Halifax Clarity card - Avoiding any interest at all on travel cash

idlehanz

Hopefuilly a simple straight forward question that someone will be able to answer.

If I apply for, and am successfu,l in getting a Halifax Clarity credit card, with just the sole intention of using it to withdraw cash (VND) whilst on holiday.

If I then effectively 'load the card' with my holiday spending money ie pay say 500quid on to the card.
Will I then avoid any interest payment for cash withdrawl assuming I only withdraw up to the equilvant of that amount after conversion from local currency. So effectively never using the available credit balance offered by Halifax on the card?

Thanks in advance.

YorkshireBoy

Would be a great idea...if pre-loading wasn't prohibited by condition 11.7

http://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/special-offers/rewards-clarity/terms-and-conditions/

Azrael_1701

...and hadn't been asked umpteen times before on different threads with the same answer

idlehanz

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Would be a great idea...if pre-loading wasn't prohibited by condition 11.7

Thanks for the info.

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.

That term (above) is very clear and explicit. Which leads me to believe that there is no issue in paying an amount on to the card from a debit card (current account).

Unless someone knows otherwise?

knightstyle

Can I ask a question as well? Can I apply for a card if I do not have a Halifax current account?

YorkshireBoy

idlehanz wrote: »

Which leads me to believe that there is no issue in paying an amount on to the card from a debit card (current account).

Allow me to make it a little easier for you to comprehend...

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.

And as if that wasn't enough, some people have reported their cards being blocked whilst they were abroad for such activity.

opinions4u

Azrael_1701 wrote: »

...and hadn't been asked umpteen times before on different threads with the same answer

Which a new poster, who joined the site this very month, may not have had the opportunity to read. May not know how to use the search facility. Or just felt it was easier to ask a direct question.

knightstyle wrote: »

Can I ask a question as well? Can I apply for a card if I do not have a Halifax current account?

That's cheating - you asked two questions!

You can apply for a Clarity Card (and others in their range) even if you don't bank with them. The Reward Clarity Card (the one that pays a fiver a month to you) is out of bounds unless you bank with them.

ManAtHome

Best bet is to just pay the balance off (in full) as soon as you get back. Always good to be charged nothing, but the Clarity charges are probably the least of your problems when currencies are bouncing about +/-1% a day...

idlehanz

ManAtHome wrote: »

Best bet is to just pay the balance off (in full) as soon as you get back. Always good to be charged nothing, but the Clarity charges are probably the least of your problems when currencies are bouncing about +/-1% a day...

Not a lot you can do about that though, when your looking at VND, Vietnam Dong, you can't get the currency from outside the country.

dzug1

idlehanz wrote: »

Not a lot you can do about that though, when your looking at VND, Vietnam Dong, you can't get the currency from outside the country.

You can -
http://www.thomasexchangeglobal.co.uk/postal_new1.php

for one. The Post Office do it to order as well

lisyloo

I would pay off as soon as you get back for the following reasons

1) If you go into credit you risk your card being stopped.
2) If you set up BACS payments in advance you still riisk you card going into credit as you won't know exactly when you can make withdrawals (I found broken machines in Egypt for about 3 or 4 days and had to charge everything to my hotel room). Again your card could be stopped if you go into credit.
3) If you use foreign internet (wifi or cafe) then you could
a) spend time finding internet cafes
b) pay more for it than the interest
c) a sophisticated person could set up a fake website via a hotspot that looks identical to your banking site with NO security and take your details.
4) The interest in tiny (I paid less than £4 for £1200 in Egypt).

My advice is to take a spare card (just in case).
Relax, enjoy your holiday and pay it off when you get back.