Cheap Travel Money Discussion Area

park_gate

dzug1 wrote: »

But it's not covered by the DD guarantee scheme - they have taken the notified amount on (presumably) the due day. No error has occurred. They would in fact have been breaking the rules if they HAD reduced the DD.

So is this a loophole? You are not pre-loading the card and putting it into credit but the bank are doing it for you.

KTF

When I went on holiday I took my laptop with me. As each transaction appeared on the online banking I transfered over the corresponding amount from my Halifax savings account to maintain a 'zero' balance and therefore minimise the interest from the cash withdrawals.

The last few transactions appeared shortly after we returned from holiday so they were also paid off before the statement was produced and the balance was zero for weeks before the DD was taken incorrectly.

One thing I did notice is that with their old online banking it wouldnt let you transfer money to the card if it was greater than the balance the online banking was showing but after they changed to the new 'LloydsTSB' online banking you could then transfer any amount you wanted using the usual sort code / account number details as I would round up some of the payments knowing I was going to spend on the card over the next few days anyway.

Prior to them taking DD the balance on the card was actually pre loaded by £5 as the reward payment was added to the account so I would say that you can preload.

Halifax certainly havent picked up the effective preloading caused by the DD yet and it didnt bounce which is why I had to call up Nationwide to get it refunded...

murphydavid

KTF wrote: »

Prior to them taking DD the balance on the card was actually pre loaded by £5 as the reward payment was added to the account so I would say that you can preload.

You may be on thin ice here. They may accidentally pre load it but if you do the terms and cond's state

Charges

5.4 Instructing an agent to make contact with you when you have broken the agreement with us £19 (Plus VAT)



11.7 You must not make payments or transfer funds from another credit or store card to your account that would leave a credit balance on your account. We may return any funds that exceed the balance owing on your account to the account from which the money was sent.?

Aaron

Money_Man_Steve wrote: »

Some example fees (per withdrawal) are; [...] I'll add to this list as and when I discover more banks' fees.

Beware. I think this varied from state-to-state (maybe even city-to-city? I rarely withdrew money in two cities in one state) when I was doing a road trip last year. I'm pretty sure I had a fee-free cash from Chase somewhere in the north-east and from TD (TU? argh strange bank names) in Georgia or Miami Beach.

Because they really don't tell you fees up front, you can't just spot them when walking by and note them for when you want cash. If you want to shop around, try to locate clusters of banks. For example, I think there were three or four banks at 5th and Collins in Miami Beach.

KTF

murphydavid wrote: »

You may be on thin ice here. They may accidentally pre load it but if you do the terms and cond's state

I zeroed the balance before the statement date so when the statement came in they pre-loaded it by adding the £5 reward as I had spent over £500 on it so I am still within the rules plus have had no phone call from them....

I wasnt deliberately trying to pre-load it as the interest for taking cash out was <10p.

murphydavid

Money_Man_Steve wrote: »

Many banks in the USA impose a fee to withdraw cash from their machines. This is usually in the region of $3, but can be as much as $5. unlike UK machines, the fee isn't always displayed upfront, so it's not clear how much the fee is until the ATM is about to dispense your money. You do usually have the option to cancel the transaction at this stage.

Try machines from smaller banks and credit unions, many of which don't charge a fee at all. Otherwise withdraw larger amounts (assuming you will use it and can keep your cash safe) to minimise the number of cash withdrawals that you need to make.

Some example fees (per withdrawal) are;

Wells Fargo $5
Bank of America $3
Chase $3
US Bank $3
Sterling Bank & Trust FREE
Patelco FREE

I'll add to this list as and when I discover more banks' fees.

If you go here

http://www.mastercard.us/cardholder-services/atm-locator.html

Put in the location and tick the boxes
No Access Fee (within country)
and
Surcharge Free

You get a nice little map of where to look. Don't know how accurate it is but it is a good map to take with you.
I think there is a similar one for Visa but I have not looked cause my Halifax Clarity card is mastercard.

KTF

For what its worth I found that the ATM I used in Canada warned me about a $1.50 charge but that never appeared on my statement and I still got the inter bank rate so it wasnt hidden in the conversion fee either.

Money_Man_Steve

Thanks David, this is interesting, but has not returned the fee free bank ATMs that I found where I was staying in San Francisco. I expect it could be a good place to start looking, but don't avoid the other ATMs you see on the way!

murphydavid wrote: »

If you go here

http://www.mastercard.us/cardholder-services/atm-locator.html

Put in the location and tick the boxes
No Access Fee (within country)
and
Surcharge Free

You get a nice little map of where to look. Don't know how accurate it is but it is a good map to take with you.
I think there is a similar one for Visa but I have not looked cause my Halifax Clarity card is mastercard.

park_gate

murphydavid wrote: »

You may be on thin ice here. They may accidentally pre load it but if you do the terms and cond's state

Charges

5.4 Instructing an agent to make contact with you when you have broken the agreement with us £19 (Plus VAT)



11.7 You must not make payments or transfer funds from another credit or store card to your account that would leave a credit balance on your account. We may return any funds that exceed the balance owing on your account to the account from which the money was sent.?

So its only pre-loading from a credit or store card.

So pre-loading from a bank account and pre-loading by them due to a DD or loyalty bonus will not break the terms and conditions.

Is the £19 charge legally enforceable?

Didn't Martin take on the bank's about unfair charges?

Lugh_Chronain

Was I a little too hasty in closing my Nationwide Flex account? I closed this today then thought that maybe I should have actually kept it open.

I don't use this account as my main account but have been using it when travelling to Europe i.e. for spends and withdrawals. I recently applied for a Halifax Clarity card and then thought it better to close the Flex account as this appears not to be as good as the Halifax Clarity card as Nationwide has changed their T's & C's on this account. Was I a bit hasty? Should I have kept it open or was I right to have closed it?

I'm now thinking which would be better for withdrawals as the Halifax Clarity appears to charge interest though does appear nominal.

Can someone clarify this for me?