FAO halifax clarity card users

asturdy2

Thinking of getting 1 for when we go to salou in august. How do people who have them use them ? Do you take any money with you for the first night ? I don't want to be left stranded with no money until I can find a cash machine.

benjus

I don't take money with me beforehand - I don't think I've ever had a problem finding an ATM in the arrival airport. However, if you're going to fret about it you could take €50 or something in cash.

zagfles

With Euros I usually have some left over from previous trips, but if I didn't I wouldn't bother changing any. Just take some GBP and if you can't find an ATM at the airport and your onward transport doesn't take CC's, change the GBP at the airport (the rate will be rubbish but it's only an emergency precaution - you're unlikely to need it).

Also make sure you have an alternative card, and tell Halifax you're going.

Doshwaster

zagfles wrote: »

With Euros I usually have some left over from previous trips, but if I didn't I wouldn't bother changing any. Just take some GBP and if you can't find an ATM at the airport and your onward transport doesn't take CC's, change the GBP at the airport (the rate will be rubbish but it's only an emergency precaution - you're unlikely to need it).

Same here. I can't remember ever landing at an airport that didn't have a working ATM and I don't think I have changed money in this country for at least the last 10 years.

For emergencies I always keep some Euros, US Dollars and Sterling hidden away but they only time I've had to raid that fund is to bribe a taxi driver in India. Long story.

Just remember that that if you do take the Clarity card then it is always wise to take a backup in case it is lost/stolen/blocked/refused. I take a Caxton card as my backup which has about 50 quid on it and then my normal High Street cards as the backup to the backup. The charges are horrendous for overseas use but I haven't had to use them in years.

benjus

Doshwaster wrote: »

my normal High Street cards as the backup to the backup. The charges are horrendous for overseas use but I haven't had to use them in years.

Let's put this in perspective - you say "horrendous", but even bad cards are probably no worse than changing money at the Post Office, or buying Travellers' Cheques, which thousands of people do regularly for their holidays. There's a popular perception that we see a lot on this forum that using cards abroad is to be avoided, which is largely unfounded.

CM66

There are at least 5 cash points along the promenade in Salou (opposite the beach) and many more around the town, so you wont have any problems getting money out when you get there!

Doshwaster

CM66 wrote: »

There are at least 5 cash points along the promenade in Salou (opposite the beach) and many more around the town, so you wont have any problems getting money out when you get there!

But always remember to choose the option to be charged in Euros. I've seen many ATMs in tourist areas of Spain which try to get you to select the Sterling option. I've even seen one on the Costa del Sol which had a notice next to it (in English) saying "To get a guaranteed exchange rate select option to be charged in Sterling". Yes, it may be "guaranteed" but it's guaranteed to be worse than the Clarity rate!

You also have to keep your eyes open in shops and restaurants when paying by card to make sure they don't put the transaction through in pounds.

Claremac

I have a Clarity Card but have never thought to use it to take out cash at an ATM as I assumed that the interest charges are high. Looks like I'm wrong! Can someone explain how this works please?

benjus

Claremac wrote: »

I have a Clarity Card but have never thought to use it to take out cash at an ATM as I assumed that the interest charges are high. Looks like I'm wrong! Can someone explain how this works please?

I don't know off the top of my head what the interest rates are, but let's take 30% as an example. If you go on holiday for 2 weeks and pay off the cash withdrawals as soon as you get home, you'll pay at worst 1.15%, so £1.15 for each £100 you withdraw. In practice it will be less than this because 30% is high for a mainstream credit card, and the transactions won't all be from the first day of your holiday. If you have internet access while abroad you can also pay the transactions off as soon as they appear on the card account, meaning that you'll pay next to nothing.

Note that the Halifax Clarity card is unusual in that there is no charge for cash withdrawals - if you tried this with a typical credit card you'd be hit with more charges.

YorkshireBoy

Claremac wrote: »

I have a Clarity Card but have never thought to use it to take out cash at an ATM as I assumed that the interest charges are high. Looks like I'm wrong! Can someone explain how this works please?

If you're on the representative rate of 12.9% APR it's 3p per day per £100 withdrawn (just under 6p if you're on the highest 21.9% APR rate).

Let's assume 12.9% APR and £500 withdrawn linearly over a fortnight and settled immediately on return to the UK, so the interest is...

Average balance x annual non-compounded rate / 365 x 14 =

£250 x 12.2% / 365 x 14 = £1.17

Now how much were you paying for a beer/coffee in resort?

zagfles

Claremac wrote: »

I have a Clarity Card but have never thought to use it to take out cash at an ATM as I assumed that the interest charges are high. Looks like I'm wrong! Can someone explain how this works please?

The Clarity is one of the cheapest ways of getting foreign cash. Only cheaper ways are using fee-free debit cards eg Metrobank, N&P.

Check balance and pay it off as soon as you get back off holiday to minimise interest. The interest is likely to be about a tenth of the charge that's hidden in rate of so called "commission free" forex places in the UK.