Travelex Supercard vs Halifax Clarity card

Si67

Yes, that's what I'd always thought. Obviously the rates on 12th may were a blip and thus a bad example.

I'm still wondering why Martin Lewis is promoting Supercard as BETTER than Clarity though. They're pretty much as good as each other. Ok, interest (at a low rate) is applied to cash withdrawals with Clarity, but if repaid early this can be negligible or zero.

adindas wrote: »

The difference between Visa and Master exchange rate is always be so to tiny and people can not say that one is better than another. This figure has been confirmed by few people in this forum which include me.

If you bother to observe everyday for a duration of one month (say) at a different time (e.g morning, afternoon, evening), you will find that sometimes Visa is better and Master and visa versa.

They use the same reference e.g inter bank exchange rate. But the exchange rate of Visa and Master might be different as they might be updating their exchange rate at a different time. The inter bank exchange rate is changing several times in a day as the currency are traded by traders all the times.

adindas

Si67 wrote: »

Yes, that's what I'd always thought. Obviously the rates on 12th may were a blip and thus a bad example.

I'm still wondering why Martin Lewis is promoting Supercard as BETTER than Clarity though. They're pretty much as good as each other. Ok, interest (at a low rate) is applied to cash withdrawals with Clarity, but if repaid early this can be negligible or zero.

I have not read Martin's article. But I remember read somewhere that people prefer Visa than Master due to the fact that in some countries it is easier to get Visa cash machines than Master cash machines. But if you have both of them you would not bother as you will use both when withdrawing the cash.

Also if the comparison between the card itself rather then Visa vs Master which was in the previous discussion, Zero fee card which bill without conversion linked to another account or to other card will always be the winner if you compare it to Credit card for obvious reason.

For cash withdrawal
Zero fee for foreign transaction debit cards (e.g Metro for EU, Santander Zero debit card, N&P, Cumberland BS) are always better than zero fee linked card (e.g Travellex supercard)

Zero fee linked card (e.g Travellex supercard) is always better than zero fee creditcard (e.g Halifax clarity, Santander Zero creditcard). No brainer ....

SuperHan

Si67 wrote: »

I'm still wondering why Martin Lewis is promoting Supercard as BETTER than Clarity though. They're pretty much as good as each other. Ok, interest (at a low rate) is applied to cash withdrawals with Clarity, but if repaid early this can be negligible or zero.

Clarity requires credit checks, so is not available to everybody.

Also, there is the additional administrative burden of making early payments to avoid interest on Clarity cash withdrawals. These can also (apparently) be perceived negatively by anyone viewing your credit record.

Supercard will also allow me to clock up reward points on my CC once I have hit £300 on my Clarity Card, so there are additional benefits there too.

Si67

Actually, that leads me on to another question (I was going to ask in a new thread but now you've mentioned credit cards. ..).

So, if the Supercard is linked to a typical credit card (not Clarity), is there any possibility that the credit card would see cash withdrawals made using the Supercard as a cash advance, and thus charge a cash advance fee + interest accordingly?

SuperHan wrote: »

Supercard will also allow me to clock up reward points on my CC once I have hit £300 on my Clarity Card, so there are additional benefits there too.

Ballard

Si67 wrote: »

Actually, that leads me on to another question (I was going to ask in a new thread but now you've mentioned credit cards. ..).

So, if the Supercard is linked to a typical credit card (not Clarity), is there any possibility that the credit card would see cash withdrawals made using the Supercard as a cash advance, and thus charge a cash advance fee + interest accordingly?

My understanding is that you need to go to the app on your smartphone and select which card you wish to use. This isn't ideal as you'd need some sort of connection to the internet.

Roger1

Si67 wrote: »

... these figures (which, as I said, might not give the whole story!) ...

Indeed. And exchange rates have been discussed in this thread.

I'd just observe that your OP refers to getting cash from ATMs. I use ATMs from time to time, sure but the majority of my transactions are retail transactions - shopping, hotel, fuel, car rental etc - where the difference is scarcely to be noticed.

As for questions regarding whether cash is treated as a cash advance with interest, check Martin's article. (It's No, I think.)

Ballard wrote: »

My understanding is that you need to go to the app on your smartphone and select which card you wish to use.

Only if you want to. I'm sure you can use one card as a default or just register one card.

Si67

Yes, I understand how to link to a card, but if that card is a CREDIT card (as opposed to a debit card) would a cash withdrawal using the Supercard be considered a cash advance by the credit card, and charged accordingly?

Ballard wrote: »

My understanding is that you need to go to the app on your smartphone and select which card you wish to use. This isn't ideal as you'd need some sort of connection to the internet.

SnowTiger

Si67 wrote: »

I'm a bit confused as to why the Travelex Supercard is considered better than the Halifax Clarity card, even for cash withdrawals.

I thought one of the advantages of the new card is that you would still earn points, cashback and rewards on the card it's paired with. Maybe not such a big deal now.

Pair it with the Clarity card to earn a fiver reward for spending abroad.

I also have a Natwest Select card. Free to use aboard, but I earn 0.5% cashback on UK purchases.

https://www.supercard.io/faqs:

Will I still earn credit card loyalty points from my linked cards?

Absolutely. Because every Supercard transaction is charged to your linked cards, any points or rewards you would get from your regular spending automatically apply.

It also allows punters to spread their spend/debt amongst several cards.

[Deleted User]

So... here's a thought. If it turns out that Supercard cash withdrawals are "seen" by the credit card it's linked to as a purchase...

Let's say you've got a 1% cashback credit card, and you withdraw £500 in the UK on it. You get charged £2 by Supercard as a UK usage fee, and you get £5.02 cashback from the credit card company. £3.02 profit, you pay the money back onto the credit card, and do it all again...?

reclusive46

You can't use the supercard in the UK if a credit card is the one being used on your supercard. Its in the T&Cs.