Cheap Travel Money Discussion Area

Mean_Gary

Hello, thank you for the article.

I am going to Malta in November so my Nationwide Debit Card will no longer be competitive. I have recently recived a Halifax Clarity Card to do my spending/withdrawals, however I will be charged interest on cash withdrawals even though I repay the balance in full - which I accept. However this week I have discovered the pre-paid cards.

I cannot pre-load the Halifax credit card to avoid the interest charge (question of the week to Martin recently) but I can pre-load Caxton Fx card, so is there a reason that I should not use Caxton FX for my trip to Malta?

I am not planning to buy anything over £100 and although the exchange rate may be worse with Caxton I would guess that the lower rate still works out better than the interest (12.9%) charged by Halifax?

Any thoughts please?

Thank you

Gary

iblametheparents

Mean_Gary wrote: »

Hello, thank you for the article.

I am going to Malta in November so my Nationwide Debit Card will no longer be competitive. I have recently recived a Halifax Clarity Card to do my spending/withdrawals, however I will be charged interest on cash withdrawals even though I repay the balance in full - which I accept. However this week I have discovered the pre-paid cards.

I cannot pre-load the Halifax credit card to avoid the interest charge (question of the week to Martin recently) but I can pre-load Caxton Fx card, so is there a reason that I should not use Caxton FX for my trip to Malta?

I am not planning to buy anything over £100 and although the exchange rate may be worse with Caxton I would guess that the lower rate still works out better than the interest (12.9%) charged by Halifax?

Any thoughts please?

Thank you

Gary

If you want to use a prepaid card then get a FairFX Anywhere card.

adindas

Dear cambb;37294000
Yes from the day you withdraw the money

ADINDAS

cambb wrote: »

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?

iblametheparents

Over paying is breaking the terms and conditions of the card, they're very likely going to send your money back to you.

esther1979

We are taking a 4 month trip to NZ and Australia starting early December. We are trying to find out the most cost effective way of managing our money. I have been looking up prepaid cards, using credit cards etc etc and am now confused. Has anyone been on a similar trip and what did they find worked best/didn't work at all? Heather

John_Pierpoint

When our kids were on gap years, it was mum and dad's job to monitor the Nation wide credit card account on-line and transfer money to keep it close to zero at all times.

Presumably, in this interweb environment you could do that yourself from down under using (say) a "Clarity" card for most of your expenditure.

Highland_Lass_2

I applied by telephone for the Clarity card and to cut a long story short, I couldn't sign the application in the local branch. Now I've not got time to apply again as I need it for the 16th at the latest. I've got some euros to take with me but now don't know what to take. Should I get euro or sterling travellers cheques or what is better. My debit card is a Halifax one which I understand is one of the worst. Many thanks in advance for help. I've tried looking for myself but have come stuck.

CountryGoose

Highland_Lass wrote: »

I applied by telephone for the Clarity card and to cut a long story short, I couldn't sign the application in the local branch. Now I've not got time to apply again as I need it for the 16th at the latest. I've got some euros to take with me but now don't know what to take. Should I get euro or sterling travellers cheques or what is better. My debit card is a Halifax one which I understand is one of the worst. Many thanks in advance for help. I've tried looking for myself but have come stuck.

Travelex Cash Passport Globe - no loading, 1.49% commission on spend and cash (no ATM fees) and you can collect it from most airports on the way out. Pre-order from Travelex (safer than Crown), or just pay at the airport.

Check your airport has a Travelex Branch most do, but they've fallen out with Manchester.

johnthescottish

How do you think the Sainsburys Gold Card compares to the Halifax Clarity Card for frequent travellers who withdraw cash outwith the EU? Thanks. John.

CountryGoose

Inside or outside the EU it's the same.

The annual fee is £60, and it does include some travel insurance.

If you place a notional value of £30 on the travel insurance, you still have to take over £3000 from ATMs to beat the Clarity Card.

The Nectar points on any spend may also be a +ve for some.