Call your Credit Card companies before your cruise.

[Anchors Away 2016]

I always used to do this before trips, especially out of the the country, but every time I called them, they sounded so board. They said they would make a note of it, but it seemed like I didn't need to bother.

Wrong.

This time, I didn't call them ahead of time. Both of my cards were suspended within a couple of days. I'm glad they did, really. It is reassuring. But at the time it was frustrating. Good thing someone else in our group had a credit card that still worked!

The good thing was guest services was very helpful letting me use their phone to call the companies. Discover Card was quick and efficient at verifying my ID and turning it back on. The Master Card bank that I use, however, was NOT as good. They wanted to text me a confirmation # and wanted my cell phone number. I was in the the Caribbean. I had no cell service. I was about to ask if a e-mail address would be OK for them, when we lost the connection. It wasn't just my CC company, either. The guy next to me at Guest Services was having the same issue. They wanted to call his cell number.

When I got home I straightened it out, no problem, but I learned my lesson. Always call the Credit Card companies ahead of time. Even if they make it sound unnecessary.

Have fun!

 

[saxmangeoff]

Indeed. Always call. And sometimes, even then you can have problems. My daughter went on a study abroad trip to The Netherlands last spring, and her card was denied, even though she had contacted them beforehand. Fortunately, my wife is on her account, and was stateside, so was able to straighten it out quickly.

And I agree. It's good that the companies are so aggressive in fighting fraud, even if now and then it inconveniences us.

 

[Dug720]

I always used to do this before trips, especially out of the the country, but every time I called them, they sounded so board. They said they would make a note of it, but it seemed like I didn't need to bother.

Wrong.

This time, I didn't call them ahead of time. Both of my cards were suspended within a couple of days. I'm glad they did, really. It is reassuring. But at the time it was frustrating. Good thing someone else in our group had a credit card that still worked!

The good thing was guest services was very helpful letting me use their phone to call the companies. Discover Card was quick and efficient at verifying my ID and turning it back on. The Master Card bank that I use, however, was NOT as good. They wanted to text me a confirmation # and wanted my cell phone number. I was in the the Caribbean. I had no cell service. I was about to ask if a e-mail address would be OK for them, when we lost the connection. It wasn't just my CC company, either. The guy next to me at Guest Services was having the same issue. They wanted to call his cell number.

When I got home I straightened it out, no problem, but I learned my lesson. Always call the Credit Card companies ahead of time. Even if they make it sound unnecessary.

Have fun!

Definitely!

But just be prepared... Sometimes things STILL don't work. When I was making my arrangements for my Med cruise this summer, I knew I was going to be making my deposit on my tours with Rainbow Barcelona. I called my bank and let them know there was going to be a charge from Barcelona and it was me. They assured me they made note of it. Nope. Transaction declined, card locked. Called and she "fixed" it. Made a domestic transaction and all was fine. Assured that it was marked for Barcelona charge. Tried again. Rejected and locked. Called BACK. This time I kept the guy on the phone with me when I tried again after he unlocked it - I don't know if he actually managed to do whatever correctly or if he just immediately clicked ok when something popped up on his end, but THAT time it went through.

Most of the time the notification will take care of any issues... But be prepared just in case yours isn't one of those usual times.

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

I called my bank one time to tell them I would be making a large charge in a different state. Went through the whole verification process.

Declined.

Ran my debit card from the same bank a couple seconds later...went through without issue. Never heard anything from the bank about suspicious charges or anything.

 

[CamColt]

I agree! We drove from MA to FL 2 weeks ago then cruised. Once before when we drove and got gas all down 95 we had an issue with the card as that raised a red flag, so now we always call. We thought things were fine until Friday evening when we got back on board from CC and tried to book another cruise...our credit card declined. Guest Services was wonderful in calling the company for us, and other than having a hard time hearing as there was live music in the atrium, DH managed to get it straightened out. All is well now, but it was pretty much the last thing we wanted to deal with at that point, and gave us a good scare for about an hour.

