Losing a Credit Card While Abroad
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While I was in Germany briefly last month, I had the unfortunate experience of losing my credit card. Losing a credit card is never a fun experience, but there are certain steps you can take to quickly and safely resolve the issue:
- When traveling abroad, it is a very good idea to write down the customer service number for your credit card companies and keep it somewhere separate. Think about it: if you lose the card, you’ll no longer be able to look on the back of it for the number.
- When you lose your credit card, you should immediately contact your credit card company. Most major banks now maintain 24 hour lines, so it should not matter what time zone you are in.
- While its true that your liability is limited in the event of your card being used without your authorization, it will create far less of a headache if you get the card shutdown right away. Furthermore, your credit card company may be able to (for a fee) expedite a card to your abroad or help you immediately access money.
- Call Collect. Most banks have not only a 1-800 number, but also a direct number for use while abroad that will accept collect calls at no cost, so dial them up from a land-line phone collect and let them pay for the call (why do they do this? It is in their interest to get stolen/lost cards shut down as quickly as possible, so they want you to be able to call even if you have lost all your money).The collect call number is usually listed on the back of your card as for “Outside the U.S:”. The collect-call numbers for some banks:
- Bank of America: 1-757-677-4701 (source)
- Citibank Credit Cards: 1-605-335-2222 (source)
- Chase: 1-302-594-8200
- Don’t have your bank’s number? If you have internet access, just look it up. However, if you have your cell phone, try texting Google at 466453 — (more information on the free service can be found here). Essentially, if you text “Bank of America 12345″ to Google, it will look up in the phone listings the number for the BoA branch in zip code 12345 — calling that local branch, even at two AM local time, can get you forwarded to the general customer service number.
In the interest of full disclousure, I hadn’t completley followed my own advice — I used to keep emergency bank numbers in my phone, but had let that go — but after my experience in Germany, I’ve started following these steps again.
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My vanity Google Alert turned this post up just now. Good to see the CC licensing being put to use!