Advising bank of out of country transactions.

[slhull54]

When we sailed in 2019, I had an issue with my debit/credit cards not working.  I had advised them of ports we would be in but didnt take in account for the onboard transactions at ATM etc.  I know the ship is registered out of Malta ( I think) and have had it added.  On hold with celebrity but agent has no clue.

[Jim_Iain]

I've never had a problem with using my credit card on the ships  ATM or for that matter on any port.    I also advise my bank before I travel.

[Jeremiah1212]

I would never use my debit card internationally but you can typically just tell your bank the countries you are visiting, or even do it online, and you won't have any issues. Celebrity customer service isn't going to have specific advice to give you. Where the ship is registered isn't going to matter. 

[Turtles06]

Some banks and credit card companies now say you don’t even need to tell them when/where you will be traveling. 

[slhull54]

Last time it was the country that the ATM transactions were routed through.  I had already giving them the ports before I left, I bank at a very small hometown bank, once the transactions were denied and I called them when in port, they added the country, I just cant remember which country it was.  Shouldnt be that hard but trust me it was.

 

 

[LGW59]

6 minutes ago, slhull54 said:

Last time it was the country that the ATM transactions were routed through.  I had already giving them the ports before I left, I bank at a very small hometown bank, once the transactions were denied and I called them when in port, they added the country, I just cant remember which country it was.  Shouldnt be that hard but trust me it was.

 

 

I travel out of the country frequently, well I did at one time.  Whenever I do, or even if I am going to another state I always let my bank for debit card and CC holders know where I am going, never once had a problem.  I really don't think the Celebrity CSR would have (nor should they) provide advice on this. 

[iancal]

Two of our credit card do not require out of country notification, one does.

 

Our experience is that sometimes our premium card transaction are not excepted but not because the card issuer has turned down the transactions.
 

 We often by on line air tickets while travelling in SE Asia (Thailand  and Malaysia) or Australia.  One of our cards never seemed to work on two specific airlines. But when we submitted another non premium card the transaction was processed.  The original card that was refused always continues to work for other purchases.  

This has happened to us in Europe a few times and at home when buying from an out of country website-always travel products. Regional airlines, hotels, or ferries.

On those occasions we we have checked with the issuer of those cards they claim that they have no record of the card being presented or refused.
 

This is why we travel with three different cards. 

Edited August 10, 2021 by iancal

[lola2013]

10 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

Some banks and credit card companies now say you don’t even need to tell them when/where you will be traveling. 

In a conversation a couple of weeks ago with Bank of America (both my Celebrity & RCCL Visa cards run through BOA), I was told the same  They monitor my transactions and no longer need notification that I am travelling.

[slhull54]

1 minute ago, LGW59 said:

I travel out of the country frequently, well I did at one time.  Whenever I do, or even if I am going to another state I always let my bank for debit card and CC holders know where I am going, never once had a problem.  I really don't think the Celebrity CSR would have (nor should they) provide advice on this. 

Thanks for the reply but was trying to save myself a call to my bank after we leave.  Glad you've never had an issue but all banks operate differently.  Just thought someone else might have had the same issue.

[canderson]

24 minutes ago, slhull54 said:

When we sailed in 2019, I had an issue with my debit/credit cards not working.  I had advised them of ports we would be in but didnt take in account for the onboard transactions at ATM etc.  I know the ship is registered out of Malta ( I think) and have had it added.  On hold with celebrity but agent has no clue.

Closing out your folio at the end would be done through the corporate offices, not Malta.

 

You should at most need to specify any countries where you plan to pull your card out for shopping.

[bikerunner]

Not sure why your bank wouldn't be able to help you by telling them that your going on a cruise and here is the itinerary before you go with the dates.   I use to use a local credit union cc and that's all I ever did, never worried about the cruise line etc.  Now like many my primary 2 cards dont really care, I get the email or text asking if this transaction is correct when it goes over my limits I set, pretty low to keep myself honest mostly.  

[graphicguy]

Use what you want, but using a debit card in a foreign country could be dicey.  I’ve even read that some shop owners were stealing debit card info when someone makes a transaction in their stores.

 

I know banks offer some protection.  But, being without a potentially substantial chunk of change until the bank gets it figured out would be a large hassle.

