Halifax Clarity CC - cash withdrawals

kaych

Hi
I know this has been covered many times but was hoping that someone may be able to clarify some points for me.
I am now in europe and want to take some cash out with my halifax clarity credit card but not sure when is the best time to take it?
Basically i have already spent £300 on the card last month and my statement day is the 17th. In order to minimse interest accrued from the cash withdrawal, i plan to transfer the money to the cc as soon as possible. So the question is, if i take some money out now, will i have to repay both the cash withdrawal and purchase balance or do i only have to pay off the cash withdrawal part?
Another question, is it better to take money out before or after the statement date or it makes no difference at all?
Thanks in advance for any advice!

NFH

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm fairly sure that payments count first towards statemented transactions, then recent cash withdrawals, then recent purchases. Therefore you'd be better off getting the cash out now and making an immediate payment. The Halifax Clarity sort code now supports FPS so it should get there immediately. You're better off making your payment hit your account just after the cash withdrawal, otherwise the payment may count first towards any purchases that hit your account after the payment hitting your account and before the cash withdrawal hitting your account.

knightstyle

We have used Halifax Clarity card many times in France for purchases and cash withdrawals. We always make a payment to cover the cash withdrawals as soon as possible and the payment repays the cash withdrawal and not the earlier purchases which are paid in full each month by DD. This is the best way to get cash and purchases abroad. It is worth paying a little more than the amount withdrawn just in case of currency fluctuations.

kaych

Thanks guys. Think will take the money out tomorrow before the statement is generated and make the payment for the cash before the 17th. Thanks!

knightstyle

It is so nice when a poster comes back and says thanks! Have a good time abroad.

zagfles

knightstyle wrote: »

We have used Halifax Clarity card many times in France for purchases and cash withdrawals. We always make a payment to cover the cash withdrawals as soon as possible and the payment repays the cash withdrawal and not the earlier purchases which are paid in full each month by DD. This is the best way to get cash and purchases abroad. It is worth paying a little more than the amount withdrawn just in case of currency fluctuations.

Are you sure about that, because in the T&Cs it states that statemented items are always paid off before items that aren't statemented, and that comes before the rule that says cash advances are paid before purchases.

So in the time between your statement date and DD date, if you make a cash withdrawal and make a payment to cover it, the payment should go towards the statement balance before the cash advance.

callum9999

zagfles wrote: »

Are you sure about that, because in the T&Cs it states that statemented items are always paid off before items that aren't statemented, and that comes before the rule that says cash advances are paid before purchases.

So in the time between your statement date and DD date, if you make a cash withdrawal and make a payment to cover it, the payment should go towards the statement balance before the cash advance.

Cash advances must be paid off before purchases by law (well, highest interest first) so it doesn't matter what else they have in their T&Cs.

Though I'm not quite sure how it works if you pay it off after you know how much is taken (i.e. the "available balance" that disappears") but before it's posted to your account (i.e. when you can see it on internet banking). Judging by the variety of peoples experiences on here, it will still pay off the cash advance but I can't say that for certain.

zagfles

callum9999 wrote: »

Cash advances must be paid off before purchases by law (well, highest interest first) so it doesn't matter what else they have in their T&Cs.

Credit cards apply payments to statemented items before items not yet statemented. To do otherwise would be ridiculous when you think about it.

Otherwise if you pay your statement balance in full by the due date, if the credit card company allocated payments to items not yet statemented first - they could charge you interest on the statemented items because part of your payment has gone towards items not yet statemented! So you haven't paid your statement in full!

Look at any credit card T&Cs. They will all say they pay statemented items first. They all know what the law is.

Within the two categories of statemented and non statemented items, the order of payments rules (highest interest first) apply.

YorkshireBoy

callum9999 wrote: »

Cash advances must be paid off before purchases by law (well, highest interest first) so it doesn't matter what else they have in their T&Cs.

Which Law is that?

I'm aware of some voluntary changes made after discussions between the UK credit card industry and Department for Business Innovation and Skills in March 2010, but not aware of any "Law" being passed since.

Enlighten us?

knightstyle

Well I don't know about the law but Halifax definitely use any early repayment to pay off the highest interest outstanding balance, i.e. cash withdrawals. We have been doing this since last April, never had a problem. We used to use the Nationwide Flexaccount debit card but they are now charging for foreign withdrawals.

NFH

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Which Law is that?

I'm aware of some voluntary changes made after discussions between the UK credit card industry and Department for Business Innovation and Skills in March 2010, but not aware of any "Law" being passed since.

You're right; it's not a specific law (yet). However, if a card issuer deviates from the current gentlemen's agreement, then it could probably be enforced under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999.