Credit cards have kind of become a travel essential nowadays. They can offer valuable rewards, minimize your risk of losing cash (or having it stolen), get you a fair exchange rate if traveling abroad, and even offer great travel protection. Global credit card acceptance has increased greatly over the years, and I can take many international trips without even getting local currency.
That raises an interesting question — when you travel, should you let your credit card company know of your upcoming travel plans?
In this post:
I don’t inform my credit card companies of upcoming travel
Let me start by sharing my approach — I’ve never proactively informed a credit card issuer of my upcoming travel plans. Perhaps surprisingly, that doesn’t seem to cause issues. Credit card companies use sophisticated technology to determine what kind of purchases seem out of the ordinary.
Maybe I’m just lucky, but my card issuers don’t seem suspicious when I make a purchase in Singapore one day, in Vietnam the next day, in Germany the next day, and in the United States the day after that. But if there’s a purchase at a Nordstrom Rack somewhere in California? Yep, that immediately triggers fraud alerts.
Of course by not informing my bank of travel plans, there’s the risk that a purchase will get declined while traveling, and that I’ll have to call the bank to confirm that I made that purchase. However, that could just as easily happen at home, and I don’t consider that to be a huge deal.
So personally I don’t find it necessary to try to set travel notifications on credit cards. If I do get a purchase declined, it can be fixed with a quick phone call. Meanwhile it saves me the hassle of calling all my card issuers every time that I travel (and I have a lot of credit cards!).
I kind of assumed that most people were in the same camp as me, but maybe not? Yesterday shortly after boarding an international flight, I heard the person behind me say to his travel companion “I forgot to call the credit card company to let them know we’re traveling, let me do that right now.”
What credit card issuers say about travel notifications
The above got me thinking, do credit card companies actually want you to call them and inform them of your upcoming travel plans? Let’s take a look at what a few issuers say about the topic. Specifically, let’s look at American Express, Capital One, Chase, and Citi, since they issue some of the most popular travel credit cards.
Amex doesn’t recommend travel notifications
American Express states that you don’t have to report any upcoming travel plans:
We use industry-leading fraud detection capabilities that help us recognize when our Card Members are traveling, so you don’t need to notify us before you travel.
Capital One doesn’t recommend travel notifications
Capital One also states that you don’t have to report any upcoming travel plans:
You do not need to notify us of your travel, we’ve already got your credit card covered. With the added security of your Capital One chip card, travel notifications are not needed. That’s right! You don’t have to tell us when or where you’re traveling, inside or outside the United States. While you’re traveling, your credit card is covered for unauthorized purchases when your card is lost or stolen.
Chase does recommend travel notifications
Chase states that you’re not required to report any upcoming travel plans, but it’s highly recommended:
You’re not required to notify your credit card company when you’re going away on vacation, but it is highly recommended. By letting your credit card company know where you’re going and for how long, your company will know that any card transactions from that location were likely authorized by you.
Interestingly Chase makes no distinction between domestic or international travel for these purposes, and recommends it whenever traveling away from home. While Chase doesn’t have a travel notifications webpage, you can call or secure message Chase to let the bank know of your travel plans.
Citi does recommend travel notifications
Citi states that it’s a good idea to notify your bank of international travel, but that it’s not required:
It’s usually a good idea to notify your bank about any international travel plans. This way, the bank won’t be surprised to see any unusual charges on your account. You can now set up your personalized International card usage limits, for both debit/credit card, on Citibank Online or through Citi Mobile application.
Citi also has a handy travel notification webpage, where you can easily share your travel plans without having to pick up the phone.
Bottom line
As a frequent traveler, I can’t say that the thought of informing a credit card issuer of my travel plans crosses my mind often, but it seems that others consistently do this. American Express and Capital One don’t recommend this, Chase recommends it for all travel, and Citi recommends it for international travel.