Thanks for the reminder!

 

[m3owbox]

We always make travel plans though the credit card companies online website. That way I can actually see that it's on file.

 

[LindyWebb]

It's good to know DCL will help to contact the credit card company. I don't ever use it in the ports and have never had on issue on the ship. It's good advice though. One more in to add to my checklist!,

 

[Rabb it]

I have Bank of America and whenever I travel I just use my mobile app to put the travel notice on all my cards. I think most banks have that feature on their corresponding mobile apps. I like putting the notice on the account myself because I'm not relying on someone else to complete it for me, and I can see it/edit it at any time. I haven't had any trouble yet, knock on wood.

 

[saxmangeoff]

It's good to know DCL will help to contact the credit card company. I don't ever use it in the ports and have never had on issue on the ship. It's good advice though. One more in to add to my checklist!,

Well, it is in their interest to help make it possible for you to give them large sums of money.

 

[AllaboutEmi]

I had no problems using my credit cards at Disney World & in 8 different countries, including 3 visits to Mexico, this summer. But when I tried to charge something a couple weeks ago in Maryland (I live in Northern Virginia) my card was flagged since it was out of state!!! As soon as I called it was cleared up right away but I couldn't get over it was flagged for fraud 30 minutes away from my house. I am glad that they were being proactive though.

 

[party-of-five]

DH was recently out of state on a business trip. He stopped into a store and tried to use his visa and Chase flagged it; I got a text alerting possible fraud; he had to call Chase. A pain, but glad they were looking out for us.

 

[kamik86]

DH was recently out of state on a business trip. He stopped into a store and tried to use his visa and Chase flagged it; I got a text alerting possible fraud; he had to call Chase. A pain, but glad they were looking out for us.

i hate the fraud thing on one of my cards...

I once used my cards in four different states on the same day (MA, NY, FL and GA) with no problem.

However every time my husband buys a comic book on a comic book app on his phone he has that will get the card flagged and I have to go through this whole song and dance. its always the same charge, I don't get why they can't just put it on a greenlist and let them go through.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

Best advice here, even when leaving the state we call. I was in Mexico for the Winter and didn't even think about it and had a huge problem! The good thing is my husband was still at home and could help me get it figured out right away!

 

[Carrie in AZ]

My husband and I travel with credit cards issued from different banks, mostly in case of theft but it is good in case a card gets locked. Ideally, we will carry ATM cards from different banks as well, also in case of theft. If DH's wallet is lost or stolen, we are not out of luck and vice versa. A friend of mine worked for BofA and gave me this tip.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Banks aren't 'taking care of you' by blocking your account. They're taking care of themselves. If there is fraud on your account, they pay for it, not you. You'd be put out, but it sounds like you are being put out when there's no fraud, too.

I do agree, however, call your card provider and let them know you may have unusual charges. If nothing else, they may discuss your credit limits and help you make sure you have what you need available.

 

[JJZMgailey]

I have Bank of America and whenever I travel I just use my mobile app to put the travel notice on all my cards. I think most banks have that feature on their corresponding mobile apps. I like putting the notice on the account myself because I'm not relying on someone else to complete it for me, and I can see it/edit it at any time. I haven't had any trouble yet, knock on wood.

SO glad you posted! I have Bank of America too and going cruising next week. Love their app and glad to know that I can put it on travel mode there. Thanks!

 

[elvispursley]

We learned this lesson on our first cruise Feb. 2015 (when it was apparently blizzard central back east). We had our BoA card on file and didn't think to call and alert them. Sure enough, several days into the cruise, we get a notice from guest services to come see them. DH is on the phone forever trying to get a connection and once he finally does, BoA is closed because of the blizzard!!! Gee, thanks!! The reason why we wanted to use them was for our Alaska frequent flier miles, otherwise would be my last card of choice. Luckily, one of our other cards wasn't located back east and was able to go through, otherwise would've been up a big creek without said paddle.

