Halifax Clarity - Holiday Question

smic12

Hi.

I have read the travel card page supplied by the site and i just need a few things cleared up.

I am about to go to France on the 1st of July for a 2 week backpacking holiday.

Would it be more benifical to use my clarity card then a travel card. It says that i have to pay back the interest even if the money is paid back in full. So would paying the interest outwieght the cost of extra charges on my debit card/travel card. The rate i have is the standard rate 12.9%. I am looking to only spend about £400 on the card (£51.60 interest | £451.60 repay).

Many thanks, Mike.

Venusflytrap

For purchases, interest will be charged if you pay your balance in full by the statement due date.

YorkshireBoy

Venusflytrap wrote: »

For purchases, interest will be charged if you pay your balance in full by the statement due date.

I assume you meant to say "NO interest will be charged..."?

YorkshireBoy

smic12 wrote: »

Would it be more benifical to use my clarity card then a travel card.

I don't know what a "travel card" is, or what the costs of using such a product are, but Halifax will charge you approx 1% per month interest on any cash balance...so £4 for a month's £400 balance.

smic12

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Halifax will charge you approx 1% per month interest on any cash balance...so £4 for a month's £400 balance.

I thought the interest rate was 12.9%, i think i'm confusing myself.

Is this right:

I spend £400.
The rate of interest, APR, is 12.9%.
So at the end of the month i would pay £400 + 12.9%.
I wouldn't pay the interest if i paid the amount before the end of the month so i would pay back £400 if in the UK.
However, abroad it states that i would pay interest even if the amount is repaid in full (cash withdrawls).

Taken from:
http:// www. moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money#topcards

Loading (exchange rate fee) Europe: 0% | Worldwide: 0%
<LI class=double>Cash withdrawals Fee: FREE | Interest: Yes even if repaid in full <LI class=double> APRs Spending: 12.9% | Cash: 12.9% <LI class=single>Card Issuer Mastercar
Thanks for all your replies.

Biggles

smic12 wrote: »

So at the end of the month i would pay £400 + 12.9%.

Say your spending of £400 was £200 cash withdrawals, £200 card purchases, you would only pay interest on the £200, and even then only for the time it had been outstanding; that will be less than a month if you have a DD set up to pay in full (or if you pay into the account as soon as you get home).

I'd guesstimate somewhere between £1 and £2.

YorkshireBoy

smic12 wrote: »

The rate of interest, APR, is 12.9%.

The 'A' in APR stands for annual.

ceh209

APR = Annual Percentage Rate, so repay after one month and its approx 1%

knightstyle

Best to try to withdraw cash just before the end of the statement period then you only get charged a few days interest. Plus no interest on purchases in France, works well for us using the Halifax Clarity card paid in full by DD and no we don't have a Halifax current account.

Venusflytrap

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

I assume you meant to say "NO interest will be charged..."?

Yeap - thanks for highlighting!

lisyloo

Best to try to withdraw cash just before the end of the statement period then you only get charged a few days interest.

I'm not sure this is correct.
You will get charged interest on cash from the day you withdraw to the day you pay it back.
Statements are merely a monthly way of informing you.

If you take cash out and pay it back two weeks later then it's about 0.5% which is cheaper than almost all other ways of doing it.
Note that if a statement has not been generated by the time you get back then you will need to m,ake a BACS (online) payment from your online banking (this is because the Halifax interface won't allow you to make a payment until such tiome as your statement is generated).

Alternatives are to set up an online payment in advance (most allow dates 30 days in the future).
Or give the money to a trusted friend/family member and get them to make a payment for you (they will need your card number and the Halifax sort code and account number).

The easiest method by far is to pay it when you return for a tiny fee in interest.