Spending in Spain- Halifax Clarity or Faifx prepay- which is cheaper?

mikezoe65

Which is is cheaper while in Spain- to use a Halifax Clarity credit card to draw say 200 euros or to have put 200 euros on a Fairfx prepay eurocard? The key factor is the 12.9% APR charge on the Halifax withdrawal which is probably claculated daily- but why can't I simply pay off the entry online on my Halifax Clarity account as soon as it appears so that I have only minimal interest accrued on the transaction rather than wait for the statement ie get charged a full 30 days interest. I can't see why this strategy wouldnt work thus making the Halifax Clarity the cheapest way of converting Sterling into euros. The prepay method suffers mainly from the poor conversion on loading the card (currently only just 1.000 euros/pound- urggh!!) Any thoughts appreciated.

dzug1

mikezoe65 wrote: »

The prepay method suffers mainly from the poor conversion on loading the card (currently only just 1.000 euros/pound- urggh!!) Any thoughts appreciated.

Sorry that's total rubbish. You get 1.12 euros to the £ on a Fairfx card a WHOLE 12% more than you are suggesting.

The Clarity will still be cheaper though, whether you pay online (don't do it too early or it may not count) or at the end of the month

stinky84

I used the Halifax Clarity card in Lanzarote earlier this year, paying for meals etc withit and withdrawing €300 from an ATM and payed the total showing on the account about a week after returning which was a week or so before the due date.
They give the full exchange rate and only charged me £1.25 interest on the €300 which was for about two weeks since withdrawing it so very pleased, much cheaper than using the Nationwide debit card that used to be free but the last time cost me £6.18 for the same €300 withdrawn from an ATM

apt

In my experience the Clarity card does not quite give the full Mastercard rate. Halifax rounds down to the nearest cent e.g. 1.13 euros to the pound. The rate from Santander zero card is usually slightly better for ATM withdrawals and you can use faster payments to pay off the balance.

mikezoe65

stinky84 wrote: »

I used the Halifax Clarity card in Lanzarote earlier this year, paying for meals etc withit and withdrawing €300 from an ATM and payed the total showing on the account about a week after returning which was a week or so before the due date.
They give the full exchange rate and only charged me £1.25 interest on the €300 which was for about two weeks since withdrawing it so very pleased, much cheaper than using the Nationwide debit card that used to be free but the last time cost me £6.18 for the same €300 withdrawn from an ATM

Ah- that's exactly what I needed to know! So if I am understanding it correctly by monitoring the Clarity online statement in the days after such a withdrawal (rather than wait until I return home), as soon as it appears simply pay into the Clarity account the exact amount via online bank transfer, I can avoid all interest (or restrict it to one or two days)? I had been wondering if there was someway Halifax (via smallprint in conditions) could grab a whole month's worth of interest so making the method uncompetitive with say Fairfx Prepay. Any further comments? If this is actually the best way of spending pounds abroad why hasn't it been highlighted by Martin?

mikezoe65

dzug1 wrote: »

Sorry that's total rubbish. You get 1.12 euros to the £ on a Fairfx card a WHOLE 12% more than you are suggesting.

The Clarity will still be cheaper though, whether you pay online (don't do it too early or it may not count) or at the end of the month

Apologies- I should have checked before typing that figure as it changes from day to day. (1.0011 was the rate we got using the Caxton Prepay around a month ago, however). Today the rates for loading Prepay cards are 1.1100 (Caxton) and 1.1150 (Fairfx). What rate would Halifax Clarity use today if a transaction was to be entered onto my statement? Is there a way of finding out the rate online? Just checked conditions of Halifax Clarity and it says the only way to find out the exchange rate applicable is to phone their customer services number shown on the statement.

Wannie_2

mikezoe65 wrote: »

Apologies- I should have checked before typing that figure as it changes from day to day. (1.0011 was the rate we got using the Caxton Prepay around a month ago, however). Today the rates for loading Prepay cards are 1.1100 (Caxton) and 1.1150 (Fairfx). What rate would Halifax Clarity use today if a transaction was to be entered onto my statement? Is there a way of finding out the rate online? Just checked conditions of Halifax Clarity and it says the only way to find out the exchange rate applicable is to phone their customer services number shown on the statement.

Mastercard rate

If that site is broken, try here

dzug1

mikezoe65 wrote: »

Apologies- I should have checked before typing that figure as it changes from day to day. (1.0011 was the rate we got using the Caxton Prepay around a month ago, however). .

That doesn't make sense - (interbank) rates haven't varied by that sort of percentage this year. If that really was the rate you got it was a one off mistake, not 'real'

luci

I used the Clarity card for a purchase on Sunday and it appeared on my statement 2 days later at a rate of €1.14318 when the Interbank rate was €1.14 something.

If you are paying off any cash withdrawals on the Clarity, you need to pay off any purchases from the previous month, otherwise the payment will go towards those.

If you have nothing on the account and then have purchases and cash withdrawals, the payment will go towards the cash first.

chappers11

I have got away without charges on ATM withdrawls on 3 trips this year.

My tip is to overpay the card with a positive balance equal to the potential spending before travelling - this way the account isnt in debt and no interest is due

Also, be sure that the overpayment also covers any balance due from the previous statement...much easier with online statements

stinky84

As luci says allthough the exchange rates on the Clarity satements show as €1.12 or €1.13 etc to the £ if you work out from the sterling amount you can see that they will be 1.123456 or such to the pound so I don't think they are rounded down and I only use the card for travel abroad so ensure that there is no outstanding balance before I go.
I withdrew €300 cash on the 8th June, paid the balance on the 25th June along with all other outstanding amounts and was charged £1.25 interest which I thought was very good
As to prepaying the card I enquired about this when taking it out but was told it was not allowed ( I used to this years ago with my Visa card before I got a Nationwide debit card )
But as chappers11 says he manged to do it 3 times this year I may well try it before I go away next month