Make This Call Before You Travel
Jackie here. Hitting the road? Make sure you let your bank or credit card company know. This one simple step can keep your bank from freezing your card, a big hassle when you’re out traveling. Informing your bank before any trip out of town is a good idea, but it is even more important if you’ll be traveling internationally.
Why do you need to inform your bank before a big trip? Keeping your bank informed of your travel patterns helps them to know where you’ll be and to spot unfamiliar activity quickly. Often, banks put cards on hold when unfamiliar purchasing patterns appear (can be a sign of fraud). Since you’re in a different location and buying different things when you’re on a trip, getting your card shut down is a common occurrence.
If you do forget and your card does stop working, call your bank immediately. Often they can turn your card back on when you verify the purchases in question are actually yours.
Do you have any other summer travel tips you’d like to share?