US credit cards

If I can be slightly off topic your possible off topic topic.....

What do people do about US credit cards? I know our cards expire every two years and the bank mails new ones, which then have to be activated through an 800 phone number--and toll free numbers do not work outside of the US. How do you deal with this problem?

And how about credit card payments on US cards? What is the best way to deal with that?

I've been pondering these problems for a while and never reached a solution. Expats, how do you handle your US credit and debit card issues from Ecuador?

(P.S. I do not, NOT, trust online banking. Too many security holes.)

Good idea, lets see what developes

gardener1 wrote:

What do people do about US credit cards? I know our cards expire every two years and the bank mails new ones, which then have to be activated through an 800 phone number--and toll free numbers do not work outside of the US. How do you deal with this problem?

Do you have a trustworthy family member in the US? If this were an issue for me (I just got a new card, good through 11/16) I would ask my sister to call the activation number for me.

Regarding payments, if you don't want to pay online, I'm not sure what to suggest.

Am told by some expats that EC in general is a "cash" economy. They keep their US bank accounts and get cash with debit cards at ATM machines. Do you think Ecuador would be a target for credit card hackers. Do a lot of really wealthy people retire in Ecuador?

suefrankdahl wrote:

Am told by some expats that EC in general is a "cash" economy. They keep their US bank accounts and get cash with debit cards at ATM machines. Do you think Ecuador would be a target for credit card hackers. Do a lot of really wealthy people retire in Ecuador?

What I did in the Philippines (which is also a cash economy) and plan to do in Ecuador is to keep my money primarily in a US bank (Citibank, in my case), open a second account in a local bank, and transfer a couple thousand at a time (by online transfer) from Citi to the local bank. Then I'll use the local bank's ATM to get cash and operate on a cash basis.

I think there are risks in almost any approach. There are credit card hackers, but there are hackers of ATMs as well.

suefrankdahl wrote:

Am told by some expats that EC in general is a "cash" economy. They keep their US bank accounts and get cash with debit cards at ATM machines. Do you think Ecuador would be a target for credit card hackers. Do a lot of really wealthy people retire in Ecuador

Online financial transactions are really quite risky.

We've had TWO credit cards cancelled and replaced -this year- because of security intrusions on the other end. One of them was Bank of America, the other was an online vendor who was hacked.

Then there are malware programs like keystroke loggers which are fairly easily installed on the unwitting home computer.

I never use my credit card in foreign countries except for purchase of airline tickets, I pay cash for EVERYTHING.

Hell, I don't use plastic anymore in America either unless the vendor requires it (think accommodations, car rental, etc.) I believe the entire online financial system is extremely vulnerable to fraud, aka Bob's original post about Target.

Now, back to my questions about juggling finances, credit/debit card authorizations and renewals, and US banking while living in a foreign country several thousands of miles away from your money and accounts.

I personally always use plastic when in a foreign country as much as I can or as the merchant allows. I also withdraw cash but I wait for the exchange rate to make it worth my while. I actually use a pre-paid AMEX card (Bluebird) which has NO foreign transaction fees In addition only $2 ATM fee. Most banks in Brazil do not charge a fee for withdraws, probably because they are just so stupid they forgot. In any event, I realize Ecuador uses the US Dollar so the exchange rate never fluctuates, but if you leave for another country maybe this can help.

PS - Do not do International Wire Transfers (SWIFT). It is overpriced. You might also get big brother watching you as well. Western Union is good, but make sure you use a VPN or something before you use a credit card online to send the money - otherwise the transaction will reject. OR, just withdraw from ATM machines from your US bank account which I have found to be the cheapest and safest.

usmc_mv wrote:

Do not do International Wire Transfers (SWIFT). It is overpriced. You might also get big brother watching you as well.

Citibank charges $30 per transfer, which seems OK to me -- I usually transfer enough to get by for a couple months to hold the costs down. As for Big Brother, I figure he already knows everything about me worth knowing.

Since this topic started by being off-topic, I'll take the risk of taking it further off by wishing all -- moderators, expats, expats-to-be, and expats-in-abeyance (that's me), a very Merry Christmas.

BobH wrote:

Since this topic started by being off-topic, I'll take the risk of taking it further off by wishing by wishing all -- moderators, expats, expats-to-be, and expats-in-abeyance (that's me), a very Merry Christmas.

And a Merry Christmas to you, Bob, and your Bears of Chicago, hope they pack in Green Bay.

usmc_mv wrote:

I actually use a pre-paid AMEX card (Bluebird) which has NO foreign transaction fees In addition only $2 ATM fee. .

An Ecuador expert from International Living claims Capital One also has no foreign transactions fees and is her favorite.

I incur no transaction fees at all on a Visa  debit card issued by a Credit Union in the US. Accepted everywhere here. Nor from my Wells Fargo account in the US.

I get a 1% transaction fee on the rare occasions I use my Citi debit card for purchases overseas. An annoyance, but not much more for most transactions. But I mostly go with cash anyway -- much simpler. I don't think I used the debit card more than a couple times for anything other than travel-related online purchases (plane/ferry tickets, hotels) during the year+ I was in the Philippines.

I use mine as my main form  of currency. I usually make a cash with drawl weekly for walk around cash, and use my debit at stores larger stores like Supermaxi.

I know from having to renew over here in Japan, most banks offer the option instead of calling the 800 number to log in to your online account and activate it, also most banks offer a phone number to call when outside of the us for activation as well

alezandrie wrote:

I know from having to renew over here in Japan, most banks offer the option instead of calling the 800 number to log in to your online account and activate it, also most banks offer a phone number to call when outside of the us for activation as well

Thanks for that reply.

But how do you get your new credit cards? Do they send them in the mail to your address in Japan?

Will the card issuer re-new the credit card account indefinitely for overseas Americans?

we have them sent thru the mail. I have never had any issue with the banks renewing cards no matter what country we were in or for how long. As for continuing to continue getting new cards for your account I cant see why they would not as long as you keep your account open with them. I know that some banks offer you the ability to pick up your new card at one of their branch locations if you set it up with them ahead of time, that way if you are worried about the mail you can just go to the states to pick it up.

I hadn't given any thought to getting a new card, because it has not been an issue for me while out of country. I wonder, if you have your card with a US bank with branches in Ecuador (e.g., Citibank), if you could pick up a new card at their Quito branch.

Alternative would be, if your card is nearing expiration, to request a replacement card during a visit to the States. I had to replace a card last month because it had been lost, and they gave me a new one with an expiration in three years.