Do I have to set a Capital One travel notification?

No, you don’t have to set a Capital One travel notification, which is also known as a travel alert. Capital One discontinued its travel notifications in 2016. That’s not the only way Capital One makes travel easy. You also avoid foreign transaction fees because none of Capital One’s cards charge them.

Here’s what you need instead of a Capital One travel notification:

• Customer service info: Keep the Capital One customer service information handy, in case your card is lost or stolen and you need to contact them.
• Card number or Social Security Number: Enter your card number when you call to speak to a representative. If your card is lost or stolen, enter your Social Security Number instead.

A travel notice tells a bank that the cardholder will be away from home during a given time period. That way, charges made from places you don’t normally visit won’t trigger the fraud prevention system and cause the bank to freeze the card. Like many issuers, Capital One uses EMV chip-and-signature technology. But unlike most of them, Capital One believes chip technology has made travel notices obsolete.

Each time you make a payment with a chip card, the chip creates a unique code for the transaction that can only be used one time. That prevents account information from being stolen at the point of sale. And that’s why there’s no longer the need for a Capital One travel notice.

But chip-and-signature technology doesn’t help you if someone steals your physical card. And it’s always good to be prepared. So, it’s important to know the numbers to call if you run into any problems using your card while traveling. For instance, if your card gets stolen, you can call to have it frozen and get an emergency replacement card overnighted to you. You can also get a cash advance by wire transfer in that situation.

You can't do it anymore. In rare cases, your card may be blocked for suspicious activity when you're abroad, so have the customer service number at hand. Happy traveling!

I don't think it's a requirement, but it's not something you should forget about. If you let them know ahead of schedule, you'll be fully covered in case of fraud, and you won't find your card randomly blocked.