Halifax Clarity

If you use your Halifax Clarity card to withdraw cash you should be aware that there is no interest free period. I used mine last year to withdraw cash while in Greece and ended up paying around £11 interest. This card is still a great deal but I now get whatever cash I think I will need using the best deal I can find using the MSE TravelMoney finder tool. Alternatively you could put cash on a prepaid card ( I use Moneycorp!!!8217;s Explorer) but then you may get hit with ATM fees

nickw56 wrote: »

If you use your Halifax Clarity card to withdraw cash you should be aware that there is no interest free period. I used mine last year to withdraw cash while in Greece and ended up paying around £11 interest. This card is still a great deal but I now get whatever cash I think I will need using the best deal I can find using the MSE TravelMoney finder tool. Alternatively you could put cash on a prepaid card ( I use Moneycorp!!!8217;s Explorer) but then you may get hit with ATM fees

You can avoid most of the interest by paying it off asap. I never pay more than a few £, usually pence. Don't wait for the statement, don't use a DD. Changing cash or using a pre-paid card which has charges or markups the rate will likely cost you far more.

if you draw cash on the Halifax Clarity card does it affect your credit file.

If you mean using it for holidays a few times of year then anecdotally no, but of course it's situation dependent. If you have defaults and CCJs then it's probably a negative, but on a well managed account then travel money should not be an issue.

also is it better to draw money out from an ATM in Tenerife or get Euros before going

With a few caveats ATM is cheaper but be aware
1) take a back up card just in case clarity doesn't work.
2) be aware of daily limits especially if you have to pay your accom up front.
3) Be aware that ATMs at the airport don't always work, so you might want to take a little cash so that at least you can get a drink of water and have a backup plan, especially if where you are staying is remote. Taking sterling is one BACKUP PLAN.
4) IMPORTANT - Make sure you do NOT accept conversion. Take it in foreign curreny (this usually means declining conversion by the ATM bank so it's usually a NO) and let halifax convert at 0%. Converting at the ATM can cost as much as 10% !!!! (Also make sure you don't get converted bills in restaurants and shops as it's ALWAYS more expensive than Halifax - insist on LOCAL currency).

Affect your credit file in what way?

Garry - mine (call credit) shows number of cash advances and value of cash advances so the information is recorded. In theory a lender could interpret cash as being deperate but clearly it needs to be taken in context with other information. Anecdotally people with generally good credit files don't have an issue with taking travel money from ATMs, but it COULD be a sign of distress on a bad credit file.

I agree you can pay off the cash withdrawal immediately but that's an extra bit of hassle I could do without when I am on holiday. If travelling in a country where cash is frequently required the interest charges quickly mount up.

I wanted to point this out because although the Clarity card is a great deal the fact that there is no interest free period on cash withdrawals is something that I suspect most users may have missed. Another issue is that there is no way to see what the actual conversation rate is until the statement is available. It's just not quite as perfect as MSE seems to suggest.

nickw56 wrote: »

I agree you can pay off the cash withdrawal immediately but that's an extra bit of hassle I could do without when I am on holiday. If travelling in a country where cash is frequently required the interest charges quickly mount up.

I wanted to point this out because although the Clarity card is a great deal the fact that there is no interest free period on cash withdrawals is something that I suspect most users may have missed. Another issue is that there is no way to see what the actual conversation rate is until the statement is available. It's just not quite as perfect as MSE seems to suggest.

[FONT=&quot]
So are you expecting to get interest free period on cash withdrawal with creditcard ??
Have you ever seen a credit card works like that ? They might do that just during promotional activity but not for regular use.

Let say you have 10 credit card (say) so you will have the opportunity to take £3000 with minimum one month interest free period ??

Also if they are doing that it is just matter before they are going into administration as they will not make money at all. They even make a loss. If it is for purchase they get at least a tiny percentage from the merchant.

If you do not want to pay interest or you do not want hassle to pay it asap to avoid interest then get specialist debit card. You could also try Starling, Monzo, revolut, loot.[/FONT]