Travelex Supercard vs Halifax Clarity card

gwapenut

If supercard is funded by a cashback credit card or 0% purchases stooz card, isn't it true that even 0.5% cashback or stooz savings interest would easily, on average, nullify any penalty in the VISA exchange rate?

buffman

However if it is possible to use an Amex card linked to the Supercard and get the 1%+ Amex cashback, does this not more than negate the Visa/ Mastercard differential for regular purchases?

What I am unsure of is whether or not an ATM withdrawl using a supercard Linked to my Amex card will result in an interest fee being charged by Amex. I have emailed Supercard requesting clarification of whether an ATM withdrawl will be regarded by Amex as a regular or cash purchase.

I am also not certain whether Supercard will accept Amex credit cards or only Visa/Mastercard.

dj1471

buffman wrote: »

I am also not certain whether Supercard will accept Amex credit cards or only Visa/Mastercard.

Visa and MasterCard only, this is covered in the MSE article

drunk1

Does anyone know if gambling transactions/purchases will count as a cash withdrawal via Supercard?

I have my Clarity but going to Vegas in a few weeks and intend to try this new card out to see what it's like and if it works. I just mean if maybe buying drinks in a casino, will that be counted as a cash withdrawal like a casino purchase in the UK for example?

Thanks!

zerog

Si67 wrote: »

So, MasterCard is better, and sometimes the difference is significant (as I found with that sample of 12th May).

One observation I would make about the article is that is mentions the Wholesale rate, whereas I thought MasterCard users (especially Clarity) received the Interbank rate. Could anyone clarify this?

It's nothing new that Mastercard rates are better than Visa in general. I've been posting about it for years on different forums.

The interbank rate is just the rate at which large banks buy and sell from each other at any time. Visa and Mastercard DO NOT give you the interbank rate. They make up their own rates each day which as you know are published online afterwards. These are obviously based on the interbank rate just like the rate at any bureau de change.

When you spend in EUR on your UK card, then Mastercard will receive payment in GBP from the issuing banks and needs to pay the acquiring banks in EUR.

When Eurozone people spend in GBP, Mastercard will receive EUR from issuers and pays acquirers in GBP.

If the former is more than the latter, then Mastercard will be owed GBP and will owe EUR, therefore it needs to sell GBP for EUR. It will do this on the wholesale forex market as it is a large company. Therefore, it will get a rate very close to the interbank rates and may well contribute to the interbank rate itself because of the large sums involved. (If lots of people want to buy euros, then EURGBP goes up.)

Mastercard will be buying and selling in both directions, but at the end of the day there will be an aggregate total and this is the rate you will get the next day.

Visa does something similar but I think it determines the rates beforehand and just adds a spread of 0.25%-1% to cover any costs/fluctuations.

Therefore Mastercard can, and in the case of GBP cardholders, often gives, rates better than the interbank rate has been at any time during the day you spent the money. It is possible to withdraw cash and sell it for more than you paid (will pay) in GBP. Whereas with Visa you will almost never do better than the interbank rate has been, unless it has fluctuated a lot and even then it will probably be in Visa's favour.


What would be interesting is to investigate what happens when there is a large jump in a currency, e.g. EURCHF. I wonder whether many people who spent in Switzerland on the day before suddenly found themselves going over their credit limits when the transactions were processed. I feel that the risk of this is lower with Visa but am not sure.

Si67

zerog wrote: »

It's nothing new that Mastercard rates are better than Visa in general. I've been posting about it for years on different forums.

The interbank rate is just the rate at which large banks buy and sell from each other at any time. Visa and Mastercard DO NOT give you the interbank rate. They make up their own rates each day which as you know are published online afterwards. These are obviously based on the interbank rate just like the rate at any bureau de change.

When you spend in EUR on your UK card, then Mastercard will receive payment in GBP from the issuing banks and needs to pay the acquiring banks in EUR.

When Eurozone people spend in GBP, Mastercard will receive EUR from issuers and pays acquirers in GBP.

If the former is more than the latter, then Mastercard will be owed GBP and will owe EUR, therefore it needs to sell GBP for EUR. It will do this on the wholesale forex market as it is a large company. Therefore, it will get a rate very close to the interbank rates and may well contribute to the interbank rate itself because of the large sums involved. (If lots of people want to buy euros, then EURGBP goes up.)

Mastercard will be buying and selling in both directions, but at the end of the day there will be an aggregate total and this is the rate you will get the next day.

Visa does something similar but I think it determines the rates beforehand and just adds a spread of 0.25%-1% to cover any costs/fluctuations.

Therefore Mastercard can, and in the case of GBP cardholders, often gives, rates better than the interbank rate has been at any time during the day you spent the money. It is possible to withdraw cash and sell it for more than you paid (will pay) in GBP. Whereas with Visa you will almost never do better than the interbank rate has been, unless it has fluctuated a lot and even then it will probably be in Visa's favour.


What would be interesting is to investigate what happens when there is a large jump in a currency, e.g. EURCHF. I wonder whether many people who spent in Switzerland on the day before suddenly found themselves going over their credit limits when the transactions were processed. I feel that the risk of this is lower with Visa but am not sure.

Can't reply properly at the moment, I'm in the pub! I know what the interbank rate is. It's the mid-market rate and should be the same whichever way the transfer is going (though I always stand to be corrected ). I previously read that Halifax gives the interbank rate, but I can't find that reference now, especially as I'm in the pub! However, looking back over some statements does suggest that i was getting the interbank rate with my clarity card.

adindas

You do not get Interbank exchange rate with your clarity card. You however get Mastercard Wholeseller (aka global) exchange rate, which is close to Interbank exchange rate.

Instead of solely depeding on banks, MasterCard also uses multiple market sources (such as Bloomberg, Reuters, Central Banks and others) to develop their daily rate. These rates generally reflect either wholesale market rates or government mandated rates that are collected during the daily rate setting process.

Si67 wrote: »

Can't reply properly at the moment, I'm in the pub! I know what the interbank rate is. It's the mid-market rate and should be the same whichever way the transfer is going (though I always stand to be corrected ). I previously read that Halifax gives the interbank rate, but I can't find that reference now, especially as I'm in the pub! However, looking back over some statements does suggest that i was getting the interbank rate with my clarity card.