The Credit Card Move You Must Make Before Traveling This Holiday
About 25 million Americans will fly somewhere this Thanksgiving in pursuit of food, family and football. Millions more will load up the minivan and hit the highways.
The stress begins long before you hit the road, however. Between packing, getting your tires checked, finding someone to watch your pet and doing countless other tasks, it can be exhausting just how many items you'll have to scratch off your to-do list before you go.
There's one task that many people never think of, though. It's easy, takes only a couple minutes to do -- and after it is done, it can save you unnecessary headaches once you reach your destination.
What could that be, you ask?
Calling your bank and credit card issuer to let them know that you're traveling.
"Ugh," you think. "I really have to call them to tell them where I'm going?"
You don't have to, of course. But doing so can make your trip go more smoothly.
For instance, my wife, son and I took a trip to Los Angeles earlier this year to visit some old friends. The plan was to take a simple, nonstop flight from Austin to Los Angeles, pick up a rental car once we arrived and then drive to our destination.
We had a calm, uneventful flight and then boarded a shuttle bound for the rental car dealer. Once we arrived at the lot, I pulled out my favorite credit card and attempted to pay.
Rejected.
I was surprised. I don't have my card rejected every day. But I just got out another card and paid with that, thankful that I had another card and that it worked as hoped.
While still standing at the rental counter, I got an automated voice mail message and text from my credit card issuer. In so many words, they let me know they had blocked a recent transaction on my card because of fraud concerns. In order to lift the block from the card, they needed me to give them a call back. I did, standing outside in the parking lot as my wife and son finished lining up the car rental, and I didn't have any other issues for the rest of the trip.
It was annoying, but it didn't take long to remedy, and, ultimately, it wasn't a huge headache. It could have been a disaster if I only had one credit card. What if I were in a foreign country and unable to speak the local language? What if I were in some remote area and didn't have access to a phone? What was just a minor inconvenience could have turned into a big mess.
A recent CreditCards.com survey of over 1,000 U.S. adults found that 40 percent of frequent card users had endured a fraud alert that flagged or blocked a transaction. Of that group, two-thirds said they had legitimate transactions blocked, just like I did at the airport.
These blocked transactions don't just occur when you're traveling, either. Credit card issuers pay close attention to your spending patterns, and anything out of the ordinary can draw their scrutiny. For example, if you try to spend $5,000 on lumber and tools at Home Depot for a home remodeling project, the bank might block that transaction since it's for a far larger amount that you typically spend.
The CreditCards.com survey also showed that 1 in 3 travelers have never called their bank in advance to let them know about an unusual purchase or travel plan. If you're one of those people -- or even if you just need a reminder -- here' s all you need to do:
1. Find the customer service number on the back of your credit card. You can also find it on the issuer's website.
2. A few days before you leave, call your issuer and tell them where you're going and when. You don't need to provide a full itinerary. Just say, "We're going to Los Angeles from Dec. 23 to Dec. 30," or "We'll be in Europe from Nov. 21 to Dec. 1, traveling in Spain, France and England."
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for each of your banks and credit card issuers.
That simple phone call should make it less likely for the bank to block your transactions, though it doesn't guarantee it. For that reason, it's a good idea to carry an extra Visa or MasterCard with you, in case your card of choice gets blocked. (This is especially true if you rely heavily on American Express, which isn't as widely accepted outside the United States.)
Of course, the last thing any of us need is one more thing on our holiday to-do list, so if you don't have time to make a phone call in advance, it won't be the end of the world. If you do take the time, however, that quick phone call can dramatically lower the odds of adding one more unexpected headache to the already stressful season. And that's a holiday gift anyone would gladly accept.
Matt Schulz is the senior industry analyst at CreditCards.com, a site dedicated to helping people make smart decisions about obtaining and using credit. You can follow him on Twitter at @matthewschulz.
