Should you call Visa??

[kristieleeoz]

Leaving in a week..wondering if you should call Visa and tell them you will be travelling?? Thoughts??

[rjan67]

Shouldn't be a problem if you are in the States. If travelling overseas I would. If it eases your mind, call them.

[minnie56]

I always call them. No matter where I am going and for how long. They know I travel a lot to many places..but still, they are in the loop and it only takes a few mins to call!

:)

[grover]

We always call visa & mastercard.

Twice in the past we had the hassle of transactions not going thru and having to call & confirm it was us using the card..and this was in Florida. So since then we always call ahead of time.

They ask where you will be travelling & for what period of time and make a note.

They do say that purchases still may trigger a security concern which would result in you having to call in..however we have not had that happen since we started advising them prior to travelling. Our ds also travels overseas & hasn't had any problems yet doing it this way.

[dis_guy]

Always best to call but forgot to do it last time. We had our card ($1000 transaction) refused at WDW over Christmas. A little red-faced, I asked them to put it through in a couple of smaller amounts and it worked fine. :)

[Disney Newby]

We always call especially if we are using the card for gas. I would hope that they would get suspicious if the card was suddenly being used in different states.

[weezy26nm]

Definately! My bank teller told me that she had a customer that got as far as Montreal (from Nova Scotia) bought his lunch and his visa was frozen and he still had the rest of his trip to go on.

[connorsmom911]

I always call them ahead of time and tell them I'm planning to spend an obscene amount of money, so they are forwarned!! :lmao:

[stefanospops]

I used to work for VISA Fraud and telling them can certainly ensure a smooth vacation. Their system will still trigger and if they see out of state purchases from where you are they should still flag the card. They will be a not on your account about where you are and from which dates so that if there is an auto-block on your card they will remove it fairly quickly once they see the notes.

[Applemomma]

I always call. My Mastercard puts a "vacation" notice on the card with where we will be and our travel dates along with where we can be reached at (cell number) in case there is other strange activity. Just not worth getting stuck. They've always told me that if things change or we need an extention to just give them a shout. I call if I'm going to be anywhere out of my normal range. It's also a good idea to call if you buy airline tickets and gas the same day on your card as that's a red flag to their computers. Got that call once.....just a heads up :)

The last time I called I merrily announced I was taking my card on vacation and it cracked the customer service rep up....he said "you aren't excited or anything are you?" :rotfl:

[Sugar Jones]

Yes I would for sure. We went shopping in Port Huron at Christmas time, and used our Visa for a few purchases. When we got home that night there was a call from Visa stating that our account had been put on hold for suspicious activity and we had to call from our home number to have it re-activated.

It's nice to know they are looking out for me!

So to avoid having that happen I always call to let them know I will be travelling and using the card in a different country.

[BELLEDOZER]

I always call in advance and let them know where I'm going and for how long, so that if I do make a purchase they will know it's me rather than a fraudster. I know that Mastercard is looking for suspicious activity, and caught it when the local gas station over charged me $80 for my weekly gas purchase.

[tgropp]

I always call when we travel. They ask for the date that you are leaving and the date that you are returning to Canada. I will also call them if I am making any major purchase or doing costly renovations while using my card. I have seen to many friends cards get used by fraudsters.

[drag n' fly]

Unfortunately we learned the hard way. Forget to tell Visa we were travelling. Tried to make a purchase at the Atlantis Resort on Christmas day and boom it was immediately locked. Try to find someone authorized to remove the hold on Christmas Day from the Bahamas was a gong show. Lesson learned. I never leave the country without calling now:thumbsup2

[Sue M]

Because I travel to Florida often, I don't bother phoning them, but if it is somewhere I haven't traveled to, I would phone.
Don't use credit card at airports. Esp for phone calls. I've been told, theft is high at airports, and people will use a stolen card usually in a pay phone, or small purchase at airport to see if it works. Visa I've heard will freeze cards used in airports.

[DaniB]

If you do not travel to the States often, phone them!

Even our banker at Royal Direct had her Visa locked down by the Fraud Department when she forgot to notify them. And she works for them!

[minnie56]

I travel to Florida about 6-7 times a year. I still call them..one time my card was blocked on a Florida trip! I thought they would assume it was me...guess not!:confused3

[CanadianPaco]

Shouldn't be a problem if you are in the States. If travelling overseas I would. If it eases your mind, call them.

Well it was a problem for us when we went from Ontario to Quebec on mArhc Break. Visa put a hold of DH VISA ... because we got gas twice in one day. We're calling from now on!!

[Gigi22]

Yes, contact the office of all your credit card issuers and give them the dates you will be away, plus an itinerary. (Think of it this way, just because you are on vacation doesn't mean that the people who steal identities are on vacation too!)

[tgropp]

We are in the midst of home renovations and in the past month I have charges close to $6,000.00 on my mosiac cc. Last Thursday I put on a downpayment on a cruise, this morning I paid the taxes on airmiles for 4 tix (Children and spouses) to Florida at Christmas. As I was booking 2 flights to Florida through Delta for Christmas for my wife and myself, I thought that I should phone up the CC company and let them kmnow about all the trip purchases in the past week. They told me that they would probally have refused the American airline ticket purchase if I hadn't told them.

[jasmom]

I had my mc refused at No Frills (very embarasing) after a trip to Florida. I always call now.

[rjan67]

To bad the fraud squad wasn't on their toes about this one:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/04/05/bc-rbcdebt.html

I've not had a problem using my card in the U.S. We even rented a car in St. Maarten with no problems using our Visa. Like I said, if you're worried about it - call.

[Salinger]

That's why I love my Amex. Their system seems to be intelligent with regard to this. When I charge a flight and/or hotel, my statement shows the passenger (me) the dates and the destination along with the airline/hotel. I also get an email a few days later asking if I want to purchase any additional travel insurances.

No need for me to call, the details of my travels are already in their system and I've never had my card questioned or refused.

If you're travelling on points and haven't charged a flight or hotel through your card, it certainly can't hurt to give a quick call.

[sammi]

Oh yes you should call always when you travel to notify your CC that you intend to be out of country.:thumbsup2

[irisesareblue]

The last time I called I merrily announced I was taking my card on vacation and it cracked the customer service rep up....he said "you aren't excited or anything are you?" :rotfl:

I hope your card had a great vacation and didn't get too sunburnt!:rotfl:

[CrystalS]

We called before leaving on our last trip just in case.
We were also going on a 3 night cruise that went to the Bahamas too, so I thought that might trigger something if being in the US didn't.

We never had any problems after calling.

[MiraReynaWhite]

Hi I Always cal to visa and mastercard..no problem come in Visa..

[Mickey1Fan]

Adding to the call VISA group. My card was declined my first night at Downtown Disney. I was glad they had me talk to someone at VISA right then because the next morning we left for DCL. I would not have been happy if my card was declined when I had to check in with and put $500 on the card.

[GrtWtNorth]

Better safe than sorry. I didn't used to call but now I do.

It's a real pain to have your card locked up. I know from experience -- it happened when I charged some of the expenses for my wedding. I got married in Alberta, but I lived in Ontario. AmEx got all freaked out and we had to use other cards and cash to buy gas and food driving home after the wedding. :(

[SaraMc]

Yup we call. DH works for Mastercard so we make sure. Its just safer to know that its not going to be frozen.