Personally I’ll take my chances. In the event that a card issuer detects suspicious activity while I’m abroad, I’ll just pick up the phone and solve it on the spot. However, it rarely (never?) happens.
I’m curious what approach OMAAT readers take — do you inform your credit card company prior to travel, and if so, under what circumstances?
I am from the US, and I was traveling in London in 2 months ago (06/23). It was a 2 mile walk to the nearest tube station, and on my first 3 days there, I made the walk to the tube station and successfully used my B of A credit card to buy subway tickets. On day 4, however, at the same kiosk at the same subway station, B of A declined my card for...
I am from the US, and I was traveling in London in 2 months ago (06/23). It was a 2 mile walk to the nearest tube station, and on my first 3 days there, I made the walk to the tube station and successfully used my B of A credit card to buy subway tickets. On day 4, however, at the same kiosk at the same subway station, B of A declined my card for suspected fraud. I was forced to walk back to the place I was staying to get my spare credit card, as I don't like to carry both cards at the same time in case of theft or loss. I used the spare card (a Chase card) for the
remainder of the trip with no problems. When I returned home, I called B of A to ask WTF and to request compensation for them stranding me in a foreign country because of their dubious fraud technology. They had no explanation, and refused compensation. The next day I paid off the balance on the card and closed the account, ending my relationship with B of A for life.
I live somewhere in Asia. For me it depends on the bank. One bank, I always inform them, as they recommend. Another bank they do not require. Getting a phone line when abroad can be difficult for me, so I just do it for the bank that requires it.
Citi and US Bank are my cards that require travel notifications. I always notify them when I travel as I do not want to have my card declined particularly when I’m traveling. Any reduction in stress while traveling is welcome. I’ve been denied before so, just don’t want to repeat that experience.
My Barclays AA card has been declined many times in US and abroad, they seem to have a hair trigger. I usually get a text to unlock it and in any case have always been able to pay with my Amex ...
I never alert the credit card when traveling by air, but I do for long road trips. My card was getting rejected at gas stations after filling up repeatedly in different states.
I live in Los Angeles and Germany and do travel across Europe and the U.S., when I am back home. I use my Chase preferred card for everything, small and big. Never notified Chase, never got declined. I am really curious how this algorithms work , they are right, but how do they know?
I have had issues in the past (generally less so now) in which transactions were declined abroad unless prior notification (generally online) was given in advance.
Now, I try to use the same card I used to book the flight with, as in my experience it is less prone to flag fraud since there is a prior transaction that lists the destinations. For example, last year flew Turkish BOS-IST and used United Mileage Plus Explorer...
I have had issues in the past (generally less so now) in which transactions were declined abroad unless prior notification (generally online) was given in advance.
Now, I try to use the same card I used to book the flight with, as in my experience it is less prone to flag fraud since there is a prior transaction that lists the destinations. For example, last year flew Turkish BOS-IST and used United Mileage Plus Explorer Visa mostly exclusively, as it also is no foreign transaction fee (as one should do).
If you choose not to do any pre-notification, then ensure you have proper phone access; these days the banks will send a text message after a failed transaction, asking you to confirm if it were you, and if you reply Yes, then you can generally get it to go through on a repeat attempt.
Bank of America was not queried by Ben, but I believe their official position would be similar to Chase and Citi in that it is highly encouraged. This can be done online fairly easily, and as I have had them be a little over zealous in the past, I do put in an online notification if I am going to use their Travel Rewards Visa abroad (which also obviously has no foreign transaction fee).
Ben, you may have been "just lucky," but perhaps your luck has emanated from your established pattern of frequent travels. Your credit card issuers are used to seeing you spend money all over the world. As an infrequent traveler, I always notify, other than in the case of very short domestic trips.
I think it depends on where you are going and the situation. If it is an area of the world you usually travel to and you are often going then there is a history of such activity. I also think it depends on the type of activity like a car rental, hotel, restaurant and the amount of money. The big difference is you would stand there and call customer service while you are at the...
