I was reading some of the threads on financial matters related to travel and I read about banks freezing peoples' cards when it seems that they're being used abroad, possibly illegally?

Well, what about ATM/debit cards? If I use my BoA card at a Deutsche Bank ATM in Germany, will they do something weird? Should I tell BoA in advance, just so they know? Or can I just use my card in Germany and know that it won't be frozen or anything? Just curious. Thanks for your help, guys!

It's always wise to tell your CC company and bank that you are going to be using your cards overseas.

Yes, you should always tell your bank in advance. When I leave the country, I always make sure that the bank knows that I will be taking and using my debit and credit card outside of the country. I have also run into an issue trying to purchase airline tickets within the US, so it is always wise to contact them with travel plans. (I have BofA as well)

I usually tell my bank where I am going, but the times I haven't pre-warned them, I have been ok. My friend's boyfriend was not as lucky, he lives in UAE but was in NY - they froze his card late one Thursday night, and he couldn't get anyone to help because it was Friday in Dubai. He was not amused, and racked up a huge amount of charges on his cell phone trying to sort it out. Luckily we all had cash and cards, so could take care of things until he resolved it.

Definitely warn your bank as well as Visa/Mastercard/Amex/discover etc... And also if possible, have your debit and CC linked, so if something happens to the debit card, then you can use the CC to withdraw from your bank account without having to take out cash advances...

Also be prepared for the worst, just in case. Better safe than sorry. I've had my debit, 1 US issued mastercard and 1 Canada issued mastercard, 1 visa and a business amex all frozen solid on my trip to Australia last summer, even tho I had called each and everyone of their CS, twice, before leaving

Only amex would help me from abroad...

It is not illegal (at least for US-issued cards and many other countries as well). It is a fraud prevention action.

MasterCard and Visa (and Amex for cards issued by other banks) have nothing to do with the freezing/blocking. This is based on the issuers' algorithms. Simply call your issuer (for credit card) or bank (for ATM/debit) and let them know your travel plans - dates and locations. They should note your account and you will be fine.

Most issuers will just ignore notifications you give about foreign travel, but it is a good idea anyway. Bank Of America uses fraud risk algorithms that are quite aggressive if you depart from your normal patterns. Thus I would notify them, and also call (it you have a cheap way to do so) just after your first foreign transaction reminding them that the transaction is yours. That way you may catch them just as the warning triggers. If you do talk with them, try to get the fraud department rather than normal customer service. The links between those two are not yet perfect.

ATM cards have different control than do credit cards, so make sure to contact both.

Some banks, not Bank of America, have the capability for those notifications online.

I've never done this and never had a problem.

How about:

• Have several cards (from different issuers).
• Have a card from a bank that doesn't freeze cards so much (CapitalOne seems bad, though this is hearsay. I've never had a problem with Chase).
• Dump a bank if they freeze your card more than once or twice (never done this, but it seems like a prudent thing to do.)

I think the illegality that RussianTexan was referring to was in the use of the card (stolen card), not the bank's freezing of the card.

Been doing that for years, some of them just don't listen. One thing to be careful about, in my experience, is if you have a joint credit card with your spouse that has the same number on both cards. If I was trying to use my card overseas while my wife was using it in the US they would often block purchases. Interestingly the purchase they would block would often be my wife's purchase back in the US, while my multi-thousand purchase in Asia would sail right through.

There is no rhyme or reason to how those algorithms work.

I always inform my CC company about pending travel. Despite of that, my recent trip to BKK, my cc was forzen for the first time. Had to call and resolve problem.

There is both rhyme and reason, but some are far better than others. I have periodically worked in this arena for twenty years or so. That does not make me an expert, but I do have some clues.

For international travel issuers that have lots of international activity are far more likely to have algorithms that consider international issues. Thus, say, Chase, American Express and Citi are much less likely to abruptly freeze an account for overseas activity than are those with much less, such as, say, CapitalOne, Bank of America or SunTrust. Those are generalizations and the algorithms work in specific, so please don't give examples to the contrary because... nearly all the algorithms work almost entirely on pattern recognition. Thus, if you regularly charge in Kazakhstan and Latvia for expensive hotels and travel charges, then suddenly have a $15 transaction at Home Depot when you've never had one like that before, Home Depot could easily be rejected, more likely, the second small US charge, because most of these algorithms lag one transaction.

It is dangerous to generalize, for sure, because individual situations do vary greatly. I personally have quite inconsistent use patterns, but almost all my use is in fairly strange places for the typical card user. Only cards issued by Chase and American Express have never caused me problems (I never worked on either of their purchase control systems, maybe that is why ) Despite that I use neither of them now.

Interesting information. Thank you very much, y'all! I shall be informing BoA when I have time today. By the time I'm in Europe, I should be able to use the cards at Deutsche Bank, I hope.

If you do have a problem, just remember, since your card was issued by Bank of America. On the reverse side of the card there are contact numbers. On the credit cards are the words "Collect Outside the U.S. and Canada 509.353.6656". I do not know for debit cards. If your card is refused, once you have made that collect call, you can ask for the fraud department to find out why. If it is for other than credit reasons or stolen card, they will reopen the card. You will probably be asked to confirm the last few transactions on your card.

Oh, wow. I better look at my statement online and memorize what I did, since I rarely really use it. I'll look at it and write it down in my phone so I know what to say, hahaha!

Most all of the majors have a place on the website once you log in that will bring up a simple form (when you are leaving, when you are returning, and where you are going) for travel notifications for credit cards.

It totally depends on your issuing bank if it's necessary or not, but it's most certainly one of those cases where it's better to notify them and not need to than it is to not tell them and have them freeze the card until you contact them to resolve it.

My wife's credit union for example only allows the debit card to work internationally when they have turned it on for international use, and they will turn it off (both manually, they are minuscule) when she says her return date is.

Stupid thing about ATM cards by the way, if you are one of those people who only know your PIN in letters, figure out the numbers before you go out of the country, many ATM machines in other places only have numbers on the keys.