 

I use my AMEX when traveling.  And, as @iancal mentions, now you don’t even have to let them know when you’re traveling out of country.  

 

Personally, I’d forgo the debit card and use a credit card.

[slhull54]

4 minutes ago, canderson said:

Closing out your folio at the end would be done through the corporate offices, not Malta.

 

You should at most need to specify any countries where you plan to pull your card out for shopping.

The only time I had an issue was at ATM getting cash to take on shore.  Folio has never been an issue since those transactions do go through US based banks  I just dont like to travel with a lot of cash.

[canderson]

ATM = different issue, and is handled separately from a credit card by some banks.

 

As an example, Wells Fargo asks you to select each specific card that you expect you may use for a travel itinerary.  So if one selects only the credit card, there is some risk of issues when using the ATM card abroad.

[canderson]

As an aside - I never use a standalone ATM kiosk.  I only use an ATM at major banks in whatever country I'm in.  Less chance of skimming and other types of fraud.  Not always as convenient, but much safer.

[gerelmx]

This happens because many businesses use point of sale terminals that are not associated with a bank.  Example Ciontek, INCO, etc

[TeeRick]

Here is one problem I had with the ship ATM.  I was on a cruise in Europe.  I notified my bank to accept Debt Card transactions from the countries I was visiting.  No problem at those ports.  But the ship ATM kept denying my attempts.  I called the bank and they told me the ship ATM was signaling them as from Miami Florida.  Not on my pre-authorized list!

[slhull54]

2 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Here is one problem I had with the ship ATM.  I was on a cruise in Europe.  I notified my bank to accept Debt Card transactions from the countries I was visiting.  No problem at those ports.  But the ship ATM kept denying my attempts.  I called the bank and they told me the ship ATM was signaling them as from Miami Florida.  Not on my pre-authorized list!

Exactly what I was referring to!  I did add Florida but Equinox ATMS, were associated with a European country.   Thank you, I will  just try it before we get into Nassau and call my bank and see what country I need to add!

[TeeRick]

I have both a dedicated travel credit card and a travel debt card now through a major US bank.  A different bank than my checking and other cards.  Before I travel I transfer some money into the travel Debt card account and set it up with No Overdraft Protection.  Just enough money as a cushion in case I need it.  If it gets hacked it cannot jeopardize my other accounts.  Also it has fraud protection anyway.  Some debt cards do not.  This has worked for me without issue.  Another way is to take Pre-Paid Debt or credit cards with you as a back-up.  The modern day traveler's checks.

[bEwAbG]

I can see how charges from Florida at the same time you are spending in a foreign country would set off alerts.  I do always add my domestic destinations even though they say they don't need them.  My biggest annoyance was the time I was doing Christmas shopping in TX (where family lives) and one card kept declining transactions every time I tried to use it despite having set the travel alert.  I guess it's good that they have fraud algorithms but the way they are used by some companies is not very good.  They were a terrible company in other ways so I was glad to cancel the account after I got back home.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

If you don't need a lot of cash Celebrity will cash a check for you. I think I saw up to $200 but I could be wrong about the amount.

[dazey]

I always advise American Express even though they say no need.  My husband advises his MC credit card but he does seem to have any issue at least once - so annoying.  One time they wanted to know his checking account number(like we would know that while on a cruise) to confirm.  We ended the call and then called the credit card company again and this person just noted our okay to use card.  Such a strange question. We now carry the checking account number or a check with us!

 

 

[sanger727]

I would always recommend traveling with at least two credit cards issued from two different banks. That way if there's an issue with one, you still have the other available. Agree with other posters that most nation wide banks don't request travel advisories anymore. I would suggest opening a credit card with one of them, to make sure you have access to money, just in case there's an issue. 

[iancal]

We have traveled with an Amex card.  But we have encountered places in Europe and Asia that did not accept them. 

 

We travel  with Amex, MC, and Visa cards.

Edited August 10, 2021 by iancal

[TeeRick]

1 hour ago, iancal said:

We have traveled with an Amex card.  But we have encountered places in Europe and Asia that did not accept them. 

 

We travel  with Amex, MC, and Visa cards.

Yes that is the problem with AMEX cards internationally.