Credit and prepaid cards to use in USA

Eponym

Hi all

I don't normally frequent this part of the forum so be kind!

In April I'm heading to the USA with 7 friends for a 3 week road trip. We haven't discussed joint spending in detail yet, but a few of us briefly discussed the idea of all loading the same amount onto a couple of prepaid cards which we will use to pay for petrol and motels, to save keeping track of everyone's costs. That seems sensible.

We'll be paying for our own food and drinks of course so I am starting to think about my personal spending.

Looking at http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money I'm pleased to say I already have a Halifax Clarity card with a credit limit of £2550, which will be plenty. However, for some reason I have the highest interest rate (21.9%) despite an excellent credit rating and I have always paid off in full.

My question is, have I any hope of getting Halifax to reduce the interest rate if I ask them? Otherwise 21.9% interest on my cash withdrawals will be quite punishing, and I'l probably be better off getting a prepaid card for myself. (FairFX charges $2 for each cash withdrawal).

Any thoughts appreciated!

benjus

21.9% is per year, so over 3 weeks it's just 1.26% (assuming you pay off the balance as soon as you get back). If you have internet access while you're out there you'll also be able to pay it off as you go.

Even with the interest I would expect the Clarity to be cheaper than a prepaid card.

You might want to investigate the availability of fee-free ATMs, as ATMs in the States have a tendency to charge a small fee of their own, although there are some fee-free ones around.

Eponym

That's very helpful Benjus, thank you! I hadn't appreciated that it was over a year, now that you mention it it's obvious!