Before my husband went back home to Cairo, we both went to Chase and told them he would be debiting from our mutual account. The woman at the bank dutifully entered a note into the system, detailing the length of stay, the city etc..Much to my husband's surprise, JP Morgan Chase still would not allow him to take money from the account in certain (and unexplainable) circumstances. This got to be quite a headache.
Then on my husband's return home, his baggage was slightly over the limit for weight so he had to pay the equivalent of $40 at the airport. Later that night a representative from Chase called my home and asked if I was the primary on the account. He started to advise me foreign transactions were being made against my account. I explained to him my husband made those transactions, and I referenced the note in their system.
He said, on debits my husband could transact what ever he wished. On credit, we had no note referenced in that part of the account. Therefore, all the credit card transactions were automatically denied.
He also stated that chase uses only specific teller machines with the logo of "cirrus" would permit transactions because they are more secure teller machines than others.
Anyway, I told the man to let my husband take whatever money he needed. The representative set the account open to foreign transactions for the next 24 hours, and my husband came safely home.