Do you notify banks before going abroad?
 

I personally do, but I saw this article tonight that claims you don't need to.

Thoughts? The article sounds really YMMV to me.

Definitely. I know people who have had their cards blocked when they didn't call. I had one blocked several years ago before I ever left home because a hotel had tried to place a charge hold when I made a reservation. They contacted me to clear the block before they would reserve the room That was pretty easy to clear up since I was calling from home but was glad I got it cleared up before departing. Now I always call.

Yes. I've been travelling and had credit cards suspended. Once it caused an acutely embarrassing moment when my card was declined after a business dinner. The bank and I had some very hard words in the aftermath.

My wife swears up and down that it's important to call banks before we go overseas. She offers as proof the fact that every time she talks to an agent, the agent assures her that it's noted in her account. I counter with: 1) The agents are full of crap. On a number of issues we know they routinely state nonsense to get you off the phone with the false impression that they've answered your question. 2) Because of the sheer volumes of transactions involved, fraud detection is done by automated, big data analysis. Colleagues of mine who are in the business won't divulge exactly what factors the algorithms consider but they've led me to believe that it's strictly pattern analysis with no input such as "Customer service agent X entered comment Y into customer Z's account after talking to them on the phone".

Also #3: I've taken several dozen trips overseas in the past 7 years, using my credit cards daily while traveling. I've never notified a bank about an overseas trip, and I've never had a problem. Meanwhile, I did have one card that twice suspended my account for suspicion of fraud when traveling domestically to an area I visit several times per year. It was very embarrassing to offer to pick up the $500+ tab in front of a group of people only to have the manager return a minute later to explain my card was denied.

Do you notify banks before going abroad?
 

I never call and my cards always seem to work. Seems that it would take a lot of time to do this every time you travel abroad, and as long as you have more than one card you should be OK...

Call? Don't your banks have online forms you can fill in for this? My bank does, it takes me all of thirty seconds if my internet connection is slow. So yes, I always notify my bank.

Never have I notified my financial institutions and (touch wood) have never had an issue.

I've stopped doing any sort of notification, online or by phone. Haven't any any problems with my Chase Sapphire Preferred or my Schwab debit card. OTOH, I would expect both banks' fraud detection takes into account that these specific products are marketed to international travelers.

I use 3 banks. 2 of them (Chase and a credit union) I have never had a problem with. I never notify them. The other (Bank of the West) I have to notify or they block my ATM card.

Chase told me that since I travel so much overseas they turned off the fraud detection as long as the charge is in a country I've been to before.

Probably helps that the banks most likely dial the fraud checks way down if the chip's used too (most likely outside the US at the moment).

Definitely a YMMV thing. I have seen friends get their cards blocked for suddenly using their card two states over in the US. With the same bank mine will randomly pop up charges all over the world with a couple months in between and will work every time.

I used to call before every trip, but I think I have their fraud software trained to not worry about me.

Same for me - my credit union uses a third-party fraud prevention services that permanently blocks all transactions to and in Spain (among other countries).

When going to Spain (or wanting to buy tickets from a Spanish website in advance of the trip to Spain), I call in to my CU's customer service department and notify them of the date range I want Spain "opened up" - the CU people then contact the fraud prevention people and a few hours later the block is lifted for the specified date range.

It's a little annoying, but at least it does work.

I do, but it doesn't always work.

Inside the EU, there's no problem.

Mostly, the credit cards are fine if on Chip + PIN.

But my debit card - no. Even with notifications, it gets blocked every time I go to the US or South Asia, although India is getting better.

IMHO it depends on the system - Visa or MasterCard - and the destination. I agree with Stut that a European based account generally has no issues in Europe as we are all chip and PIN.

Slightly off-topic - have been amazed in USA with the lack of card security in restaurants etc compared with Europe. In most cases the server takes your card away and returns with a sales slip which you sign. In Europe you always sign/PIN at the table.

Bottom line - banks are looking for a change in spending pattern to flag fraud so why not put some notifications on the record. Can't hurt

Yes, a lot will depend on your past pattern -- if you travel a lot, it probably won't be as big an issue as for someone who travels annually (or less). It will probably also depend on what it's used for -- used for a hotel in a foreign location will raise fewer flags than if used for a bunch of electronics or sporting equipment on a business card that's primarily used for hotels and food.

I've had a halt put on my card locally when buying unusual items at an unusual amount, and I'm thankful. I'd rather my bank be overcautious than under, so I make that easy for them by informing them.