loading a halifax clarity card ?
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kipto98
Posts: 4 Newbie
in Credit cards
I have just received my Halifax clarity card as I have an upcoming trip to the USA for three weeks and wish to save on foreign currency fees/atm charges. I believe that I have read somewhere that you cant "load" the card. However, I cannot see anything in the literature that came with the card saying that you cant do it. I know some may say that I could just transfer the money over to the card after spending on it but surely Halifax cannot prevent a payment entering the account from my bank ?
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They cannot prevent it. But they can block the card from being used afterwards. Leaving you trying to get your card unblocked and your money back.
Not what you want an international calling rates. What will you do with no card and them saying 30 days to transfer the money back?Censorship Reigns Supreme in Troll City...0 -
From the terms and conditions you signed/agreed to when you applied for the card:
16.9 You must not make payments or transfer funds from another credit or store card to your account that would leave a credit balance on your account. We may return any funds that exceed the balance owing on your account to the account from which the money has been sent.
I don't mean to be snippy here, but the legal agreement you signed is actually more important than the gumpf you get with the card.
As forgotmyname says, best not to do it. Not least because you've recently agreed not to.0 -
I have just received my Halifax clarity card as I have an upcoming trip to the USA for three weeks and wish to save on foreign currency fees/atm charges. I believe that I have read somewhere that you cant "load" the card. However, I cannot see anything in the literature that came with the card saying that you cant do it. I know some may say that I could just transfer the money over to the card after spending on it but surely Halifax cannot prevent a payment entering the account from my bank ?
Having your account frozen when overseas would be a pain. So for the reasons others have stated, don't do it.
Interest charges are low, especially if you clear the debt quickly. Minimise them further by using the card for purchases wherever possible. Most ATMs charge a withdrawal fee, so don't withdraw small amounts often as you'll incur multiple fees. TD Bank ATMs were free in NYC last October. Hopefully they still are.
Also, have a back-up plan just in case your card fails. Make sure your normal bank card is available for use just in case. Same for all those travelling with you.0 -
If you had a pound for every time this question has been asked on here, you could pay cash for everything on your holiday!:cool:0
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The Halifax are very strict/paranoid about this from a money laundering point of view. If you have even the smallest positive balance on your Clarity card as far as they are concerned you are possibly involved in gun running, but you are more likely an international criminal funding militia - with your Clarity card.
So no, don't do it. Unless you want MI6 on your back.Never argue with an idiot. Especially not this idiot because I'm always right anyway.0 -
My usual practice is to withdraw cash on the card, and then check online to see when the transaction hits the account. Then I make a payment to clear the cash advance.
Note that with this card, monies get applied in the following order
1) Pay off last month's balance (cash advances first, then purchases)
2) Pay off transactions since last statement (cash advances then purchases)
So for me, my usual practice is to withdraw cash as and when I need it, monitor and make the payment.
If I haven't cleared last month's balance, I make a payment equal to last month's balance, plus the cash advance, less the £5 reward.
If I've already cleared last month's balance, I just make an additional payment to cover the cash advance.
My full direct debit for the account balance still goes out regardless.
After my last foreign jaunt, my card was around £9 in credit when the next statement arrived. This has happened more than once in the last 3 years, and I've never had any problems - mainly because the credit balance has never been worse than £200, and the credit balance was reduced within a month by usual spending.
In fact if you have a Rewards card, and spend exactly £300 a month and have a full direct debit, you will always end up £5 in credit after the direct debit has gone out, because additional payments never reduce the direct debit.0 -
In May, I withdrew £1,200 outside the UK, spread over five days. I had online access and, when the last one hit the account, I paid the cash in from my current account. Total interest: £1.
With that kind of deal, it isn't worth messing around with loading the card, though in practice they may well not take any action.0 -
When I went to the states last year I used my clarity just like a debit card, I used it for all transaction literally from a couple of dollars up to several hundred dollars at a time.
I withdrew a bit of cash from a fee free ATM and the interest was next to nothing by time I got home.
The benefits of the card far outweight the problems you will face if Halifax stop your card0 -
..and bear in mind that even if you do play by the rules, they might block it anyway! Happens alot overseas.
So always have backups and don't run yourself out of cash before making the next ATM withdrawal.0
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