Best way to contact bank of america about going out of town?

You can email customer service online, but calling is better. When you call, ask them to make a note on your account saying that you will be out of country. They’ll probably ask where you are going and for how long.

Despite putting a note on your account, they may ignore it and shut down your card anyway. That happens sometimes, so make sure you bring the customer service number with you and have more than one way to access money (credit card or cash card).

Personally, I would probably email and call. Because I’m paranoid about that stuff. I’ve been out of country a few times and never had a problem with them, but I’ve heard horror stories.

@judyprays Thanks so much for asking this. I called Bank or America today, but there were no representatives there because of the holiday. I’m going to Israel next Sunday for Birthright.

Have an awesome time!

Some banks are notorious for shutting down your account and then making it difficult to access your own money while out of town. But as EmpressPixie stated, email and call and don’t forget to write down the name of the customer service rep that you talk too.

Call your bank and give them your travel itinerary so they will not report any transactions as suspicious in nature.

Exchange however much currency you think you might need at the airport or when you arrive at your destination.

CALL…don’t mess around with email. Talk to and make sure a travel memo is in the banks system.

I still had a bad transaction with my CC in Taiwan in March, said I withdrew $400 and I never recieved the cash. Still being investigated.

Use your credit card at established establishments..lol and….be wary of foreign bank atm transactions if you do not speak the language well.

What I would do is open a special bank account with the understanding that it would be used on my itinerary, and transfer the money into it.

This, the gethuman database is one of my absolute favorite resources. Here is the page to get through to an actual person at Bank of America

Ok, I talked to an online rep and they hooked it up:

Call 1.877.833.5617 – (1 for english, 4 on the next menu for future travel planning)
Then you can talk to a representative and they will take your info and set you up.

Yayyy!

Another thing you can do is to add a family member to your credit card, if there is any issue they can wire you cash.

@judyprays

Yay! I insist on taliking to a REAL human being…not a machine. lol

@judyprays I just called that number. Couldn’t have been simpler. In case your representative didn’t give you the international help number, here it is: 001–602-597–2395 (in case your card is lost or stolen).

So, what you are saying is that if you leave the U.S. that you will not be able to use your credit or debit card?

@john65pennington Some banks will put a freeze on your account if they see charges from another country in case it is a fraudulent charge.

Yes, and…be sure to include as many places as you think you might be going to.

I wasn’t sure if I would make it to every place I was in the general vicinity of in southeast asia…but I still included the potentiality of all, Taiwan, Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, Vietnam, Thailand and possibly a jaunt to the Phillipines…leave no travel stone unturned! lol

Call customer service for any other credit cards as well.