I think it depends on where you are going and the situation. If it is an area of the world you usually travel to and you are often going then there is a history of such activity. I also think it depends on the type of activity like a car rental, hotel, restaurant and the amount of money. The big difference is you would stand there and call customer service while you are at the receptionist to be able to use that card whereas others would have had the notice on or would use a different card. You also may consider calling if it is a new card so there is a higher chance of denial.
I didn't notify Citi of my travel plans, and they thought it not out of the ordinary to allow 2 consecutive transactions totalling over $2,400 to go through unquestioned, in Paris, France!
It should have raised red flags and rung alarm bells immediately, but it didn't.
FYI, my card had been stolen in Paris, and fraudently used within the hour.
I have had my a Debit Card Locked 4 times in 6 months! No Fraudulent use was reported by me. I went round and round from Customer Service to the Visa Fraud team. Then a week ago it was Locked again, from a $20.00 purchase at a local drug store. Again back to get BAC to Unlock it..
I'll be switching to another Bank very soon..
Stop using a debit card for purchases! Only use a credit card. Using a debit card is the stupidest thing you can possibly do.
Chase used to have a way to notify them, both in their app and on their site.
They no longer have that, and when I've called previously they've told me they don't need to know.
I generally notify in the interest of making my life easier. I do use my ATM card to get local currency, so I definitely notify my bank, because at home I almost never use my ATM card. My husband had terrible problems with his Bank of America ATM card in both France & Italy and it took multiple phone calls (International/expensive calls with long hold times) to get it sorted. We have a USAA credit...
I generally notify in the interest of making my life easier. I do use my ATM card to get local currency, so I definitely notify my bank, because at home I almost never use my ATM card. My husband had terrible problems with his Bank of America ATM card in both France & Italy and it took multiple phone calls (International/expensive calls with long hold times) to get it sorted. We have a USAA credit card, and I'll say that when no other card will work, that one works!!! In fact, one time my husband was buying aviation fuel in Brazil and I got a call from them asking if I just tried to buy $900 worth of gas in Brazil..... uh, yes (because I hadn't known about it ahead of time, but knew he was in Brazil with an airplane, so figured it was him....). :-)
Always Always Always ! As I discovered on a sudden family emergency trip to the UK, some time back. My transactions were declined right and left and required a very expensive international call back to the USA to get this straightened out. 5 minutes before is a thousand times better than being stuck in London with no funds !
Always let Visa know where we are going, even when they say we don't have to. Usually in the Canary Islands, Portugal and the U.K. and want to be sure we are good.
LOL, even the credit card averse Germans are ahead on this:
With most banks you can simply use the app to activate/deactivate usage for individual countries, all countries in a certain region or all countries at once.
Europe ahead on anything credit card related vs the USA?. I'm the one laughing hard
I do because I figure, why not? It takes <5 minutes for all of them and if it saves me a little headache later, all the better.
For ATM cards, however, I always do. I've had those turned down more than once and contacting the bank hasn't always been easy. Once it took 2-3 days to resolve and in the meantime I had to wire myself money via Western Union. I've also learned that...
I do because I figure, why not? It takes <5 minutes for all of them and if it saves me a little headache later, all the better.
For ATM cards, however, I always do. I've had those turned down more than once and contacting the bank hasn't always been easy. Once it took 2-3 days to resolve and in the meantime I had to wire myself money via Western Union. I've also learned that frequency of ATM card use can be a flag. On one trip, despite having a travel alert, the fact that I used it every few days was a flag since I never use it at home.
One of my cards requires notification for any international useage **before** leaving the United States. Learned that the hard way on a recent business trip to the Dominican Republic.
2 weeks in Europe, chase card no problem. B of A, I gave up after cut off 3 times and calling US number. Eventually I was told I had to physically go into a branch. Their are no B Of A branches in Europe!!
