If I use my halifax clarity card at atms abroad will it effect my credit score??

travelmoney

So I'm going traveling to asia for 7 months or so and was fully ready to use my Halifax clarity card for my spending- ie. drawing money out of atms (as apparently its the best value for money etc.)

My friend has just told me tho that i should NOT do that as it has a negative effect on my credit score so i would struggle to get a mortgage when i came back.

is this true???? does using credit cards as 'cash advances' abroad effect your score?? no one has covered this in any other thread so im abit worried now

i also have a 'caxton travel card' so maybe i should just use that?

help!

BugsyBrowne

Credit scores take a lot in including cash advances wether it effects your credit score or not no one on here would know as we are not lenders.

YorkshireBoy

travelmoney wrote: »

no one has covered this in any other thread

It's been discussed at length on this board. Maybe change your search terms?

That said, my personal opinion is that one or two cash withdrawals a year (how most people would use their card, ie on vacation) wouldn't be a problem.

However, since you'll be making regular withdrawals over an extended 7 month period you're presenting a different set of CRA data to anyone searching your credit file...one which could be viewed as saying "I'm so desperate for cash I'm having to use my credit card to get it".

Other lenders won't know you're only paying around 1% per month (on their representative rate of 12.9% APR), since the card provider/type isn't shown on your credit report.

You could offset this 'damage' by paying in full each month (even overpaying slightly) to stop residual interest, but my guess is you won't be doing that?

There's a poster on here who works much of the year abroad (SE Asia?) and may make regular cash withdrawals on his credit cards. His name is chattychappy and hopefully he'll see this thread and comment from first hand experience.

simax

Some cards report cash withdrawals on your file - some don't.

I know creation certainly don't, however Nationwide do.

I have both types of card and they show different data

guesswho2000

simax wrote: »

Some cards report cash withdrawals on your file - some don't.

I know creation certainly don't, however Nationwide do.

I have both types of card and they show different data

[STRIKE]Indeed, I don't think Halifax do, I've just had a quick look at my report, NatWest for example has a listing saying number and value of cash advances during the month, my Clarity card doesn't have that data.[/STRIKE] Scratch that, just seen my Equifax file today (25/9), the definitely do report advances. However the rest of my post I stand by!

Another thing which I think has been discussed is the values of cash advances, when making cash advances abroad they'll show up as odd numbers when converted to sterling (cash advance of £83 for example), whereas withdrawals in the UK would show up as round numbers.

In any case, surely lenders must be aware that using a credit card for cash abroad in many cases is the most sensible approach. In fact, there are some circumstances where it is in the UK, the Clarity at 12.9% is cheaper than using most overdrafts, the Sainsburys gold card is interest and fee free if paid in full each month, again cheaper than most overdrafts.

lisyloo

Indeed, I don't think Halifax do

I can confirm that Noddle show the number and value of my cash advances.
I believe I've seen it on a report from Experian/Equifax but this is a bit vague and cannot confirm. My on-line Equifax service does not (Capitalone identity alert).

Looks like it varies by CRA and possibly between which service you are accessing.

surely lenders must be aware

It's up to individual lenders how they interpret your data.
I think this is a grey area.

I have a good/excellent credit rating and I use my clarity card abroad several times a year (normally 4 or 5 times per trip not just 1 or 2). I don't want to carry large wads around neither do I want to be stuck with foregin currency.
Earlier this year I got an Aqua card when other people with good credit ratings didn't,
Was this a factor? perhaps? I don't know.

I would say it MAY have a negative impact, but it's up to lenders what they chose to thikn about you.

guesswho2000

lisyloo wrote: »

I can confirm that Noddle show the number and value of my cash advances.
I believe I've seen it on a report from Experian/Equifax but this is a bit vague and cannot confirm. My on-line Equifax service does not (Capitalone identity alert).

Looks like it varies by CRA and possibly between which service you are accessing.

How strange, it was Noddle I checked this morning and they definitely don't have advance information for Halifax on mine. In contrast, I too have CapOne identity alert on Equifax, this does also report advance information (although not sure for Halifax, it doesn't appear on there for some reason).

lisyloo wrote: »

It's up to individual lenders how they interpret your data.
I think this is a grey area.

I have a good/excellent credit rating and I use my clarity card abroad several times a year (normally 4 or 5 times per trip not just 1 or 2). I don't want to carry large wads around neither do I want to be stuck with foregin currency.
Earlier this year I got an Aqua card when other people with good credit ratings didn't,
Was this a factor? perhaps? I don't know.

I would say it MAY have a negative impact, but it's up to lenders what they chose to thikn about you.

I agree, it seems to be a very grey area. That said, I wouldn't worry about it too much, I imagine that if the rest of your file is in good order, a few advances won't hurt greatly, especially if the balance is being paid in full, the debt to limit ratio is low, etc etc.

I use my Clarity card multiple times each trip abroad and will continue to do so, the only thing I've been declined for in recent times is the Amex Platinum card, however I had just moved house, which I suspect had a far greater impact on my ability to get credit than a few cash advances.

lisyloo

How strange, it was Noddle I checked this morning and they definitely don't have advance information for Halifax on mine.

That's weird. I definitely have "Number of cash Advances" and "Value of cash Advances" as attributes although you have to open it up to see the information.

In contrast, I too have CapOne identity alert on Equifax, this does also report advance information

Would you mind telling me exactly where, although I can't see it.

That said, I wouldn't worry about it too much

I'm not worried. I've only been rejected by companies that are know to avoid taking people that pay on time and don't pay interest :-) but accepted by the majority.

guesswho2000

lisyloo wrote: »

That's weird. I definitely have "Number of cash Advances" and "Value of cash Advances" as attributes although you have to open it up to see the information.

Hmm, looking closely at Noddle, it is only one of my NatWest cards which report this info on mine, the others don't (even my other NatWest one), even those which do on other CRA files, which may indicate that they're just missing from my report and not the norm? I like the fact Noddle is free, but it's not that great, my electoral roll info still doesn't appear there (but it is definitely on Experian and Equifax, which is the main thing!).

lisyloo wrote: »

Would you mind telling me exactly where, although I can't see it.

No problem, the top bar which says Capital One Identity Alert, clicking on the second button (Credit Report) then credit agreements in the left hand list, then the relevant account info underneath all the bits like date opened, credit limit, etc there are two boxes which say "Cash Advance Amount" and "Number of Cash Advances During Month" (some accounts populate these for me, with £0 & 0, which indicates that while I haven't taken any, they share the info, other accounts just leave them blank, which I assume means they don't share.

lisyloo wrote: »

I'm not worried. I've only been rejected by companies that are know to avoid taking people that pay on time and don't pay interest :-) but accepted by the majority.

No that's it, credit scoring is like a dark art! We just do our best and hope to be accepted :rotfl:

lisyloo

there are two boxes which say "Cash Advance Amount" and "Number of Cash Advances During Month"

I can see this for the current month (in my case March 2012), but it's not present for any of the history data when I hover over it. On Noddle I have both Value and number of cash Advances for every month since August 2010 which is the account start date.

aleph_0

Maybe the displaying of cash advances data depends on which system the card is on? I believe the earlier cards (starting 5286) are still using the halifax backend, the newer cards use Lloyds system.

I've got a 5286 card, and noddle is displaying my cash advances for the Halifax Clarity.