Do you contact your bank before you travel?

I too am part of that degeneracy.

 

They KNOW where we are at all times. Skynet.

 

I did that while I was in Vegas.
Bankroll all gone, not ready to quit but also don’t want to use credit card cash advance.
Late hours, bank branches closed.
Luckily I could call and talk to a person to increase my ATM limit. Love those times.

 

I saw this thread earlier and thought psssh
Doesn't apply to me

Stopped by the bank after I landed in Vegas
ATM rejected my attempt to withdraw $2500
It told me "technical difficulty"
I went to teller and got the money
I got a text from the bank asking if I tried to withdraw $2500 from atm

Glad fraud detection is working but surprised at same time as I've been coming to Vegas pretty often

 

Foreigner (Euro) perspective:
- yes, the AI works in terms of having Vegas, Miami, Mexico D.F. and NYC covered for me (and ATL/EWR etc. Airports)
- no, they WILL block your card if you have a purchase for a drink at Cancun Airport at 10:00 AM (Cancun time) and a Cash withdrawal at 15:00 (PST) in Vegas

They do this rightfully so, because a lot of foreigners CC's get skimmed/copied in Mexico (yes it happened to my girlfriend at sunglass hut of all places) and then used to buy stuff in the US (btw it is ALWAYS the US, even if they steal your info in Morocco)

So... a little E-Mail/Online-Support message to your CC provider is HIGHLY advised...

 

I usually call a few days before my trip just give them a headsup I'll be depositing a very large sum of money shortly

(But seriously the one time I called to mention it they told me it wasn't necessary).

 

I alert the bank online when going out of the country. Otherwise, me scooting around the country isn't exactly rare, and if something is questioned you get the text instantaneously instead of having to call in and unlock a locked card or account.

 

I used to 5-10 years ago, then I stopped... never noticed any difference, but then I was a very frequent traveler for work and personal then. Now I'm down to 5-6 times per year.

 

One thing I really like about the Delta Amex card is that they know where I am when I fly there on Delta. I imagine other airline CCs are the same.

 

We don’t but the only place we ever had a problem was the first time we used it on the Canada side of Niagara Falls. One call and we had not problem after that.

 

I use geoblocking. This is a feature of my bank and I can choose and activate every single country, where I am going to. But more important for me is: When I am back home and the last bill is paid, I uncheck these countries. So if my card got compromised, I have the safety, that noone could use it from this moment on.

New with european credit cards is, that you can't swipe them outside of europe anymore. You have to push them into the slot, that the chip can be read. Took a while to figure that out for the lady at the budget counter in Orlando on my spring trip to the US... I didn't know, that there was change and nobody told me.

 

Same here

 

Bank of America used to let you put in a travel notice online, but they stopped.

I'm not sure how much good it did.

One time I tried to do an ATM withdrawal (under my daily limit including the fees) and it got rejected. When I got back to my room I had a Fraud Alert email from the bank. I called them up and said, what's up, I filed a travel notice. They said everything on their end looked fine and the machine probably just didn't have enough money.

I said, um, you sent me a FRAUD ALERT.

 

This has happened to me several times in the past. When I am visiting the US, my credit card occasionally gets rejected due to fraud alarm, despite giving notice to my bank (via geoblocking). Apparently, AI sometimes erroneously thinks someone else is using my credit card.

 

No, though did just have a card denied.
The checkin guy at Wynn couldn't get it to work and swiped it, seemed like a new hire. Used a different card.
Then saw a text from the ccard system.
"Your card has a chip to protect its information. Try inserting the chip into the reader instead of swiping."

 

Most are not req travel notices,
now with EMV https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMV
(chips on bank/credit cards)

 

We don’t. The only issue I had was being denied an atm transaction in Vegas. But before I could even call they texted and asked me to confirm it was me to which I replied yes, then they texted back to try again and it was fine. Using credit or debit (all the same bank) was no issue that trip.

 

only for international trips.

the fraud protection for BOA is pretty good and on the very rare occasion that a card is declined because of fraud protection the text/alert comes to my phone almost immediately to clear it up.

 

My bank/credit union fraud alert is arguably too good. I definitely send a travel notice when traveling internationally. Didn’t on my recent Vegas trip and they blocked my account. I had to call and get it unblocked. Will send a travel notice going forward.

 

When heading out of town we only tell people on a need to know basis and my bank is not on the list.
One time I did forget to tell my mom and got in trouble for that.
She is on the need to know list.