You will have to take steps towards this goal months prior to heading overseas and continue to focus on it the entire duration of your trip.
Before you leave, pay off all of your debt. This may require advance planning on your part, but it is important that your balances are all zeroed out and you aren’t trying to play catch up on your bills.
Switch your accounts from paper bills to electronic payments. You will need to regularly monitor your cards and continue to make timely payments, regardless of any paper notifications from the credit card company.
Change your billing address. If possible, send your mail to a reliable individual who can handle your mail for you. You will not need to worry about all of your mail traveling through regular international mail. This lessens the possibility of mail getting lost, particularly important credit card information. It also decreases the opportunity for fraud and identity theft. Discuss with whoever is getting your mail which pieces of mail are important and which aren’t. He can sort through your mail, sending via FedEx any important or timely documents.
If you do not have anyone who can receive your mail for you, then open a U.S. Post Office box. Change your billing address to that of the postal box so that you retain a United States mailing address. Then simply arrange with the PO box provider to forward you mail in bulk regularly. Online monitoring of your credit cards becomes extremely important if you use this option.
While changing your billing address, be sure to notify your credit card company that you will be making purchases overseas. Ask that they make a notation in your records so that your purchases are not seen as suspicious, which can cause a hold to be put on your card.
It may be wise to cancel some of your lines of credit, depending on how many you have. You really only need one U.S. credit card to maintain a good credit rating, although you may choose to keep two. Any more than that is an excess and unnecessary.
Choose wisely which cards to keep and which to cancel. You will want to use your cards while overseas to maintain your credit score. Some cards, however, charge international transaction fees with each purchase made abroad. Read through your credit card paperwork or contact a representative of the company to determine their policy.
If you have a credit card company that absorbs the currency conversion fees charge by Visa and Mastercard, you can continue to use the card in your day-to-day activities, even while overseas. If you do not want to be charged for such fees, you may be able to make online purchases and have them shipped to your U.S. address without incurring fees.
You must keep activity on your credit cards in order to maintain your credit score. A FICO credit score must be updated by the lender within the previous six months. A credit history, even closed accounts, remain on your credit reports for up to ten years. Accounts with negative information are usually deleted within seven years from the delinquency date, while those in good standing may remain on record for the full ten years.
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