However every time my husband buys a comic book on a comic book app on his phone he has that will get the card flagged and I have to go through this whole song and dance. its always the same charge, I don't get why they can't just put it on a greenlist and let them go through.

Had the same issue with, again, BoA, using the card to buy a game system from Game Stop online for my son--every time I tried to get the purchase to go through, the card would be frozen (and unfortunately, there was no notice from Game Stop that payment had not gone through). Despite calling and telling BoA that I was going to make this purchase, they did it a total of 4 times. I finally had to escalate it to a supervisor and told them that I would cancel my card with them if they did it one more time. SUPER FRUSTRATING!!!

 

[Maggie'sMom]

I used to call and alert Chase that I'd be traveling, but it didn't seem to matter. I'd still have charges declined and the card locked for fraud. I think it was about a year ago I received an email from Chase stating it was no longer necessary to inform them of travel. Their fraud detection system had changed to make notification unnecessary. I don't know what changed, but it seems to have worked. I've taken 3 international trips plus a couple domestic trips since getting the email and not had any charges declined. But they were able to catch an online clothing purchase that wasn't mine and declined that charge immediately. I had a call from them within a half hour of the charge letting me know there was fraud on my cc and telling me they were cancelling that card and reissuing me a new number.

 

[bumbershoot]

DH traveled globally for work from 2009 to early this year. He went from Toronto to Sydney, he went all over Asia, all over the US, etc etc. He went from St Petersburg (Russia) to Novosibirsk (just above Kazahkstan). All over Europe.

He never once had a problem.

In early 2014 we went on a 7 day cruise. They could track us. Purchases on a flight and in the airport, purchases at WDW and Universal, charged by FL Tours for the drive to the port, etc.

We hit San Juan and boom, both CCs blocked while at Cariloha of all places. Total tourist, silly bamboo sheets, could buy them at MCO b/c there's a store there.

San Juan is part of the US. Killed me! Peru, Novosibirsk, Chicago, etc etc etc...just all over the world and no issues at all, then something you could barely get MORE cruise-touristy, and it's blocked.

Thankfully it was still business hours and of course we were in the US, and we got it solved (and got our sheets), but gah. Obnoxious.

We'd even had lunch and paid with a CC an hour before! In San Juan!

 

[truck1]

When my wife and I got married in 2010 on the Magic, about 6 weeks or longer before, I called my bank (small credit union, only 6 branches at the time. Told them we would be out of the country and asked how far in advance I could put a travel notice on my ATM and debit cards. Person I talked to said Oh, you can do that now, theres no expiration on the travel notice. I said ok, heres the cards. 6 or so weeks later we get on the Magic doing a western. KW no problem. Get to Grand Cayman in Margarittaville, problem. Use a different card from a different bank for the rest of the trip. Get back home and call the bank. Surprise, we couldn't do the notice 6 weeks in advance. They only hold the notice for 4. Now, I use my new banks online page to put my cards on travel notice, and then call a few days before we leave to double check. (I argued with them one day on the fact that they had put a hold on my debit card and never told me because there was suspicisous activity on my account. Turns out it was me but the fact they wouldn't call me ticked me off to no end. Especially on an account we only used in emergencies.)

The fraud alerts seem to be hit or miss. From talking to the "Security Experts" at one of my former banks, they explained to me that all banks have some kind of program that tracks usage and patterns. For example, if you always spend money with in a 50 mile radius of your house, the program wont think twice. Spend money 150 miles from the house and the computer sends out an alert. Couple of years ago, my DW and I and another couple were in Sarasota Fl for the weekend. Couple of days later, my friend tells me that someone got his card number and almost wiped out his account with purchases in Colorado in online sales of like snow sking stuff. He knew with in minutes. Day later, my wife notices we have a 900+ charge pending in a Miami Kmart. Our bank didn't notice. I told them. Which is why we got a new bank when we moved to our new house.