Halifax clarity card, if u keep in credit can they charge interest

YorkshireBoy

paul2louise wrote: »

I suppose they can charge interest from the day I withdraw to the day they take the payment.

Whilst we always say interest accrues from "day one" for cash advances, in practice that isn't the case.

You'll pay interest from the day the cash withdrawal is posted to your account, which may be 2 days (or more!) after the date of withdrawal.

I don't have the Clarity card, I use Santander Zero instead. I've often withdrawn cash in the last few days of my holiday and repaid it immediately on my return to the UK...and I've yet to incur any interest (at 27.9% APR!) on my cash advances due to the posting date delay.

You can order some euros from the card before you go. May look at that option as well

I can almost guarantee you'll pay more than the interbank rate you'd enjoy by getting the cash from an overseas ATM if you go that way.

Still, 3% on £100 is only £3...you may think that's a small price to pay for some readies?

Delree

Sounds like you'd be better off with a pre paid card like a Fairfx card for example if that's the way round you want to do things.

zagfles

The Clarity is cheaper than any pre-paid card even if you pay a couple of weeks interest. For a 2 week holiday it's a no-brainer. Get cash out on the Clarity, and pay it off as soon as you get back (don't wait for the statement - check the balance online and pay it all off).

ccec

does anyone know do i need to have a current account to apply for the clarity card?

I check online and it didnt say I needed to, but the branch staff told me that she couldnt offer me the credit card as I didnt have the account there....

virgo17

I obtained a Clarity card with a reasonably high limit without having an account with Halifax. I think having a account with them may be an advantage if the decision to issue you with a card comes down to the wire.

chattychappy

Agree, CC is the way to go. Some reminders:

1) take backups - CCs often get blocked overseas, even if you notify your CC company in advance.
2) some foreign ATMs levy a local charge.
3) some ATMs offer Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC).

DCC is very common at retailers in tourist destinations. On seeing a foreign card, the machine offers to debit your card a GBP amount. You should reject this (there should be a choice). DCC means that the retailer (or ATM owner) does the currency conversion and this will almost certainly be at an inferior rate. You will be debited the GBP amount shown, but this will end up being more than if you had selected to debit in the local currency and allow your CC to do the conversion. I have seen loadings of about 4% to 8% with DCC.