Cheap Travel Money Discussion Area

kaspar

jonesjw wrote: »

Has anyone successfully made cash withdrawals with a Halifax Clarity AND THEN PAID THE BALANCE OFF WITHIN A FEW DAYS & ONLY BEEN CHARGED A FEW DAYS INTEREST ? (Rather than a whole month's interest?) I know this should be possible in theory, but has anyone done it & proved there are no problems.

I would also like to know this!

I want to find the cheapest way of withdrawing cash from ATMs in South East Asia. Currently I have Halifax clarity credit card and Reward Account debit card.

Many thanks.

mike_knott31

does anyone know if you can pre load the halifax clarity card. for arguments sake could i put £1500 on the card to effectively make me in credit then take the money out af an ATM abroard to avoid the interest.

adindas

It is against their T&C. Halifax say they might return it.
I have tried just one with my Santander Zero but just less than £500.00 at that time, no problem.

But I am aware that by doing this I am taking a risk that my a/c is geeting blocked. So people could try it as long as they are aware about the risk.

ADINDAS

mike_knott31 wrote: »

does anyone know if you can pre load the halifax clarity card. for arguments sake could i put £1500 on the card to effectively make me in credit then take the money out af an ATM abroard to avoid the interest.

murphydavid

Using Halifax Clarity I went to an ATM in Switzerland for cash. What I remeber of the last screen said in smallish writing something to the effect. ???? offer you an exchange rate of 1.4???
then a big gap
then by the buttons how do you want us to charge this transaction to your account
For British Pounds press here ..
For Swiss Francs press here..
Without being pre-warned and being in a hurry I ignored the exchange rate bit and thought my account is British Pounds and hit that button.
That cost me an extra 5% because it meant I accepted that the Swiss bank would do the money exchange and not the Halifax. Its obvious now but it caught me.
You must hit the Swiss Francs (foriegn) option to get the benifit of the Halifax card.
What will they do next?

John_Pierpoint

It is called Dynamic Currency Conversion and has been growing for about 5 years now.
Beware of it being used in shops and restaurants too.
When I was in the Le Clerk (sp?) chain of French supermarkets it happened to me.
I said to the cashier "you are meant to offer me the choice".
She said, shrugging her shoulders in that Gallic way, "the machine makes the choice for you".
I now get out cash from the local bank/post office ATM and take delight in holding up the Q checking my change, especially at the filling station.
Nationwide (used to?) offer a card saying "I want to pay in local currency" in several languages.

John.

PS I've just done an advanced search for Dynamic Currency Conversion and found several threads condemning the practice, with special brick bats for Ryan air.

jonesjw

adindas wrote: »

1. Yes I have done that with Santander Zero. I have Halifax Clarity Card but have not tried it this way.
2. I am in the same boat with you. I got 12.9 APR and £4800. Credit limits.
Hope this will clear your doubt
ADINDAS

Thank you, that's good to know.
For now, I shall probably stick with the Halifax Clarity card, so has anyone tried quick repayments on this?

ryansk

Hi,

I am travelling for a year to Asia, OZ & NZ and S. America.

I have bought the FairFX Anywhere card and also been approved for the Halifax Clarity card at 20.9% APR

I will generally be withdrawing smaller amounts from ATM's and paying the occasional hostel, adventure activities for larger amounts throughout the trip. (I don't want to carry large sums of cash on me)

So which would be the best as my primary option, The FairFX or the Clarity card paid off in full each month at the 20.9% rate.

I am not sure if the Clarity is still top on the higher apr?

Any help would be more than welcome!

Thanks,
Ryan

safari99

The Santander Zero card offers 0% surcharges abroad ..... but my experience has been that they seem to make up for that by using a lower exchange rate.

CountryGoose

ryansk wrote: »

Hi,

I am travelling for a year to Asia, OZ & NZ and S. America.

I have bought the FairFX Anywhere card and also been approved for the Halifax Clarity card at 20.9% APR

I will generally be withdrawing smaller amounts from ATM's and paying the occasional hostel, adventure activities for larger amounts throughout the trip. (I don't want to carry large sums of cash on me)

So which would be the best as my primary option, The FairFX or the Clarity card paid off in full each month at the 20.9% rate.

I am not sure if the Clarity is still top on the higher apr?

Any help would be more than welcome!

Thanks,
Ryan

The monthly rate for a 20.9% APR is 1.59%. The actual interest will depend on when you draw the cash and when the loan is "repaid". I'd say you'd be about the same fee as the FairFX, without the need to load and with the benefit of it being the bank's money you spend, not yours. (In case of problems, they need to get money from you, not the other way around).

I would keep the FairFX with at least £100 on it for emergencies - tucked well away from everything else. If you have problems with the Clarity you then have a source of funds and you can load more and be spending again in a jiffy.

hvaghela

Hi with the new charges on using the Nationwide Debit Card abroad, I'm in the market for a new card to spend my money on vacation. The Halifax Clarity credit card comes out tops for me...but hold on I have a Halifax Rewards current account...therefore the Halifax REWARDS Clarity credit card (£5 for a £300 spend) seems even better!!!!

Am I missing something or is the only difference between the Rewards Clarity card and the Clarity card is the extra £5 (for me) for those who have a Halifax Rewards current account?