Halifax Clarity

fredtheguava

Hello all - I've been trying to get a clear idea of the answer to my question from reading all the various posts, and the T&Cs etc, but I was hoping for an idiot proof answer before I go!

I'm going away for the summer holidays and recently got a Halifax Clarity. I've been given an outrageous limit, but that's by the by! I want to maximise the cash I get for my money when I get to Canada/U.S. and so thought I would withdraw the cash from my Clarity card.

This is how I understand it at this stage:

- I can't put the money on the credit card as a positive balance beforehand
- The interest will be charged from the moment I withdraw the cash
- The minimum payment will be taken regardless of payments made

So can anyone confirm that what I should do is withdraw the cash, wait for the transaction to appear online, and then make the payment as soon as it does?

Thanks for your help in advance!

lisyloo

I'm going away for the summer holidays

My advice is call them, tell them where you are going (which countries) and the dates.
I got my card blocked in Thailand and cost me £20 on my mobile to call Halifax as well as not being able to buy water is hot conditions.
If you can take some cash that may be useful as it's not my first experience of being unable to get money from airport ATMs.
There is no guarantee your card won't be blocked if you call, but I think it decreases the chances and it's easier and cheaper to call from the UK.
Definitely take spare cards even if they are expensive ones - but obviously not your worldy goods so there has to be a trade-off. I'd say 2 cards at least.

The interest will be charged from the moment I withdraw the cash

Actually my recently personal experience (not a one-off) is that interest is charged from when the transaction is posted to your account, so if you take money out on a Saturday then it may not be posted to your account until Monday/Tuesday. Halifax show both the actual date and the posting date online.

The minimum payment will be taken regardless of payments made

Not sure about that one as I don't have a DD set up.
Ask them when you call to tell them where you are going but otherwise it's safest to assume DD will be taken.

So can anyone confirm that what I should do is withdraw the cash, wait for the transaction to appear online, and then make the payment as soon as it does?

I personally make the payment when I've taken money out.
You have to do this from your current account e.g. by BACS/online transfer, as you cannot make a payment on the Halifax system until you have the balance.
I would advise NOT using shared computers in hotels or internet cafes.
I've personally had no issue with this and I would guess there is some "pending" or a "reservation" on the money. I'm not sure if it's technically going into credit, I guess it depends how paranoid you want to be vs how many pennies you want to save (and I do mean pennies).

The alternative is to forget about it, relax, enjoy your holiday, pay it off in a couple of weeks when you get back for the price of a latte or beer.
Sometimes I do this. Do you really want to be on your computer all the time when you should be doing something else?
Just pointing out that the interest for 2 weeks is pretty small (usually the price of a coffee). I know this is an MSE site, but for me MSE is about value not absolute price.
So if your interest is going to be £2 you need to decide whether it's worthwhile being on the PC for that and of-course decide whether it's worth aying the WiFI charges if applicable.

I personally find it very useful to quantify things to work out whether they are worth doing rather than jsut assuming (which is automatic).
e.g. ISA xfer saves £30 over the year
Swicthing mortgage saves £3000 per year.
Paying off holiday money saves £1.50.
etc. etc.

fredtheguava

I'm basically trying to avoid the £5+ charges that my debit card charges for each withdrawl. I know it's only going to be pennies but I still think it's worth knowing, especially as I'm away for six weeks. The wifi thing is not an issue as I am staying with friends and will have my own ipad so it's not as if I'll be taking time away from the beach or paying to use wifi. This is a money-saving site and yeah, I want to be able to buy the most for my money instead of giving it to the CC company for no reason. I see no shame in that!

lisyloo

I know it's only going to be pennies but I still think it's worth knowing, especially as I'm away for six weeks

Yes sure definitely worth knowing.
Generally it's 12.9% interest (unless you individually have a higher rate) so for 6 weeks it's about 1.5%.

I see no shame in that!

Absolutely not, I didn't mean it like that and I totally agree you need to know.
Your 6 weeks is different to most people's 2 week holidays, so that's factor.
So if you take £100 and know that's it's around £1.50 for 6 weeks or 50p for 2 weeks, then you can make an informed decision about whether it's no big deal to be on the PC, or whether dragging yourself off the beach for 50p is worth it.

I'm not being judgmental as clearly there are very many factors involved here, I'm agreeing with you totally about knowing the cost in order to make an informed decision.

Personally I wouldn't make a special trip to leave a scuba diving boat especially to save 50p on a luxury holiday, but clearly that's not your circumstances. Your holiday is longer and near a computer so it might mean a different decision.

It's best to be well informed and your decision will be influenced by many factors e.g. lengh of loan, ease/safety of computer facilities etc.

Lucky you going away for 6 weeks though :-) I envy you :-)

fredtheguava

Haha, yeah - that's the joy of being a teacher. It means I am frantically getting things done now but will be worth it.

I'm not really going on 'holiday' as it were, so the idea of dragging myself off the beach doesn't really apply! I'm just taking the opportunity to go and stay with friends in a city I used to live in. I'll likely be on the iPad most days so I don't mind checking it regaularly, I just wanted to know whether if I paid it before it's posted, the payment will not count towards that charge. I think I'll just wait to see it appear and then send the money over. Thanks for your detailed responses!