Halifax Clarity Credit Card

lbiddington

Hello,

I'm hoping someone can explain this to me. I have applied for the halifax clarity credit card. To take money out abroad there is no fee, but you are charged interest even if paid in full? What does this mean?

The rate is 12.9% representative APR, which works out at £1 month. So if I take out £100, how many months will they continue charging me even though I have paid it in full.

Sorry it probably sounds like a silly question!

Thanks.

JakeGreen

I think they mean that when you withdraw cash from an ATM abroad. They start charging you interest instantly until you have paid it off ( plus any interest accrued).

The trick is to withdraw the cash, then go on your internet banking and transfer then transfer the amount back onto your card, minimising the amount of interest you will pay.

lbiddington

Thank you for this. Although of the moneysavingexpert page about it it says exactly..

'The Halifax Clarity* credit card has no foreign exchange fee anywhere in the world (you can use our pre-apply eligibility check for this card), so you can get the best rate possible. Plus there's no fee for cash withdrawals, though you will be charged interest on them even if repaid in full.'

Which confused me!

bigadaj

If you're on holiday I'd be tempted to leave and pay when you get back, the potential cost of either roaming charges and or security would put me off paying abroad.

£1000 in cash withdrawals for two weeks before you returned woud cost you about a fiver total, and at near bank rates of exchange, smaller amouns would be even cheaper.

Herbalus

Interest is charged on cash withdrawals from the day of withdrawing until the day that amount is repaid.

If you withdrew money and waited for a direct debit to pay the balance, there would be some trailing interest for the next month (a small amount). Paying two statements in full will always remove any interest that has been applied.

spaceboy

How long after a transaction does it show up on you online banking? I thought it should be instant, or maybe 24 hours, but I've now been waiting 48 hours to see it.

slopemaster

It took 48 hrs to show up on mine.
(And also 48hrs for my payment to show up)

cdavies1960

The time I find can appear on which country you are in when waiting for it to appear on your statement.

Try to do withdrawals at the very beginning of the week. Not at the end because the statements don't update over the weekend.

Overall though even if you do pay interest (at the highest end if will be about 1.7% of the amount)... that is far less than you would pay in lost FX when you change your money at an exchange place... Remember all the exchange shops make up their own FX. Their commission is being taken from the Intrabank rates and then they give a rate which is about 3-4% less. Where as with the Halifax card. The rate is actually set by Mastercard which is something like 0.005% from the Intrabank rate. So actually even if you pay 1.7% interest... Its better than paying 3-4% to the shop without even knowing it!

As long as your responsible. You will have no problem.