Help! Trying to book Eurostar tickets

Have you told your card issuer that you are making a foreign purchase? If not it is likely it will be blocked.

I recently forgot to tell my bank before attempting to use my credit card to purchase a ticket on an international website. The bank's fraud protection software blocked the transaction AND put a block on my card. I called and they straightened it out immediately after I explained what I was trying to do. They even offered to stay on the phone with me while I tried again to do the transaction.

OMG, Nigel! I thought I had already done that when I got my verified by Visa password but I just called them again and Halleluiah! Thanks so much, tickets are booked, yippee!!!!

A note of caution -- some credit cards will only allow foreign purchases for a period of 60 days. If you start buying museum tickets, rail passes, or prepay lodging with your credit card now, then a few months later actually travel, your card may again be blocked. I learned this the hard way and of course they called our home phone to verify... when we were in London. Marvelous..... I invariably have this problem with Visa and never with a Mastercard. Anyway, make sure you refresh their memory via email AND phone, just prior to your trip. We had a blocked Visa card on three consecutive trips before someone bothered to tell us the foreign transactions notifications expired, even though they had the dates of our trips. Explaining to the Maitre d' at the Ritz in London after high tea that you actually had cash and did not have to wash the dishes to settle the bill of fare was a bit unpleasant, thanks to a blocked card.

Thanks George, I will keep that in mind. It's always good to check then doublecheck!