Originally Posted by
elf618
I travel to Africa and S America several times a year and chase (despite pre notification and emails from them confirming they are aware of my travel notification) declines about 1 in 4 hotel transactions at the beginning of trips-though after a call I don't have further issues on that trip.
I've used Schwab for years, and I almost never notify them before a trip - they've only ever declined a transaction once - at an ATM in St. John's, NL, for some reason. Since I was in Canada, I just called the 800 number from a nearby pay phone, and they resolved the problem in only a couple of minutes.
I never use my Chase debit card outside the US due to the fees - but in general I've found their phone customer service very hit or miss. The Sapphire credit card uses US call centers (Orlando and somewhere in MO, I think) and trains their employees quite well - in my experience, they're far better than the regular bank call centers (which tend to be in India).