NeoPatrick

rastaguytoday, I've been calling my bank and credit card company for years to let them know the dates I'm gone and where I'm going. Sad? Just the way it is today and I'll do my part to help cut down fraud.
Meanwhile a glitch can still happen. When I had a Citibank card declined in London on New Years Day, I just called the toll free international number and straightened it out in a matter of minutes.

freeman0819

Surfmom- you just reminded me of something. Kelly- make sure your bank actually allows non-US ATM withdrawals. The first time I went to London, the only ATM card I had didn't allow foreign withdrawals. Yes, I know times have changed, but it's always better to ask, just in case!

Rastaguytoday

NeoPatrick,

I've had to do the same thing, call my bank to straighten things out about declined purchases. However, it's kind of embarrasing that your bank tells you that they've declined your card at the hotel you're staying at, or your local grocery store.

Regarding bank accounts, I think I like the European way, a bounced check is the bank's responsibility.

Two weeks ago I called about a questionable charge on my Citibank card, and was told, because the amount was over $300 that they had to close my account and that I would have to wait until they issued another card. The bank challenged everything else, but let a charge to Wal-Mart online (having never shopped at Wal-Mart, much less known anything about them having an online service) go through for $426 didn't make sense to me.

With a credit limit, at that time of about $30k, I don't think $300 is enough to perturb (or one of those P words) the customer so the bank could do a CYA act.

I guess Louie Armstrong put is best "What a wonderful world...."

NeoPatrick

To those for whom this is a repeat, you can skip over it. My New Years Day in London decline at the Royal Covent Garden Opera House buying tickets, was due to the fact that the week before we had made a $20,000 plus purchase on the card -- and immediately sent a check to Citibank to cover it so there would be no problem. So the "problem" for which they declined the card was that we had an "unauthorized" payment or a credit balance of over $20,000 in the account which sent up a red flag. It seems they hadn't even received the actual charge from the merchant yet. In other words, we couldn't charge a couple hundred dollars of opera tickets because we had already "overpaid" them by $20,000? Too funny.

mikemo

NP, Gotta love US banks.
Agree, always call to let 'em know where you'll be using plastic.
M

JaneB

Calling in advance doesn't always work. See below:

http://tinyurl.com/2x4k9l

CRAZY4TRAVEL

Even though my bank limit per day is 1000.00, I couldn't find a machine that would dispense more than 250.00 to 300.00 Euros per transaction. I also encountered a few where I could only withdraw 150.00 Euros. It varies from bank to bank.

JaneB

oops--TinyURL didn't work. Try this:

http://tinyurl.com/2x4k9l

bilboburgler

Not sure if this scam works in the states but in EU a criminal may fit a thin cover over the central part of the ATM so it reads the card and then as you type in your pin it picks up the finger movements. A small amount of memory will then store your records and your card can be cloned when the crim removes the front false plate.

So since the ATMs will look unusual to you at all times (you being visitors and all) cover your pin entering hand with your other hand so at least they cannot get the pin.