Chase has emailed me a couple times that it is no longer necessary to contact them before I travel. I had the impression that they'd set a flag on my account due to my travel patterns, and that this wasn't true for all customers, but YMMV. I've stopped calling with no ill effects, although the Chase card is my backup and I mostly use my Citibank debit card since I see no currency charges or fees when I use that either for purchases or at any ATM worldwide (due to my Gold status) just the straight bank-to-bank conversion rate.

Citibank has an online form for type of account but not others - I can't remember which but I need to set both my Credit Card and Debit card, and one I can do online and one I need to call. I also recall the link being hard to find. Citibank has a hair trigger for possible fraud, so I always make sure to call them.

This. I informed my banks that I travel frequently (which I do) and that I wouldn't be contacting them for every trip. I have never had a problem. A colleague would regularly have problems even though he contacted his bank every time he took a trip.

It didn't seem like the Chase email was targeted. I got it and I presume it just applied to the Chase ink (if that's what you have)

Yup.

I will never forget the 3 hours I spent trying to get cash to pay hotel bill in a small Belgian town after the bank deactivated my ATM card. Gotta love BofA. :mad:

I have a now obsolete UA signature card.

I have heard as well that the card type one is using will impact the leeway on foreign transactions, as the issuer may or may not expect the clientèle to travel extensively.

Amex? No problem. HSBC's world premier mastercard? No problem.* Fidelity? A PITA.

*HSBC did eventually block some transactions, but that was an usual day. When planning/booking my Thailand/Sri Lanka trip, I ran a dozen transactions billed in four currencies (NZD, USD, THB, GBP) and as many countries in the space of a few hours. That was understandable.

Of course, if you find yourself somewhere that wasn't in your itinerary, there may still be a problem. For example, because of a likely misconnect to MUC I was rerouted through CDG with four or five hours on the ground. I was reluctant to get Euros from an ATM, because I had told the bank that I was going to Germany, not France.

This is a huge annoyance -- when you are on the road and the issuer sends a fraud query to your home phone, which I don't typically check remotely as everyone, including the bank, has my mobile.

Once or twice I have had my wife at home intercept a call from Chase related to my paying for parking or a Metrocard back in NYC. I wonder how many deactivations occur because you are legitimately on the road and not home to confirm it.

I usually tell the bank something like "I'll be in Western Europe on the following dates" in case I get rerouted like that.

Actual data points:

In 2013, while traveling in Italy, my wife's U.S. ATM card, from a credit union, did not work when attempting to withdraw funds from various ATMs. After a quick phone call, it immediately worked.

Also in 2013, my U.S. Chase UA credit card stopped working in Alaska. I used another one. Later, I was told that the UA card was blocked due to unusual activity, like apparently traveling in Alaska. Meanwhile, my wife's U.S. Chase UA credit card continued to work in Alaska, even though I have been a more frequent traveler over the years.

After these experiences, I am using the on-line forms to notify financial institutions whenever we travel abroad. In one case, Amex, I was told that this was not necessary. It may be that Chase is relying on outdated information that includes Alaska as part of Russia.

ROTFL

Has anyone noticed that you are less likely to get blocked if you are using an EMV card in a country that can read the chips at the terminals? I would imagine that EMV technology would make skimming much harder, so banks should be less apt to suspect fraud if your card is being used with the chip.

over hundreds (thousands?) of transactions in 50+ countries and i've never had to notify a bank.

only been denied amex maybe a few times. then i'd say that im on an indefinite multi-country pattern and i simply can't limit myself to rattling 5 names for the next 2 months. had to explain that a few times, which is annoying.

only had a problem with chase occasionally when purchasing airfare online. from small carriers like adria airways, cebu pacific, things like that...

atm's always been good.

I know I don't need to...but I do anyway.

My debit card was shut down after I made a $7 purchase at Walgreens in Chicago. Roughly 150 miles from my home. Now I make sure and note it on my account when I'll be traveling anywhere out of the ordinary.