Halifx Clarity - What to do after the holidays?

KrzAramis

Hi,


I am currently looking into the issue of spending abroad. After reading the related article on MSE, I found out that I am eligible (90%) for the Halifax Clarity card.


I was about to apply when I realised that I did not have a plan for the card AFTER the holidays.


I would like to know what is the best strategy once I am back. I do not foresee travelling abroad for at least another year if not longer.


Should I simply close / cancel the card on my return? I do not fancy juggling 2 credit cards for my online purchases for example.


Thanks a lot in advance.

slinga

I got my Cl;arity just over a year ago specifically for holiday money.
I used it for 3 weeks then and since then I haven't used it at all.

Off to France in 10 days when I plan to use it again.

I just wonder if I have to phone up and tell Halifax that I'm off to France for a couple of weeks.
Ditto Lloyds although I just will use that CC in an emergency.

dresdendave

In your situation I would still keep the Clarity card, it's always possible you may have to go abroad at short notice. I assume you have set up a DD to pay in full, just make a small purchase every few months to make sure the card stays active, not really any juggling involved.

SuperHan

What other credit card are you using?

There's little 'juggling' to be done with just 2 cards. I spend as close to £300 as I can on my clarity each month for the £5 cash back, then pay in full by DD each month.

I then use 2 other cards for other cash back/rewards offers depending on the type of purchase.

You can just keep it in a drawer though until you next go away. It seems silly to close it when you may need it again in 12 months.

chattychappy

Oh do what you can to keep it. For a while Santander Zero was about the only CC that allowed fee-free foreign ATM withdrawals, then it was withdrawn for newcomers. Perhaps the same will happen to Clarity one day.

These cards are rare. I would just put a couple of transactions through from time to time just to prevent them cancelling it. (Though you can't be sure of this.)

It's also a handy backup if you suddenly find yourself short in the UK. Eg if you lose your debit card and don't have another way of drawing cash.

KrzAramis

Hi everyone,


thanks for responding.


I only have 1 Credit Card at the moment, and yes I plan to setup a DD to pay in full for this new card (I did not see anything about a £5 monthly reward... I suppose it does not apply to the current offer).


I see that Dave has confirmed my understanding that cards need to be used / remain active in order to benefit my credit score.


While some of you may argue that 2 cards is not juggling, I see this differently as I only got my first Credit Card less than a year ago!


Cheers.

virgo17

chattychappy wrote: »

These cards are rare. I would just put a couple of transactions through from time to time just to prevent them cancelling it. (Though you can't be sure of this.)

Completely agree. There have been previous posts on here by people moaning that their Clarity card had been cancelled or the credit limit lowered significantly. A large number of these people had obtained one, used it on holiday abroad and then put it back in the drawer for nine months.

If the OP is so new to credit cards, then he did well to actually get a Halifax Clarity and if I were him I would use it a number of times throughout the year to show normal use.

SnowTiger

virgo17 wrote: »

If the OP is so new to credit cards, then he did well to actually get a Halifax Clarity and if I were him I would use it a number of times throughout the year to show normal use.

OP hasn't applied for the card yet and may not be accepted, making this all academic.

Anyway, OP, do you receive any incentives for using your current card? Cashback? If not, and "juggling" two cards really is too difficult for you, why not dump the other card and keep the Clarity?

I would suggest setting up a Halifax Rewards account and making yourself a free tenner a month, but I guess that would be far too complex for you. :rotfl:

ManAtHome

slinga wrote: »

I just wonder if I have to phone up and tell Halifax that I'm off to France for a couple of weeks.

I usually let them know, but have forgotten a couple of times and it still worked.

You can enter holiday dates and countries online now, so might as well...

KrzAramis

w00t it is done, and I was successful apparently.

For readers who are not yet Halifax customers, I can confirm that a monthly £5 reward was offered provided one opens a Reward Account, pays in £1000 monthly and spend/repay £300 of spending with the card.

Based on suggestions here, I will make sure that I use it from time to time upon my return.

Bye for now.

virgo17

KrzAramis wrote: »

w00t it is done, and I was successful apparently.

Congratulations.

I misread your first post and thought you already had one, but now you have one on the way.

Hope you find it suits your needs, together with the Rewards. I wouldn't be without mine as I travel to Europe frequently.