Cheap Travel Money Discussion Area

ManAtHome

Nationwide Flex charges a fee of 2% + £1 when you withdraw foreign currency from an ATM. Clarity charges interest on currency, so depends how long it takes you pay it off and the cash advance rate you're on (12.9% pa is the cheapest, around 1% a month, so 0.03% per day).

For €300, Flex would charge €6 plus £1 (around £6.17 at current exchange rates), Clarity could be anything from 8p up - for the 12.9% rate: 8p if you withdraw on last day of the account month, £2.50 if you withdraw on day 1 of the account month (providing you pay off in full each month).

Think Clarity has 3 rates of interest, so you either pay as above, an extra 50%, or double the above (ish...).

Lugh_Chronain

Well I guess I'll have to see how the Clarity card works out as I've already closed my Flex account as mentioned above.

I'll be paying this off in full to avoid any interest if possible. The card I have is 12.9% APR, whether that'll make any difference or not.

Still, from what you've mentioned, the Clarity does appear cheaper over all though depending when you pay it off.

I also notice Sainsbury's Gold card has a 0% load worldwide, no cash withdrawal fees and doesn't charge interest on cash if paid off in full. Can you opt out of the travel insurance this offers I wonder? I know you can cancel at any time otherwise but was wondering if you can opt out before hand nonetheless.

adindas

KTF

I understand that if spend £500 on your clarity card, you will get reward £5.

In your case did you get £5 reward based on purchasing items or it also includes foreign cash withdrawal ?

Say you purchase £200 items using Halifax clarity card AND
You withdraw £300 from ATM abroad.
Do you get £5 reward for this ?

Thank you

KTF wrote: »

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.

KTF

I believe the spend is £300 rather than £500.

I withdrew a couple of hundred in cash and the rest on overseas spending and still got the reward. No UK transactions on the card at all.

Nessie23

KTF wrote: »

I believe the spend is £300 rather than £500.

I withdrew a couple of hundred in cash and the rest on overseas spending and still got the reward. No UK transactions on the card at all.

I asked the same question to customer services and they confirmed that transaction abroad count towards the £300.

Remember that to get the £5 reward, you will need a Halifax Ultimate Reward Account or Halifax Reward account on which you pay in at least £1000 per month.

adindas

Transaction will also mean cash withdrawal.
1. Does cash withdrawal abroad also count to qualify £5 (assuming £300 is reached) ?

2. Does cash withdrawal in the UK also count to qualify £5 (assuming £300 is reached) ?

If 1 or 2 or even just one correct then we could use this loophole to get another £5.00 a month from Halifax.

Be in positive balance, by preloading A/C and use it to withdraw cash and as soon as the money is already in a/c. I have seen quite a few people confirm that be in positive balance is not a problem.

Nessie23 wrote: »

I asked the same question to customer services and they confirmed that transaction abroad count towards the £300.

Remember that to get the £5 reward, you will need a Halifax Ultimate Reward Account or Halifax Reward account on which you pay in at least £1000 per month.

KTF

I can say from experience that '1' is correct. Deliberate pre-loading is still a grey area but it can be done from a Halifax savings account online if you wanted to try and see if you get a phone call and a £19 fine :-)

adindas

Sorry
Yes £300.00 limit

KTF wrote: »

I believe the spend is £300 rather than £500.

I withdrew a couple of hundred in cash and the rest on overseas spending and still got the reward. No UK transactions on the card at all.

A.Jones

I was once something like £45 in credit and got a call from the Halifax. I had a purchase refunded and had already paid off the bill. They didn't charge me anything for it.

When using the Clarity abroad at ATMs, I usually try to log on within a couple of days and pay it off. The charges are farirly minimal for those 1 or 2 days between withdrawal and paying it off.

emilygilmore

I hope this hasnt been answered, I did google it..

From mse's cheap travel money page, in the card comparison, the Santander Zero is free-free apart from interest charged. But if it's a debit card, how can it charge interest? Sometimes it seems to say debit and sometimes credit.

mse "you could apply for the Zero* account, which offers fees free overseas spending on its debit card"
santander page "No fees from us when you use your debit card in cash machines or in shops anywhere in the world†"

Where is the interest coming from? Sorry if it's obvious. I thought a debit card took the money from your account straight away?