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

lisyloo

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

Me too.......

guesswho2000

Lisyloo - my mistake, the history isn't there you're right, only the current month, I've never bothered looking for it before.

Aleph_0 - my Clarity is a 5286, I think it's just an issue of Noddle not displaying some of my data based on what others have said.

Fergie88

Hello OP.

My girlfriend and I did the exact same thing (Asia for 6 months, got back last week) and both used Halifax Clarity cards to withdraw cash from ATMs.

Now I don't know if it has affected our credit ratings too much, I did check my noddle account when I got back and it is still rated at 5/5. That only being Noddle, it doesn't mean a great deal but it does indicate to me that it didn't destroy our rating.

Hope this helps.

callum9999

guesswho2000 wrote: »

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.

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.

Usually yeah, but not necessarily. In the UK you can withdraw from a cash machine that charges and it will report as an odd number (unless the charge appears separately?) and the likes of paypal etc. can take any value you want.

I'd hope lenders take that into account but I'm not so sure. A person yes, but when a computer algorithm is looking all it knows is what you've taken out - not why.

chattychappy

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

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.

"I am spartacus!"

Correct (though now in the UK for 3 weeks..!) I use Santander ZERO for cash - mainly in SE Asia, Taiwan, Hong Kong but also Europe - principally Germany. I withdraw cash at least every month, often more than weekly. I usually pay off the amount withdrawn a few days later. I seem not to be able to get out more than the equivalent of £300 in a day - but no problems getting £300/day for a few days.

A few purchases go through also, but generally they go onto Nationwide SELECT or Post Office. They often make me Balance Transfer offers which I have sometimes taken up.

My credit limit is £8100. Typically the balance is never more than £1000, but when I've taken a BT it's been nearer £6K or £7K.

So from a rating point of view and commercially, Zero seem to be happy with the way I use my card. I do not know how extensively my cash advances get reported, but I don't seem to get refused for credit. The last card I applied for was about a year ago.

I can believe that cash advances are a stress indicator if you're balance is rising month after month and you are heading for your limits. Afterall, you could be withdrawing the cash just to walk around to the bank and pay the minimum.

But I can't see it's a problem if the amount of cash you withdraw is well below what you're paying off each month or you are returning the balance to zero.

guesswho2000

callum9999 wrote: »

Usually yeah, but not necessarily. In the UK you can withdraw from a cash machine that charges and it will report as an odd number (unless the charge appears separately?) and the likes of paypal etc. can take any value you want.

From my experience it appears separately, the cash advance fee is just that, a fee for a service rather than a cash advance. This also wouldn't apply on the fee free cards (Clarity, Zero, Sainsbury's etc). Paypal is classed as a purchase on all cards as far as I know.

callum9999

guesswho2000 wrote: »

From my experience it appears separately, the cash advance fee is just that, a fee for a service rather than a cash advance. This also wouldn't apply on the fee free cards (Clarity, Zero, Sainsbury's etc). Paypal is classed as a purchase on all cards as far as I know.

Yeah the cash advance fee is usually separate, I mean the fee from private ATMs. I avoid them wherever possible, but when I have used them in the past I'm sure the fee was lumped in with the cash withdrawal.

chattychappy

callum9999 wrote: »

Yeah the cash advance fee is usually separate, I mean the fee from private ATMs. I avoid them wherever possible, but when I have used them in the past I'm sure the fee was lumped in with the cash withdrawal.

That has been my experience. ATM-levied fees are always combined and presented as a single transaction to the network. The fee may well be shown separately on the receipt issued by the ATM.

Depending on country, it might be impossible to avoid a locally levied fee. In Vietnam, for example, all ATMs levy a fee. VND40,000 is typical - about £1.30. So if, say, you withdraw 8 million dong (as I did two weeks ago, about £240), it will appear on your statement as VND8,040,000.

I tend to use the Citibank ATMs (they are sometimes in their own dinky air-conditioned booths!). It is absolutely clear what the fee will be and the fee is separately shown on the receipt. But as I say, just one figure on the statement.

mankarni

Hi Can we pay off these cash withdrawals on the same day of withdrawal by say an online payment and be charged the minimum interest applicable for that cash withdrawal ?
Also If I have balance of Cash Withdrawals and Regular Purchases, Will the payments towards the cash withdrawals within the statement cycle be applied to the cash withdrawals or those will be applied to the old purchase transactions on this card before being applied to the cash withdrawal?

chattychappy

Good question.

Yes, you can pay same day if there aren't any other transactions on the account. It will stop interest running immediately.

Else it's more complicated. You just have to check the T+Cs. The general rule is that payments are applied to balances attracting a higher interest rate first. Normally that would be cash transactions. So in this case - yes you could pay just the amount of the ATM withdrawal and then pay the normal purchase balance after you get the statement. Cash interest would be pence (perhaps a day's worth).

But some CC T+Cs state that as a higher priority, statemented transactions are paid off before yet-to-be statemented transactions.

In this case, the safest way is to pay off your entire balance every time you make an ATM withdrawal. If you pay by DD, then you might want to cancel the mandate or at least understand the interaction of DDs with manual payments.