekend and it really was upsetting to end up at 3am with an empty tank of gas and needing to call to get it reset. Even more annoying, I didn't have a cell phone at the time.

 

As a safeguard I check my account frequently looking for unauthorized charges.

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Wondering along with Wildcat if I should carry more cash. We've had our cars broken into twice and every time - unfortunately - we had cash "hidden" and they found it. Last time was really bad because they stole my ds's and my passports. That was a real pain. I usually don't keep any valuables in the car, however, during the last robbery, I was running into a church to pick up ds from youth group, was not gone longer than 15 minutes but it was long enough.

 

Now...scratching chin and head at the same time...should I tape some bills to the undercarriage???  :lol:

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It is probably a good idea. I've never done it, but nearly every year when we go to FL in the fall for a few weeks, we have at least one credit card charge get stopped due to the travel . . . and it is inconvenient to have to call the 1800 number on the card while standing at the check-in desk of the rental agency after traveling for nearly 18 hours . . . or at the grocery line . . . I still probably won't bother, but I'm always ready to pull out the phone and make the call at the counter. I'd definitely do it (if I remembered) before traveling overseas, though, as that'd be a lot more difficult to make a quick call.

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My daughters debit card was just locked after charges were attempted in Washington DC (we're in NJ).  Evidently there were a bunch of charges attempted - purchases, hotels, restaurants - none of which went through.  We're glad they didn't because they weren't legitimate but we were surprised that they would lock the card for charges which certainly could easily have been legit.  She's now waiting for a new debit card.

 

 

I thought it was a big PITA originally, but we did it at the beginning of summer when we set out on a long vacation. We actually only did it because the last time we went to Europe they froze our account and we had to make long involved phone calls from overseas to solve the issue.

Low and behold, 5 long weeks into the trip I received both an email and a cell phone call at 7 am! It turns out someone had attempted to purchase a mountain bike using my CC hundreds of miles from where we were on holiday. Because we had informed them of our approximate whereabouts ahead of time, the CC company declined the purchase, saved us from dealing with any fraudulent charges, and overnighted us both new debit cards and credit cards to our hotel.

 

So, yes. It definitely can be worth it/)

Just sort of in line with both of these posts-dh and I once traveled to Kansas from Hawaii. We had not called our bank ahead of time. We got a call from our bank a week into the trip asking if both of us were still in Kansas together because someone had tried to use dh's card in Utah or Arizona or somewhere. They cut off his card and sent a new one overnight. They knew where we were because of where we had been using our cards.

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She quickly tells him they're not trying to protect him- they're protecting themselves because he has no liability if his card is used fraudulently.

That's exactly it.

 

Anyway Bank of America has it on their website and it’s for both domestic and international. I think there's a place to put a local contact number.

 

I had my card replaced without my having detected anything strange last year, and a few months ago I received an automated call and email after some under $10 charge at a photography business and then a few days after that, I called to report a few dollars' charge at some other place.

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