Rising number of travellers' credit cards cancelled abroad, says expert

Category: Credit cards
Date: 10/6/2008 1:46:48 PM

Brits planning to travel the world have been warned that credit cards are increasingly being cancelled abroad.

According to an expert, backpackers have found that they cannot use their cards abroad, despite in some cases informing companies of their intention to travel.

"This is because the computer sees a card that hasn't been used much in the UK suddenly being nailed in Ecuador or Fiji. It just looks like fraud so the card's been stopped," said Tom Griffiths, founder of gapyear.com.

He blamed this on the fact that credit card companies "don't recognise 'backpackers' as a term", adding that many are now choosing to use pre-paid cards.

Recent research by American Express found that 16 per cent of gap year travellers believe the best place to store money to be their jeans pocket.

The company suggested that this could lead to problems, advising that a combination of cash, credit cards and travellers cheques should be used in order to reduce risk.