Cheap Travel Money Discussion Area

bingobangobongo

Ok my savings is currently earning 2.5% so if santander is the same I will move it.

I will check out the clarity card also!

John_Pierpoint

Watch out for the rate of interest Halifax offer you.
My wife who banks with Halifax and has a rock solid credit history has been given the sub-prime "Clarity" rate of about 22% not 12%.
[Perhaps they are getting in line with the European standardisation: "As long as you give 50% of the applicants the advertised rate, that is OK then".]

System

We have previously used our Nationwide flexaccount debit card when holidaying in the US but this year are considering the Halifax Clarity Card. We have a Nationwide credit card too.

I don't fully understand the Halifax 12% charge for withdrawing cash abroad .
Can someone tell me if that is charged even if it paid off in full and if so would we be better loading the card with money before setting off on holiday?

I forgot to add - the credit card we have is in my name but DH will be the driver when we go abroad. So can anoyone tell me if car hire companies require the driver to have a credit card in their own name when collecting the car?

John_Pierpoint

Pam17 wrote: »

We have previously used our Nationwide flexaccount debit card when holidaying in the US but this year are considering the Halifax Clarity Card. We have a Nationwide credit card too.

I don't fully understand the Halifax 12% charge for withdrawing cash abroad .
Can someone tell me if that is charged even if it paid off in full and if so would we be better loading the card with money before setting off on holiday?

I forgot to add - the credit card we have is in my name but DH will be the driver when we go abroad. So can anoyone tell me if car hire companies require the driver to have a credit card in their own name when collecting the car?

With "Clarity" you pay the market rate for the currency conversion BUT because it is a cash advance it will start running up charges of 12% PA (if you are accepted on the "prime rate) so one month's interest will be 1%

Pre-paying is against the terms and conditions but we don't yet know how seriously this is policed.

rdtrdt

I'm a refugee from a Nationwide Flex account for overseas (European) spending. I also have First Direct cards, which I don't use overseas except in emergency, die to their charges.

I used the Nationwide card mainly for cash withdrawals, and then paid people with cash, as I find paying in cash often to be more convenient (e.g. in cafes, restaurants etc). Before a trip, I'd load the Flex account with cash.

Having looked at the MSE Travel Money guide, I've now just applied for a Halifax Clarity card; I'd pay any balance on this card off in full following any month in which it was used. I can't get a Peterborough & Norwich account, and I'm too far away to get a Metro bank account.

If I'm to use the Clarity card for card purchases AND cash withdrawals, how do I go about minimising (within reason) the interest that I'm charged?

If I arrange a direct debit to pay off the balance each month, and I've made both card purchases and cash withdrawals, will that fully clear the balance, such that I pay only a maximum of a month's interest on the cash withdrawals, or is it more complicated than that. I can live with paying ~1% on cash, but if much more than this, then the card's benefits to me begin to diminish...

With my existing Firstdirect Visa, my direct debit to clear my December balance will be made around the end of January, ie, up to 8 weeks after the first transactions in December. If a similar scheme was to operate with the Clarity card, then presumably I could end up paying almost 2 month's interest on a cash withdrawal.

In terms of travel, I'll tend to do a few short trips overseas (of a week or less duration), plus a big trip in the summer of around 6 weeks, when I'd be away from a PC for potentially that whole time.

How are people using the Clarity card in ways which minimise any such interest charges?

Thanks.

murphydavid

rdtrdt - I also had Nationwide flex for same purpose. Used Halifax Clarity since Aug 2010. I pay full amount by dd - ie they collect. Looking at my bills I find I have taken out about £1200 (equivalent) from various overseas atm's. no problems so far except see below. Doing this I have paid approx 1% interest on the amount I have taken out. The curency conversion rate has been roughly what I expected. No time to check it accurately every time.
The one problem: On taking cash from atm's One can be asked a question like do you want to be charged in UK £s or Swiss francs (depending on where you are). Or something like that but a bit more vauge. If you don't reply Swiss Franks then the owner of the atm will do the exchange (not the halifax). Then you can be charged an exorbitant exchange rate and also have to pay interest to the Halifax. You are probably aware because this also arose when using the Flex card.

Not an answer but just what I have found.

rdtrdt

Thanks for the reply David. Yep, you need to ensure your transactions (purchases or withdrawals) are in the local currency, else you're liable to get stung on the exchange rate (ATM provider's rate), rather than getting the standard MasterCard rate.

If paying off the balance each month by direct debit, and that month has included cash withdrawals (which attract interest from day 1), then don't you find yourself in the situation where although your payment clears the previous month's balance (as it was at the month-end statement date), since that statement date further interest charges will have accrued?

eg. If in December, card purchases and cash withdrawals are made, a statement at 31 December would include card purchases + cash withdrawals + interest on cash withdrawals up to 31-Dec. Paying off December balance in full sometime in January would mean that further interest charges will have accrued from Dec 31 to the balance payment date. With this situation it can end up being several months later before the balance is fully cleared, meaning extra interest charges for you.

Or have I missed something about how this account operates (or how it's possible to operate it)? Anyone?

Thanks.

luci

Yes you are correct in your assumption. Interest will continue to accrue between the date the statement was issued and the date the DD pays it off. You could make a rough calculation of the interest and make a manual payment.

rdtrdt

luci wrote: »

Yes you are correct in your assumption. Interest will continue to accrue between the date the statement was issued and the date the DD pays it off. You could make a rough calculation of the interest and make a manual payment.

And if I get my rough calcs wrong, and hapen to overpay by accident (quite likely in order to err on the side of caution), how do Halifax react to this in practice (terms and conditions aside)?

wombleuk

Hi,
don't know if this has been mentioned, the search facility on this site isn't good.

Just a heads-up to anyone before using these people.

I just used these people to order some money, as it appeared on one of the pages here and the rate was one of the best.
When I went to their site, I filled in their form with as much information as they wanted; they also said that it would make life easier if I supplied my driver's license information as well.
No problem.
I paid what was due and just expected to wait for my money to arrive.
The day after I paid, I received an email stating that I now had to send them my passport and 2 utility bills before they would send my money.
I replied that I had no intention of sending those items and that I wouldn't have even ordered the currncy, had I known they were required.
I have asked for a refund, I just hope it turns up.

Cheers.