A quick halifax clairty card question

welshguy_456

I'm looking at using this card in Mexico in June and I want to take some cash out now to convert into mexican peso but am I right in thinking, if I walk into my local travel agent and say I want to spend lets say £300 to convert into mexico peso and then pull out this card, there is going to be a fee at the shop for doing so.

But... If I just go to an ATM and take £300 out with the card in cash, as there is no fee I won't be charged, then I can change the money in the shop with the cash? I understand that there is interest from the day I take the cash out but at 12.9% APR I really don't mind as I'm not taking a huge amount out and at around £1 for £100 its hardly worth crying over.

My apologies for sounding abit dim but I have never used the card before.

Thanks in advance

Chris

Biggles

If you go anywhere on your High Street to change money, you pay big time, whether you pay for it with a credit or debit card or cash.

With the Halifax Clarity Reward, you belly up to an ATM in Mexico - not the UK - and draw out however many pesos you need for the day. No charge except a very small amount of interest, as long as you pay your CC bill in full.

welshguy_456

Would this be because I'm going to get a better conversion rate with mastercard while out there than I am with cash in the UK and converting it here?

thanks for the quick reply

Biggles

welshguy_456 wrote: »

Would this be because I'm going to get a better conversion rate with mastercard while out there than I am with cash in the UK and converting it here?

Way better. In fact, that's one of the main reasons people get that CC as opposed to other CCs or cash. Plus, of course, you don't have to guess how much you might spend (you'll always guess wrong), you can draw pesos as you need them and not have too much left over.

welshguy_456

Well thannk you Biggles, you've saved me there. I have found out mastercard use xe.com for their conversions? please correct me if I am wrong, and looking at it, as an example 1GBP = 1.65USD whereas in my local shop earlier 1GBP would have got me 1.54USD......

Venusflytrap

Biggles wrote: »

Way better. In fact, that's one of the main reasons people get that CC as opposed to other CCs or cash. Plus, of course, you don't have to guess how much you might spend (you'll always guess wrong), you can draw pesos as you need them and not have too much left over.

Quite right. It's habit to withdraw cash from my bank act and convert before my trips, but from now on i'll spend (within budget) on my clarity card while abroad and pay back upon return (before the statement due date of course!).

Thanks for the reminder.

rb10

welshguy_456 wrote: »

I have found out mastercard use xe.com for their conversions?

Mastercard use their own rates, which you can see at https://www.mastercard.com/global/currencyconversion/index.html (with GBP Pound Sterling as the base currency).

SecLender

Venusflytrap wrote: »

Quite right. It's habit to withdraw cash from my bank act and convert before my trips, but from now on i'll spend (within budget) on my clarity card while abroad and pay back upon return (before the statement due date of course!).

Thanks for the reminder.

Statement date is irrelevant for cash withdrawls. you start paying interest from the the time of withdrawl.

Ideally you should start paying it off ASAP, including while you are on holiday, to minimize interest.

callum9999

SecLender wrote: »

Statement date is irrelevant for cash withdrawls. you start paying interest from the the time of withdrawl.

Ideally you should start paying it off ASAP, including while you are on holiday, to minimize interest.

And use the card for purchases instead of withdrawing the cash wherever feasible. Then it would work just like it does in the UK, you get until your due date to pay it off and get no charges whatsoever.

The_Enforcer

I've had a Halifax cashback mastercard for a couple of years now, am I entitled to apply for a Halifax Clarity card or will the application be blocked because of the existing card?

rb10

You may be able to switch your existing card over to a Clarity card; phone up to see about this.

Otherwise, I believe that the 'official' answer is no - i.e. you cannot hold two HBOS credit cards unless one is a charity card. However, if you apply online for the Clarity one it may still go through - that certainly worked for me.