They're watching

Good morning Kathy. I think that this sort of thing is a major inconvenience. If they arewatching, perhaps they could act responsibly and not uspend the account. Now we have another job...not their problem but mine. Nonetheless good suggestion.

Kathy, The same thing happened to me while getting gas on a trip to Disneyland! A quick call settled the matter. Whew!

Hey, Kathy!  I included this post in today’s Last Week’s Favorites.  Please drop by and check it out, and and have a terrific week!

Hi Kathy,

I came over from Pat's post this morning on her favorite posts for the week. This is frustrating but as Lenn said, before traveling, it's a good idea to contact the bank and let them "lift" that restriction during the time of your trip. We always call before leaving town or the country so they know it is us. If we don't call our purchases would be denied!

Kathy, While I understand the bank's concern, for the interest rates they charge on credit cards, it does seem like they could actually call your cell phone before suspending your account.  Why should the burden be on the consumer to warn them that we're doing something legitimate?

Kathy, Our credit card company has called us in the past when we have been out of area. Just recently I had my debit card stopped and they re issued me another. Yes, I now call when we are going far away from home.

My credit card comparies would have a hard time calling me. I disconnected my home phone years ago and they don't have my cell number. However, they do have my email address and could contact me that way.

Kathy, well I will have to remember to call my bank before traveling out of state....thanks for the heads up.

Kathy, I had that happen to me a few times, but it's been a while. Thanks for the heads up, I have some rather extended trips coming up for work that are out of the usual pattern. I'll heed your advice and give the bank a call before I leave.

Kathy, 

Thanks for sharing your experience. We had a major issue with Chase when we tried to tell them we were traveling overseas. These big banks with service call centers located in mostly South East Asia are always problematic in my opinion. 

Kathy -- came over from Pat's referral.    We have been doing this for the last several years. Please note that some banks will call and let you know -- as ours did last fall when card went out of country -- however, no one was home at the time, they didn't suspend, but they also didn't notice the Note we had placed on the card being out of country.   You can only do so much.

Kathy, I’ve received fraud alert calls in the past but never has my bank suspended my account for alleged suspicious activity.  In fact, I recently had fraudulent activity and they let it go for three days before calling … way to long IMO given the level of activity in areas I never shop!

Hi Kathy, Thanks for sharing and I suppose it is a good idea to let the bank know when we will be traveling!

This happened to me when we went to North Carolina last year. So... .this year, I am calling to tell them th dates I will be out of town and where I am traveling to.

I've never had the card suspended but have had the potential fraud calls. And recently there were actually some fraudulent charges and we had to change all our cards. All the charges were covered by the bank and credit card companies.

Kathy, my husband and I had this happen last fall when we were both traveling in two different directions.  Guess it confused the credit card company.  Ugh!

I let my bank know before I left for this very reason!

It's good to go visit your bank once in a while and let them check your credit card; let's them know you are watching them.

I had someone use my credit card number to purchase an airline ticket, travel to Rome and spend a lot of money shopping.  I had no idea until I received my monthly bill.