Travel Tips

Travel Tip: What You Should Know Before Traveling with a Credit Card

Image Credit: mediaphoto.org

Image Credit: mediaphoto.org

Image Credit: mediaphoto.org

What are the odds that your credit card could be hacked when you travel?

Sadly, those chances are increasing in probability.

Bank of America loses about $600 million a year in credit card fraud, and that’s just for starters.

Then there are the large-scale hacks at major hotel chains like Hyatt or retailers like Target.

So what can you do?

Review your credit card statements at least once a week online, especially if you’re traveling.

Also, increasing security concerns by credit card companies can also negatively affect honest cardholders when they travel.

If you’re leaving the country, you will inevitably violate your normal purchasing patterns—either with the kinds of things you’re buying, or where you’re buying them.

Always call your credit card issuer and let them know you’ll be traveling—even if you’re just going out of state, not leaving the country.

Have them put a notification on your account that flags your itinerary, or purchases outside your home state or country could easily be denied.

Please, if you’re traveling, go with more than one credit card.

If one of your cards gets hacked, your account gets canceled, and you don’t have a second card, you could easily find yourself stranded without plastic.

For more information about traveling with a credit card, check out:

Keep reading for more travel tips.