Problems adding travel plans on Halifax Clarity Card

smjxm09

I am sure if a fraudulent transaction took place abroad you would be asking questions about how could this happen yet it is clear you don't like the idea of helping to prevent it.

reclusive46

GingerBob wrote: »

If anyone is really worried about this, it might help if you use it at the airport before departure. I'm sure their incredibly sophisticated "fraud" detection systems will understand from such usage that you may be travelling abroad

I know for a fact that both Lloyds bank (including the banking group, Halifax and BOS) and American Express use this as part of their fraud system. Using your card any at UK airport with a chip and pin/signature transaction (Contactless and swipe and sign fallback excluded) with create an internal flag on the account for 30 days (Or until another instore uk transaction is completed outside of an airport).

American Express also look at any flight data of flights you've booked with their cards. The dates are normal included in the transaction data. I'm sure other banks look at this as well.

GingerBob_3

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

It's not exactly a hardship.

It's just one more (unnecessary) thing to think about when going abroad- so don't bother.

I'm not liable for fraudulent transactions abroad, provided I look after my card. This is all about protecting the card issuer rather than the customer.

Biggles

GingerBob wrote: »

Why should we, the customers, be bothered with this nonsense about letting card providers know of our travel plans? I never do, and I've no intention of ever doing so in the future. They will only ever block my card once! However, I do have the luxury of numerous (10 to be precise) credit cards.

There are only a small number of cards that enable us to withdraw, and to make payments in, foreign currencies without paying them any fees, and I am quite happy to do whatever keeps them happy while I am abroad. In practice, there would probably be no problem, but if a quick website message will give me peace of mind that I will continue to get my free cash, that's fine with me.

Biggles

GingerBob wrote: »

If anyone is really worried about this, it might help if you use it at the airport before departure.

All ten of them?

GingerBob_3

Biggles wrote: »

All ten of them?

Nah! I only ever use the Halifax card abroad, but if they ever block it without good reason (simply being abroad is a bad reason) I will immediately close the account and move to the Post Office card for overseas stuff.

chattychappy

GingerBob wrote: »

Nah! I only ever use the Halifax card abroad, but if they ever block it without good reason (simply being abroad is a bad reason) I will immediately close the account and move to the Post Office card for overseas stuff.

Yep... and then PO Mastercard gets blocked?

Most of my spend is foreign and until recently was overseas more than in the UK. I use the following cards:

Nationwide Select Visa: Purchases
Post Office Mastercard: Purchases
Halifax Clarity Mastercard: Cash, backup for purchases
Santander Zero Mastercard: Cash, backup for purchases
Barclaycard: Backup for cash

I don't phone in advance. If you try, it's a hassle. Some can't cope with more than 3 destinations or stays of more than 3 weeks. I forget how many times I've had to explain that "Taiwan" is not "Thailand" etc. In my experience phoning ahead doesn't reduce the chances of a block, but perhaps it means the block will in time be cleared without further intervention.

So I just use the cards as they suit me. If one blocks, I just use another. If the blocked card is still blocked after a few days, then I'll call them. I'm not going to ask for explanations (call centre ops can't tell you precisely why something was deemed to be suspicious anyway). Why would I cancel the card? It simply reduces my alternatives if there is a problem with another card. There aren't a huge number of loading-free cards. (Santander Zero is no longer available to newcomers...)

Biggles

I always take several loading-free cards, too. Mine are currently:-

Aqua (for purchases, due to the 0.5% cashback)
Norwich & Peterborough debit card (for cash)
Halifax Clarity (cash and purchases)
Nationwide (for purchases as long as it's within the EU)
AmEx (for purchase while I'm on the 3 months with 5% cashback)