The likelihood of a card issuer to decline your transaction while traveling is a function of 1) the sophistication of their fraud monitoring / management technology, and 2) their risk tolerance (and there's often a correlation between the two). In my experience, Citi has a particular knack for delivering unwelcome surprises to the traveling cardholder. On the other hand, and as noted in these comments, AmEx provides a seamless experience and is my go-to option...
The likelihood of a card issuer to decline your transaction while traveling is a function of 1) the sophistication of their fraud monitoring / management technology, and 2) their risk tolerance (and there's often a correlation between the two). In my experience, Citi has a particular knack for delivering unwelcome surprises to the traveling cardholder. On the other hand, and as noted in these comments, AmEx provides a seamless experience and is my go-to option when overseas.
AMEX go-to option??? Most places overseas don't accept AMEX.
You must not travel much. American Express is the last card you want while traveling. Hardly any merchants outside the US accepts Amex.
I usually do not call if I travel within USA. If I travel abroad, I would have some concerns because it is not convenient to call bank from abroad for a denied transaction.
I have a few credit cards but I won’t travel with all of them. Mostly just two cards which have no foreign transaction fees. I don’t bother to call the issuers to have a peach mind.
I have had more than three or four instances with capital one being declined for average type, purchases, in Japan and other Asian countries. Extemely difficult to find a landline phone to call on their international number, and if I can connect, there’s very often a wait, never a problem with Amex.
I have more confidence in my AMEX card, which is my go to card, always.
From what I have seen, for some time Chase does not recomment travel notifications. Below is what they say on my accounts and there is not an easy way to proceed with a notificatiuon for my chase cards.
Travel notifications:
We've got you covered! With our enhanced security measures:
You don't need to set up travel notifications anymore.
We'll send you fraud alerts if we see any possible identity theft.
We'll alert you...
From what I have seen, for some time Chase does not recomment travel notifications. Below is what they say on my accounts and there is not an easy way to proceed with a notificatiuon for my chase cards.
Travel notifications:
We've got you covered! With our enhanced security measures:
You don't need to set up travel notifications anymore.
We'll send you fraud alerts if we see any possible identity theft.
We'll alert you if we notice any suspicious behavior on your account.
In 2003 I took my first trip to Europe armed with my Bank of America ATM card. On day 3 my card was declined and I was stuck with no money or way to access it. Obviously I learned a lesson and please know I definitely don’t use an ATM card anymore! On future trips I made travel notifications for every trip until it no longer seems to be an option. So much easier now!
I used to always notify Chase when I had international travel plans but then realized it was too often and there were no adverse consequences when I forgot to notify them. So, I have stopped doing it.
I never did (except for my old debit card a long time ago, when traveling to remote locations), but this past spring I had several issues with my US Bank Altitude Reserve card getting declined in...central London (UK), of all places! I had to spend way too much time rectifying things a few times, and the agents recommended I let them know in advance of international travel.
I only notify on one card from my credit union which is easily accomplished on their App. Barclays declined a gas station purchase in Bordeaux, France a few years ago even with a notification. Too much “protection” was a big problem with them, I cancelled the card.
Never had an issue with credit cards but recently after tapping my phone at a BofA ATM to start a transaction that for some reason the ATM couldn’t complete, not able to use my debit card via Apple Pay at any ATMs. I even used the physical card a couple more times at BofA ATMs, hoping that would “reset” the situation as far as a security flag but no dice. Pretty annoying to lose a backup option for using an ATM when I may need cash but don’t have a debit card.
I guess it comes down to "do what your card issuer recommends". My card issuer does ask to be notified, they make it easy to do so, and the one time I did not follow that advice, my card was blocked. Which is why I notify them. YMMV obviously.
Living in Europe, I have never heard of such a concept of telling the credit card company you are about to travel and I'm not sure their systems would be able to record such information (GDPR and privacy rules). However my bank let's me set which regions each of my credit cards can be used in, so if you don't travel very much you can implement your own security rules by limiting the regions.
