Credit card....use it or lose it?

zagfles

IanRi wrote: »

That's true, I'll have a look into the ins and outs of that. Even paying interest at the end of the month it's a cheaper way of getting cash abroad than most other options. I'll have to wait and see if it's better to have convenience over the extra money saving or not.

Is the interest just charged on the actual amount of the cash withdrawal or is it charged upon the entire balance including any purchases?

E.g. If I withdraw £100 and pay on card £200 i'd be paying back on DD the £200 + £101 (with the interest) = £301

or would the entire £300 balance have interest charged on it.

I'm assuming it's the first option.

Yes you only pay interest on the cash (assuming you pay the balance in full).

If you don't tend to withdraw much cash then it won't make a big difference. But if you go to countries where CC's aren't as widely accepted as here so you need more cash (even some European countries eg Germany, Holland don't take CCs at a lot of places you'd take for granted here), then it can make a difference.

On a typical 3 week summer holiday I'd withdraw about £1000, paying by DD I'd pay something between £10 and £20 or so interest depending when in the statement period the withdrawals are, but by paying it off as soon as I get back I usually only pay £3-4 or so.

jonesMUFCforever

I would use once a quarter paying it off in full - this will ensure that the card will not be earmarked for closure.

The worst scenario is you going on holiday and the card not working!

anotheruser

I won't be using mine until a yearly holiday abroad (maybe not even yearly).
I would expect Halifax to inform me they will close the account and if they send the letter while I am away then I will be using it to spend on anyway.

If only Santander 123 credit card had no load fee!