Call your bank before you go!

|Thanks to a similar thread here, I notified my credit card companies about my travel plans, and they told me it was a good thing I had, to avoid having my account blocked. Just 2 hours before leaving for the airport I decided to call my bank and ask about my check (debit) card, which I use to get cash from ATM machines, and they told me that yes, I absolutely had to inform them of my travel plans in order to get cash abroad. I have never had to do that before. They needed to know my travel dates and places I would visit.

I just got cash here (I'm in England now) out of an ATM machine with no problem.

So -- if you're planning on using your ATM card for cash while you travel, be on the safe side, call your bank before leaving to let them know your travel dates and countries you'll be visiting in order to avoid a possibly unpleasant experience when the machine refuses to give you money!

Diana writes: The only problem I ever had was when First Union took over Core States: I was in Ireland - my Core States Debit card, which my local branch Manager had assured me could continue to be used until I received my new First Union card, didn't work! It worked at the First Union ATM back home but apparently they had 'pulled the plug' on the Core States bank codes for International banking. It wound up costing me a bunch to get cash advances on my Credit Card.
In cases like this, 'Call your Bank' isn't the solution. Even Customer Service at most Banks or Credit Card Companies doesn't know what is going down. Someone notified the International Banking System's computers to delete Core States from its Data Base at such a date and time and that's what happened.
Needless to say: The dumbass AVP, or whatever, to whom I complained didn't give me any satisfaction at all.

I know this has been addressed before - but notify not only your bank re your ATM card but also notify all financial istitutions that have issued any credit cards you are planning on using while on holiday. For exactly the same reasons -

Puna,
I plan to use my card issued by UBS Paine Webber this summer while in Spain. Should I contact my broker at UBS PW, or the bank issuing the card, or both?

I honestly am not sure - first thought is just the bank issuing - but just to be on the safe side - call both.

While you're on the phone with your bank, it's also a good idea to ask them for the phone number you should call in case your credit card gets lost or stolen. (Because the toll-free number you would normally call is for use inside the US.) Mine all told me I could call collect, which is sort of comforting....

Folks no truer words have been written on this Board than the above. What excellent advice. I almost learned this the hard way. I had ordered my bancotel checks online and for some reason my credit card was rejected, so I called my card company and they said the reason they had not paid was that the company requesting the payment Protel, was in Spain and they assumed my card was stolen. Wow! So I called my credit card companies that I was taking their cards with me told them my travel dates give or take a couple of days in case of airline changes, and I also told them not to accept any charges made in the U.S. during that time, and if my plans changed I would call them.

They in turn gave me their toll free Spain number in case I needed to contact them! They were all great!

This thread is excellent travel advice!

I also learned this one the hard way. When I first got here, I was able to use my atm card, and credit card without problem for the first 2 or 3 days, and then all of a sudden it started getting rejected. It took lots of expensive phone calls back to the USA for almost a week until it was all worked out, and my cards starting working again.