Banking on it

Do you tell your bank that you're planning to travel overseas? And if you don't - do they have your current contact number so they can reach you when they've decided to block your credit card because they've noticed some uncharacteristic activity on the card - like buying a video iPod in California? The first indication I had that something was awry was when I received a phone call from a supplier who does a regular transaction on my card. They advised my card had been declined. "Declined?" I spluttered ... "Not possible." I was online at the time so I was able to check that no-one had been using my card and taking me up and over the limit - and then I thought, perhaps there was a "limit" on overseas transactions or some other glitch. Luckily, it was still business hours in Australia (10pm in the States) and I was able to quite quickly contact the Card section and find out they had blocked my card because of the iPod transaction ... not that they knew it was for an iPod. This is a very good reason to have memorised your customer number and identifier - it means you don't have to go through the whole "prove you are who you are" exercise - a very expensive option if you're overseas. "And is there a reason you didn't contact me before blocking the card?" I asked. Well, she assured me, they had tried to phone me (yes, on my home phone number as I later found out) and they sent me an email (never did get that). Never mind, at least someone had told me ... and I had found out within a couple of hours so it's not too bad - and they did agree to remove the block straight away. First thing Monday, I'll be checking my contact details with the bank and confirming their policies re card blocks.