Should I notify my bank before traveling?

It is recommended to notify your bank before using a credit or debit card while traveling in order to prevent your bank from assuming that your card is being used fraudulently and shutting it off. By letting your bank know that you will be traveling, they can add a record to your account and share it with their fraud detection system, which can prevent transactions in unfamiliar locations from triggering a block on your card. This is done as a protective measure against identity theft.