Don't lose a Citibank ATM card overseas

Momofadult
Thu, 07 Apr 2016 15:09:24 +0000

It turns out out I had not really lost my Citi ATM, it was lost only in a hidden pocket I forgot about. But, I didn’t know it wasn’t really lost/stolen until 6 days after the “disappearance”. When I couldn’t locate it, I decided to be prudent and call (actually Skype) from Asia to immediately cancel the card. Fine. No problem canceling the card, but getting another was a different story. Although there are major Citi banks in the countries where I was, the soonest a new card could be delivered was 8 - 10 business days. No help. There is a procedure for getting emergency cash, but I travel with some foreign currency purchased in the US before departure, so I didn’t explore that. Between the cash I was carrying and credit cards (which I did not need to use for a cash advance), I ended up fine. A bit nervous though as I had anticipated using the ATM for additional reserves.

A replacement card was to be sent to my home - 3 days after the expected delivery, it is not here. Hubby has been home to receive mail - I know nothing has been missed. So, I am still locked out of on-line banking, ATM usage and, possibly, teller access. I am not going to try and find out about that - Hubby will do our banking for the near future.

I’d always assumed that with all the proper IDs, passcodes, and worldwide technology, losing an ATM would not be an insurmountable challenge to recover from quickly. How naive of me. Makes me very glad I also carry cash and multiple credit cards, but does concern me - what if my purse had been stolen and multiple cards taken? I do carry cards in different places and sometimes leave a card in the hotel safe, but I realize now that recovering any one of those I expect to use may not be quickly resolved. I have asked in the past and been told that Citi will not issue multiple ATMs for the same account. So, carrying multiple ATMs in different places seems to be a non-starter.

Anyone out there with a similar experience or other back-up plans? It doesn’t help that I frequently travel alone - when Hubby is along, we carry different cards.