Nowadays it's not really an issue and most banks specifically say that it is not needed for credit cards. With that said, I still do with the two banks I use a debit card with in case I need to withdraw cash while abroad. I learned the hard way that this is a must-do; way off-the-beaten path in a town in Burkina Faso and suddenly had no way to get cash to pay for anything;...
Nowadays it's not really an issue and most banks specifically say that it is not needed for credit cards. With that said, I still do with the two banks I use a debit card with in case I need to withdraw cash while abroad. I learned the hard way that this is a must-do; way off-the-beaten path in a town in Burkina Faso and suddenly had no way to get cash to pay for anything; most importantly taxis to get back to the city. The town had a few different banks/ATMs, but my card kept declining it. Not a good feeling!
The Delicate Arch hike is one to not miss
I concur even though this comment has absoluely nothing to do with the topic at hand.
BofA once asked me on the mobile app to share location data once a day to authorize transactions while traveling.
"Credit cards have kind of become a travel essential nowadays."
Really? As of when? Last week. Who writes these gems of information.
Obviously, you should inform your credit card company if your card is issued by one that recommends it. Seems like I no brainer.
Couldn't pay for ice cream cones for my daughter and me in Palm Springs. Yeah card declined. I notify card issuer when I travel now plus I carry multiple cards digital and plastic.
Never have but for most of the past near 30 years I've been a heavily traveler. Someone that never travels that finally decides to take an overseas trip might want to notify their credit card issuer, particularly if they won't have cell service. Otherwise, credit card issuers have technology in place to deal with unusual transactions,
I inform all but Amex.
Mainly because I'm not surgically tied to either my phone or email when traveling. I'm there to see sights and experience the culture not look at my phone.
Plus I'm often in areas where internet service is either not available or barely available. And don't care to spend my vacation searching for a hot spot.
Most of the bank apps on my phone have location permission while using. I would be surprised if simply logging into your bank app from your phone is used as a security parameter.
In your case they would find it more suspicious if you were *not* travelling
Never done it and generally find their fraud detection algorithms to work very well.
Presumably they track any travel related expenses you paid in advance (e.g. airfare, hotel deposit, etc.) and that may be a good indicator of any upcoming travel.
I used to notify the credit card companies in the past, but as of late, the phone agents have indicated that this is no longer necessary. I would imagine the purchase of airline tickets for Europe or Asia is their heads up.
However, I do use the auto coverage on one of my cards. I verify that the coverage is valid in the country in which I will rent a car. The coverage is not universal.
How would a credit card company know where did you purchase tickets to?
Because generally when the charge is processed by a major carrier, it will list the airport codes, e.g. Delta JFK-FCO and the like.
I don't notify my credit card companies of my travel, but just to clarify, Chase does have the ability to notify them online. once signed in to your account, click on the card you're going to be traveling with, click on "More" and then click on "Account Services". There you'll find the link for Travel Notification.
I have several Chase cards and found out quite some time ago that they are no longer requesting notifications. IIRC I found this out when a Chase phone agent refused to take my travel notification. YMMV.
Here's the direct quote from the Chase website:
We've got you covered! With our enhanced security measures:
You don't need to set up travel notifications anymore.
We'll send you fraud alerts if we see any possible identity...
I have several Chase cards and found out quite some time ago that they are no longer requesting notifications. IIRC I found this out when a Chase phone agent refused to take my travel notification. YMMV.
Here's the direct quote from the Chase website:
We've got you covered! With our enhanced security measures:
You don't need to set up travel notifications anymore.
We'll send you fraud alerts if we see any possible identity theft.
We'll alert you if we notice any suspicious behavior on your account.
I never done that, and just like you, never had an issue with it. Also similarly to your experience, all the instances of my card being blocked were domestic anyway (not the US).
I do and must inform TPC about my travels, especially because of health and travel insurance, which I have been forced to use before and worked out fine, despite the tiresome bureaucracy.