Good idea to contact Credit Card company before traveling

That kind of thing happens to me all the time. Most recently, I had Roto Rooter at my house. I gave the guy my Discover card. As he swiped it through the little device on his phone, I got a call simulataneously from Discover. Their computers noticed unusual credit activity. I told them that the Roto Rooter dude was in my house and they let the charge go through. I told the lady at Discover that I would not want to be the man for whome Roto Rooter was USUAL!