Originally Posted by
gnaget
Nonsense. This only applies to US credit cards in some particular cases. An ATM card is relatively secure since it is protected by a PIN. I have never heard of an ATM being blocked.
When I travel abroad I inform my bank and credit card companies. When I use my ATM card it is blocked on the first attempt and I have to call back to the UK and have it unblocked. This has happened without fail for the past ten years with my UK-issused RBS and Santander cards, be it in Japan, the USA or even just mainland Europe. They tell me that it's due to the unusual spending pattern. Given I only travel abroad once a year that at least sounds plausible.
On the flip side, I've never had a problem using my UK-issued credit cards abroad.