Halifax Clarity - Cash Withdrawal Abroad vs UK Exchange

bazza2000_2

Hi, sorry if this has been answered somewhere, I've scoured the forums and can't find a specific answer.

My query is basic. We're off to Disneyland Paris in June. We've put aside £500 of spends and I'm taking the Halifax Clarity card also to pay for purchases where I can.

Discounting reasonable fluctuations in the exchange rate, which option is best:

1) Get the £500 changed to euro's before we go using (travelmoney.moneysavingexpert.com to find the best rate)
2) Wait until we get to Paris airport and withdraw the £500 worth of euros on the Halifax Clarity Card. Then pay off the balance in full immediately we return to the UK.

Option 2 obviously is just to simplify the question, we'd probably just withdraw £100's worth each day for safety of not carrying too much cash with us.

Thanks,

dzug1

Even the best source of euros here will be more expensive than using your Clarity card as long as you don't leave it too long (ie more than a month) to pay it back.

lisyloo

Clarity card is best providing you pay it quickly (circa 1% per month).

If the machine asked do you want to be billed in local curreny or do you want them to do the exchange, then you want local (Euro) currency.
This means Halifax do the conversion (at Forex rates with 0% added) rather than the bank that own the ATM who will charge circa 3%-4% in my experience.
Be careful to read the question - might jsut be me but I often have to think about which way round it is. You do NOT want the owners of the ATM to convert to GBP.

chattychappy

Agree.

Only other thing to consider is what if your Clarity card doesn't work when you get to France? UK cards are not so reliable once they leave the UK. Phoning in advance doesn't necessarily prevent blocks. (Though may make unblocking easier.)

So have a backup plan. This could be another credit card or a few £50s buried in your hand luggage. Of course most other CCs are expensive, but as a backup they are much better than getting stranded.

lisyloo

Phoning in advance doesn't necessarily prevent blocks

Not guaranteed, but having just had £20 mobile phone bill from calling from Thailand, I'd say call them from the UK in advance, even though we cannot guarnatee 100% it will stop a block.
I agree also that you shoudl have a back up plan even if other cards are more expensive, still better to have them.

callum9999

lisyloo wrote: »

Clarity card is best providing you pay it quickly (circa 1% per month).

If the machine asked do you want to be billed in local curreny or do you want them to do the exchange, then you want local (Euro) currency.
This means Halifax do the conversion (at Forex rates with 0% added) rather than the bank that own the ATM who will charge circa 3%-4% in my experience.
Be careful to read the question - might jsut be me but I often have to think about which way round it is. You do NOT want the owners of the ATM to convert to GBP.

It makes no difference if you're using the Clarity either way, but I've always blindly assumed that to be the case. However, there are some ATMs that will convert for 0% commission and 0% mark up. I haven't investigated it any further than just taking the word of the machine, but it specifically said no commission and a 0% mark-up on the wholesale rate, so I assume it's a "perfect" exchange.

callum9999

chattychappy wrote: »

Agree.

Only other thing to consider is what if your Clarity card doesn't work when you get to France? UK cards are not so reliable once they leave the UK. Phoning in advance doesn't necessarily prevent blocks. (Though may make unblocking easier.)

So have a backup plan. This could be another credit card or a few £50s buried in your hand luggage. Of course most other CCs are expensive, but as a backup they are much better than getting stranded.

Just out of curiosity, why does it make it easier to unblock? You'd have to go through the exact same security either way, and it's not as if once you've passed security the agent is going to accuse you of lying and refuse to unblock it!

Hopefully it will decrease the chance of it getting blocked in the first place though.

lisyloo

so I assume it's a "perfect" exchange.

Unless it explicitly says 0% then I would not assume that.
it is certainly the case that shops, cruiseships etc. add a mark up and I would expect most machines to as well.
Even if it sayd 0% then why take the chance?
Would you rather have a dispute with Halifax in the UK where you have the FSA and FOS at your disposal or some bank in a foreign country?

it's not as if once you've passed security the agent is going to accuse you of lying and refuse to unblock it!

They could certainly ask you more questions and put you through another level of security whilst the costs are mounting up rather than "ah yes I see you called us earlier, I'll do that straight away".

missile

Do not buy euros at airport, the exchange rate would be much better on the high street.
I would suggest buy euros with a debit card before you go and use clarity card for purchases during your stay.
£500 will not go far @ Dinseyland Paris

lisyloo

I would suggest buy euros with a debit card before you go

Why?
That will incurr higher fees.

Although I would accept it's handy to have a few Euros.
I've twice been unable to get money at the destination airport and once been stuck without water in a hot country.

iamchrisli

The original assumption was to "withdraw" cash, the card is better for "purchase" not "withdraw", although it would not charge cash advance fee, it will charge you cash advance APR from the time you draw cash out of the wall.

If I were you, i will exchange the cash, and use the card for "purchase", and keep an eye on spending, make sure you spend all the cash before holiday.