Sometimes, it's good, sometimes they are too strict. I actually forgot about one time about six or seven years ago my debit card was cut off when I was out of town (only a four hour drive away) because they thought it was compromised... They didn't even call, so that was annoying. I was actually back up in the same spot (same gas station even) this last weekend and had no problems at all with it.
I am alwayd sure to call Visa/MC from now on whenever I am going anywhere more than a few hours out of town. I used both card in Europe a couple summers ago without issue. Although, I only used my Visa once, with Trafalgar's office to pay for day trips, and the Kenya thing happened three weeks later, which is suspicious to me. I had had that same card number for probably five or six years before that. Oh well.
