Makes you wonder if one day you'll have to notify your CC company or bank any time you might be traveling anywhere outside your state. Heck they say they do it to reduce fraud, so it makes sense on their end as long as us customers will take it. When enough people talk with their wallet about all these rules and regs then they might change their practices.
Depending on the financial institution and where you live/travel, you may already have to notify them.
While it's possible that there are other reasons for monitoring your activity, fraud is the primary concern. They have to walk a fine line between convenience and fraud protection in an attempt for higher profits.