Halifax 'Clarity' exchange rates

kuepper

jennifernil wrote: »

Yep, my Clarity statements from when we were away in the summer certainly do show the exchange rate, to 2 decimal places as said.

well that's weird, the guy at Halifax I spoke to was adamant they don't and my account only shows the purchases in pounds whereas I bought them in euros, but no info as to how Hx got to the £ figure

kuepper

ManAtHome wrote: »

If you get a 'dodgy' rate, could be that you were stung with DCC (Direct Currency Conversion?) where the retailer or ATM offer to charge you in pounds (well it is a UK card, so they're being helpful...). In this case, you'll probably get a rate between 3-4% lower than the Mastercard rate.

Dunno about XE, but I haven't found a massive difference between Mastercard and Oanda Interbank rates (sometimes the MC site is slooooooooow).

[edit] pretty sure my Clarity statement has always shown the conversion rate. They only show it to 2 decimals, but work the actual rate to 4.

Thanks but I was aware of the DCC and declined that (tho I had it imposed on me at Istanbul airport). There wasn't a great difference between the rates that were applied and those I thought should have been used but they are noticeable, I wondered if Mastercard just used the most favourable exchange rate to them on any particular day eg if it varied between 1.10 and 1.18 euros/£ say, they'd use the 1.10 for customer transactions and pocket the difference

virgo17

I have used the Halifax Clarity card for overseas spending on numerous regular occasions. Here are my observations:-

1. It offers one of the best exchange rates abroad
2. Halifax make no charge for overseas use. The only exception is that interest at your agreed rate will be applied to cash withdrawals from the date they are applied to your account. Be aware that some ATM operators in some countries may levy their own charge which should be shown.
3. Always ensure that when using the card abroad you pay in local currency. Do not allow the shop to charge you in GBP.
4. The conversion rate is shown both on your paper and/or downloadable monthly statement.
5. The conversion rate is not shown on the online transaction summary but is trivial to calculate.

All in all one of the best credit cards for both purchases and ATM use abroad. IMHO.

gt94sss2

As others have said, Halifax include the exchange rate on statements - both paper and the downloadable ones on their website but not on the individual 'recent transactions' section of the website

The odd thing for me is they show it on the .pdfs as (169 YEN | RATE1.52) when I will actually have spent - for instance 16,923 Yen, so it doesn't show the full amount I have spent in local currency.

The exchange rates used by Mastercard are here

Regards
Sunil

opinions4u

kuepper wrote: »

well that's weird, the guy at Halifax I spoke to was adamant they don't and my account only shows the purchases in pounds whereas I bought them in euros, but no info as to how Hx got to the £ figure

Here's a copy and paste from a recent Halifax statement:

OKQ8 STHLM U VASBY (115.89 SWEDISH KRONA | RATE 10.17)

It clearly states the rate.

Biggles

kuepper wrote: »

I phoned Halifax and was told my account will never show the exchange rate applied to a transaction as the rate is determined by Mastercard and if I want to know the rate I have to work it out myself!

That's not completely true because, as other have pointed out, it is shown on the paper or downloadable statements.

The only odd thing is that it's only shown to two decimal places of a GBP, eg '20 EURO ¦ RATE 1.17', which isn't really that helpful.

dzug1

kuepper wrote: »

I wondered if Mastercard just used the most favourable exchange rate to them on any particular day eg if it varied between 1.10 and 1.18 euros/£ say, they'd use the 1.10 for customer transactions and pocket the difference

I doubt it - they will probably use a (weighted) average.

If indeed they don't vary their rate dynamically in the day - separate transactions on the same day each using a different exchange rate. My Nationwide visa certainly does.

And a variation in one day of that amount stretches credibility anyway. A few thousandths, yes - but 8 cents???

cautiousjon

As others have said, the Halifax Clarity Card is pretty-much the best, no-fuss credit card to use abroad. I use it everytime I go to USA and it's superb.

As others have mentioned, you are shown the currency conversion rate on statements but not recent transactions.

I like to withdraw cash on my Clarity card when abroad and most ATMs I use seem to attract a fee from the ATM provider. However, it's usually only $2 or $3, and for me, it's worth it in just the time saved going elsewhere. If I don't pay off the cash withdrawal straight away, the interest charged at the end of the month is usually only £1 or £2 at most, which again, is worth it for me.

zerog

The Mastercard rate can often be BETTER than the interbank rate as seen on xe.com or truefx.com. For instance, for transactions processed on Friday the rate was 1.19 whereas the interbank rate didn't go too far from 1.18. Sometimes however it goes the other way. This depends on whether more Mastercard users have bought or sold a particular currency.

Visa's rate will never be better than the interbank as they have a spread of approx 0.2% to 0.5%

Amex rate may sometimes be the best, but all UK Amexes have a 3% forex fee so this isn't useful. However, some US Amexes have no forex fee.

reclusive46

zerog wrote: »

The Mastercard rate can often be BETTER than the interbank rate as seen on xe.com or truefx.com. For instance, for transactions processed on Friday the rate was 1.19 whereas the interbank rate didn't go too far from 1.18. Sometimes however it goes the other way. This depends on whether more Mastercard users have bought or sold a particular currency.

Visa's rate will never be better than the interbank as they have a spread of approx 0.2% to 0.5%

Amex rate may sometimes be the best, but all UK Amexes have a 3% forex fee so this isn't useful. However, some US Amexes have no forex fee.

I agree with the Visa rate, they seem to take their own spread.

I must admit I put most of my business expenses through on my Amex and sometimes even with the 3%, I've actually had it beat my Clarity in USD, mainly due to Amex using the exchange rate of the day, rather than process day but also due to the exchange rate being superior.

Although generally MasterCard is the best.