Spring Travel Security: Protect Your Finances on Vacation
Spring travel should be about boarding passes, beach towels, and maybe one slightly overambitious sightseeing plan, not fraud alerts and missing cards. A little preparation can go a long way, especially when your phone and wallet are doing more work than your suitcase. Members can manage cards, set alerts, and monitor accounts through My First New York, our free digital banking platform.
1. Set your travel alert before you leave
One of the simplest ways to improve travel banking security is to let your financial institution know you’ll be away. We make that easy: in My First New York, members can add travel alerts under My Tools > Card Management, along with setting and managing alerts or applying a temporary block to a card.
Unusual spending patterns, especially purchases made in new locations, can trigger fraud monitoring. Pairing a travel alert with purchase notifications gives you even more visibility. First New York’s Visa® Purchase Alerts allows you to receive text or email notifications for purchases above a certain amount, online or phone purchases, and international transactions.
2. Use First New York’s card controls to keep watch while you travel
Vacation is not the time to discover your card has been used somewhere you’ve never been. First New York’s card controls let members get notified of purchases in real time, and if a purchase seems suspicious, members are able to temporarily freeze their card or disable it completely in My First New York under My Tools > Card Management to prevent further fraud.
Another smart move is to save our official contact information before you leave in case of emergencies. Our contact numbers for Visa Debit and Credit Card Controls are:
- Inside the U.S.
- During normal business hours: (518) 393-1326
- After normal business hours: 1-866-652-7169
- Outside of the U.S.
- During normal business hours: (518) 393-1326
- After normal business hours: 727-299-2449
If possible, please have your Visa Card Number available when placing the call. Normal business hours are Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. EST and Saturday from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. EST.
3. Consider using a digital wallet instead of carrying every card
Packing lighter can also be safer. Members can add their Visa debit and credit cards to a digital wallet, which offers private, secure transactions because you are not sharing all of your card information with merchants. Using a digital wallet also means you do not have to carry your wallet everywhere, which can reduce the risk of theft or forgotten cards. Learn more and set up your digital wallet using our guide.
For account security, it is also worth enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA) in My First New York. MFA adds an extra layer of protection so if one credential is compromised, an unauthorized user would still need the second authentication factor to access the account. Turn on MFA in My First New York under Settings > Security > Two-Factor Authentication.
4. Be careful on public Wi‑Fi
Using hotel, airport, or café Wi‑Fi may be convenient, but it is not always safe for financial activity. Travelers should use their mobile device’s cellular data instead of unsecured public Wi‑Fi if they need to check a bank balance or make an online purchase. Be wary of connecting devices to charging stations or computers you do not control.
The FTC offers similar guidance: if you do use Wi‑Fi, only log in or send personal information on sites that are fully encrypted, look for https and the lock icon throughout the session, log out when you are done, and avoid reusing the same password across multiple accounts. A simple rule of thumb: browsing restaurant menus on public Wi‑Fi is one thing; logging into financial accounts on it is another. Consider the information you may be exposing before connecting to public Wi-Fi.
5. If your card is lost, act fast
If a card goes missing on a trip, speed matters. Members can report lost, stolen, or damaged cards in My First New York and deactivate them immediately.
If you are traveling, it is also smart to keep a backup payment method separate from your primary wallet, just in case one card is blocked or needs replacement. The goal is not to panic; it is quick action and fewer vacation-crashing surprises.
Travel smarter this spring
Good travel banking security is really about a few habits done early: set your travel alert, turn on purchase notifications, use card controls, avoid sensitive logins on public Wi‑Fi, and know exactly what to do if a card disappears.
First New York offers tools that can help you secure cards on vacation and monitor activity from anywhere through the mobile app. Before your next trip, set a travel alert in My First New York and review your card alerts under My Tools > Card Management to minimize risk and maximize relaxation.