It is wise to inform the issuer (Bank) that you are going overseas, including dates and countries you plan to visit. That helps to head off thoughts that the transaction is fraudulent. Other than that and the SMS etc mentioned that some Banks impose, you should be ok. There are always some Merchants that will deny the use of Foreign Cards, either online or over the counter, so always have a backup.
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On my Australian card I have the option of disabling or enabling overseas use on the phone app. So in Australia one card is both ATM withdrawal from savings or Cheque account and is also the Visa Card.
I just recently received my HSBC HK Premier credit card but have not tried to use it yet but it is activated.
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Also, some (?) banks in Taiwan allow you to set a 4-digit PIN for your credit card especially for using it abroad. If you only have a 6-digit or 8-digit PIN set, you might be unable to use the card abroad if you need to enter a PIN!
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true, quite annoying and interesting practice from a technical perspective.
There is no actual restriction on using 6 digit PINs even in jurisdictions where the cards r issued with different PIN lengths or no PIN at all. Those r encrypted either on the card itself or online verified with the scheme.
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I’ve never been able to get those 4/6 digit PINs to work in Australia. No matter which I put in the ATM says it’s wrong, I just stick to EFTPOs transactions
Just remembered eftpos is Australian, using my Taiwanese bank cards on credit card machines
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Wait, so that applies to credit cards too?! 
I knew about it for ATM/debit cards (although I think only Standard Chartered told me explicitly), but I wasn’t aware I’d need to do it for credit cards too. I’m not even sure I know the six-digit PINs for the Mega Bank and Fubon/Costco cards, or if I set them up…
Yeah, sure, always need some backups! Will have multiple cards and cash too. 
That reminds me, are the exchange rates when using Taiwanese credit cards abroad usually reasonable? I remember that BOT rates for ASEAN currencies are quite terrible, but I presume credit cards use the Mastercard or Visa rates? (I know I’d need to check the T&Cs for any loading percentage.)
Did you have to activate roaming for that esim so you can use it abroad?
No it just works abroad, no need to activate roaming AFAIK.
But I usually buy roaming packs (for my first day of arrival) through the CHT app if I am going to a country that I haven’t yet got a sim card for.
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Went to Huanan today to ask, and the results are as follows:
- It was necessary for me to go into the branch to activate the card for overseas use. I had to tell a guy in the credit card department over the phone when I’d be away, and had I not done that I wouldn’t have been able to use the card abroad (this seems surprising to me, but that’s what the clerk said).
- For online transactions, they’ve set it up for me to receive OTPs by e-mail rather than SMS. Hopefully.
- There was some confusion about whether I needed a separate four-digit PIN for use overseas. This might just apply to cash advances, which I don’t intend to do. In any case, the ATMs in the branch wouldn’t let me set a separate PIN, which neither the bank clerk nor the guy on the phone could help with despite their best efforts. Their speculation was that the magnetic strip might be damaged, which would be surprising because I’ve only had the card several months and I’ve only physically inserted it into a machine maybe 5–10 times. I don’t have time to get a replacement card at the moment though, so whatever.
- I’ve wasted another hour of my life in a Taiwanese bank.
Tomorrow, Mega Bank and Fubon. 
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Same with both of these - they said they’d send any OTPs by email instead.
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