Credit Card Limits ~ LB-69

Not really a warning just wanted to ask if anyone else has had this happen.

Two weeks after coming home from my trip I received a letter saying that I had used my Credit Card at a 'high risk merchant" and then gave me a list of countries that they have set a NZ$500 limit on . This is about 200 pounds. I can ask for the limit to be raised and they have also said I can change the card number.

The countries listed are Australia , Belguim , Spain , Great Britain , Indonesia , Malaysia , Italy , USA and Thailand.

I only used my card three times in 28 days , once at Cebu Airlines in the Phillipines (which I would have expected to have been on the list) , once to pay my Hotel bill at the Dynasty Inn in Bangkok and once at an ATM in Pattaya.

They seem to be saying that the Dynasty Inn has some unsafe business practices . They did take an impression when I first booked in .
Makes you wonder if its worth using a Credit Card at all . The limit did cover the cost of the Hotel bill at the Dynasty Inn for five days but a longer stay could be problematic .
I wonder how busnessmen get along who do lots of travelling. Confused

Is this common practice?

Sorry should have said it was a $500 transaction limit which is probobly not bad but just means I have to plan things .

Phil, I think Batman is right, I have never had a problem when overseas using my business credit card, I was at the bank about a year ago and they asked if I traveled overseas much, I told them the countries I travel too, and they are now recorded and I've never had any problems.
Last month I used my card to pay for accommodation in Laos, a country not on the list I gave the bank, no problem with the card, it wasn't a really high amount, but about 30 mins. later I got a call from the bank asking if I was in Laos! Not bad service, I thought.

*Last edited by Phil Lander on Tue Feb 05, 2008 4:54 pm; edited 1 time in total*

In the last couple of years I have used my Visa Credit Card and Bank Card in Scotland , Hong Kong , Phillipines and Thailand and have never have a problem .

I asked at the Bank just a few days before I left if they wanted to know when I was going overseas and they said no. Confused

I had arranged US Dollars for the Phillipines and Baht for Thailand so they knew I was going to these places as I also told them when I was going and filled out forms etc.

This is what they said.

" Internationally , Credit Card Fraud is on the rise and at the Bank Of XXXXXXXXX we're serious about protecting you and your Credit Card from the impact of this activity .

Unfortunately , the sophistication of some overseas criminal groups mean that your card details may have been captured when you used your card overseas , regardless of the care you may have taken while away from New Zealand .

As you have recently used your card at a high risk merchant , we believe that your card is potentially at risk of fraudulent use in one of the countries below . To help protect your account overseas , a limit of $500NZD per transaction has been placed on your Credit Card for transactions in the following countries ."

List as above .

"If your comfortable with the $500NZD limit then you dont need to do a thing , however if you're planning to make transactions in any of the above countries over the $500NZD transaction limit , please call XXXX XXX XXXX and we can arrange a temporary removal of the restriction .

Alternatively , we can organise a replacement card with a new account number free of charge . Once we have replaced the account number for your credit card , your account will no longer be at risk and will not be subject to the transaction limit."

etc.

Seems a bit drastic to change my account number everytime I go to Thailand and use my Card . Maybe they are just tightening up on security because of the Dynasty Inn . They may have had a problem with them before. Rolling Eyes

anyway I will phone them to ask about this.

Cheers.

they dont change your accountnumber....they change the cardnumber.. Wink

carry a fat wallet Laughing

I guess the answer to my question is "NO" . Shocked

I have never had any such problems when traveling anywhere around the world. Only once, did Citibank contact me when I was in Paris to confirm a purchase, and it was a very large one from an art dealer.

Oddly enough, I've had them contact me once when I've used my card to make two quick gasoline purchases (back to back, for two different cars, two miles from my home) to make sure they weren't fraudulent.

For what its worth, I've had much larger billis at the DIG-Bangkok and the Dynasty Inn-Pattaya than $500, and nary a problem with the charges.

Auto

I have been staying at all the various Dynasty Inn hotels for many, many years, and have never had any problem.

I always pay by credit card, and never a hassle.

On a side note, I got a call from American Express over X-mas questioning whether I had spent nearly 1000 USD in Japan. Shocked

Looks like my details had been skimmed, but I suspect it may have occured in a Japanese restaurant I frequent in Melbourne.

Not certain, but either way the card was cancelled, a new one re-issued in a few days, and all the fraudulent charges were re-imbursed without any problem.

Cheers
Koykaeng

Ladyboy Lover Joined: 28 Jan 2006 Posts: 46 Points: 73

I have been to Thailand 3 times in the last 2 years.

August 2006 at the back end of a Europe trip and a couple of times last year and each time I had to cancel my card because Thailand is one of the countries that is earmarked where fraudulent activity takes place.

There was nothing on my statement confirming any such activity but each time I was issued a new card.

Going back in March but this time I will only use my travelex card and pay by cash.

I can't be bothered waiting for a new card each time I travel to LOS.

The Dynasty chain is well used by everyone here , so maybe it was a one off problem Confused

I think I will pay cash next time .

The thing that does concern me is an emergency like if I fall off a moped and have to pay a hospital or have to buy an Air ticket like what happened to me in the Phillipines .

Its a National holiday today so I will check with the bank tomorrow.

The biggest joke of all about this is when I just checked my statement online to see if there were any unauthorized transactions I found I was charged twice for the purchase of petrol from my local Garage Confused

, where I have been buying petrol for about 18 years. Shocked

I just talked to the bank , they say my card has been loaded into a Data Base in Thailand so I have changed the card .