Cheap Travel Money Discussion Area

CountryGoose

iblametheparents wrote: »

Hi

(S)he means that the better cards, eg the Halifax Clarity and FairFX Anywhere cards are the closest cards to the market rate on xe.com

dipsy81 wrote: »

Thank you iblametheparents

So that means, to open a card account with the relevant companies, eg, Halifax, then take money out when needed in Tenerife?

Lynda

He did mean exactly that: The cheapest and safest way to get cash is usually to take it from an ATM outside of the UK. You need to be sure that there will be a working ATM where you are - not normally a problem in large resorts.

Also - you should be spending all you can on the card. For any cash you take from an ATM you will incur a cost - be it a % commission (FairFX) or interest (Halifax Clarity).

xe.com will give you current live rates - this is technically the best rate that can be had. Tourist rates at exchange booths and hotels are much lower (which is how they make their profits).

By using a card the exchange rate is very close to the ideal rate. Mastercard and Visa do not add much to the rate, as they already take a % off all transactions from the merchant and they deal in massive amounts of currency each day.

It is down to the individual card operators to set their own fees (and profit margins). The Halifax Clarity Credit Card does not charge any additional fees for foreign use nor for taking cash at an ATM. You do pay interest on any cash taken until you pay the bill, but as the usual interest rate is 12.9%, this is less than the loading on most other cards.

An alternative to the Halifax is the FairFX prepay card. Get the sterling card and load it with money from your current account. Use this card to spend or withdraw cash and you'll be charged 1.5% commission for the pleasure. However, you should get close to an ideal rate and better than you would get by converting your £ to €.

For me the Clarity card just makes sense - easy to use, no worry about loading, no real fraud liability*, just pay up each month and allow Halifax a small profit on the interest for providing me a service.

*You may get your cash back from a pre-pay card that's skimmed and emptied, but you have to fight to get your money back. With a credit card you haven't paid upfront and the bank will be looking to get money from you -which you don't have to hand over!


>>> Edited to Add:

Beware of the evil DCC (Dynamic Currency Conversion) when you use your card abroad. with this "service" you may be invited to pay in £, or offered a £ rate at the ATM. The rate offered in invariably worse than that on a "good" card and you should reject any offers - even voiding a transaction on a credit card machine and demanding to pay in local currency.

iblametheparents

It all depends too on whether you are accepted for a Clarity, and if you are what APR the card is, someone posted they received an APR of 19.9% I believe.

dipsy81

May i say a big Thank You to you both, you have been very helpful to me. We will look into it tomorrow or Friday.

Lynda

Chippy

iblametheparents wrote: »

Both Sterling cards use the Mastercard interbank rate, however Caxton takes 2.5% off this and FairFX only takes 1.5% - the FairFX Anywhere card doesn't have any ATM charges.

Thanks...I think I have finally grasped it! I was getting confused over the ATM charge on the dollar/euro cards and the 1.5% charge on the Sterling card. It's all ordered and loaded up- just hope its delivered in time as she's off in 2 weeks:(

BTW Her Halifax Clarity was approved at 17.9% so it's very close to the FairFx on charges, but at least she will have a couple of options.

Thanks for all your help!

CountryGoose

Chippy wrote: »

BTW Her Halifax Clarity was approved at 17.9% so it's very close to the FairFx on charges, but at least she will have a couple of options.

The monthly rate on 17.9% APR is 1.38%, so potentially better than FairFX with no loading issues and actual interest may be less, when cash is taken closer to the statement date.

Not sure if the card is there yet - it took two weeks for mine to turn up after sending back the agreement.

iblametheparents

Chippy wrote: »

It's all ordered and loaded up- just hope its delivered in time as she's off in 2 weeks:(

Thanks for all your help!

You're welcome! Is it the FairFX card you've ordered? Mine only took 4 days to come through in August. You don't have to wait for a PIN to come through, you just ring a number to activate the card and it tells you it over the phone.

dekkard

ryansk wrote: »

Hi,

I am going round the world on a career break to S.E Asia, OZ / NZ and S.America for a year.

Just needed some final advice on the best method of taking funds.... I have trawled the forum and read the travel money section on MSE.com

To me it seems for withdrawls at atm's and purchases in shops abroad the best way forward is the Halifax clarity card at 12.9% APR paid off in full each moth.

It would also be wise to have the FairFX anywhere (£) as backup which can also be used for making withdrawls at the ATM considering there are no extra charges.....

If I should not get a clarity card at 12.9% are there any alternatives like the sainsbury's gold card or would it simply be better to have 2 fair fx cards (in case one gets lost)

Thanks for any help....

I'm also off overseas for a year - to work in Japan.

I recently got the Halifax Clarity card with an APR of 21.9%. One thing to remember about cash withdrawals on this card is that, although they start charging interest straight away, you can pay off the balance on the card immediately if you want to. You don't need to wait for your monthly, balance-clearing direct debit to come around. That way, you'll minimise (or possibly avoid altogether) the interest charges.

dekkard

Does anyone know what charges apply when paying for foreign currency in the UK using the Halifax Clarity card? Is the transaction treated as if it were a cash withdrawal from an overseas ATM?

I know it sounds daft to buy currency with this particular card but I want the reassurance of having a little bit of cash on me when I go away.

Cheers.

cambb

If i were to get a Halifax clarity card and pay say £1000 over payment would i then still be charged interest for cash withdraws in the states?

CountryGoose

dekkard wrote: »

Does anyone know what charges apply when paying for foreign currency in the UK using the Halifax Clarity card? Is the transaction treated as if it were a cash withdrawal from an overseas ATM?

I know it sounds daft to buy currency with this particular card but I want the reassurance of having a little bit of cash on me when I go away.

Cheers.

Do not do this! It will be charged as a cash advance and you will pay interest from the outset.

I understand the desire to have some cash when you land - I have yet to find a European airport that does not have an ATM. Also, there will always be a money changer at the Airport, so if you a really stuck, you can change cash at their !!!! rates.

If you must take some cash - see first if friends or family have some spare to sell. Otherwise, look for one of the best deals on this site and buy some (preferably) in person. Make sure your debit card will not charge a fee to buy currency or, to be sure, simply get the cash to change from an ATM then hand it over at the exchange desk.