Halifx Clarity - What to do after the holidays?

Carnival789

Definitely agree it's worth keeping this card, even if you only go abroad say once a year.

I've just returned from my holiday in France and used this card to pay for my hotel as well as a few meals out etc. As well as getting a superb exchange rate I will also get the £5 reward next month for spending over £300 within my statement period. I won't be going abroad again until at least this time next year but I'm definitely hanging on to mine

fzr400rrsp

The black Halifax card we have was obtained through a link on here a couple of years ago.
There is no mention of 'clarity' when I log into my account online.
It just says Halifax MasterCard.

grumbler

fzr400rrsp wrote: »

...
There is no mention of 'clarity' when I log into my account online.

It has to be: "Halifax Clarity Mastercard"

On the p.3 of a paper statement (Summary Box) it says:

Fees - None
Foreign usage - Payment Scheme Exchange Rate....

fzr400rrsp

Damn, probably too late to get Halifax to change our card to a clarity, as we are away next week.
Will get it done when we come back though.

grumbler

fzr400rrsp wrote: »

Damn, probably too late to get Halifax to change our card to a clarity....

See post #27 above.

adindas

Use it like any other normal credit card for purchase. Use it for everything which could be done via CC
If you qualify you might get cashback of £5 for £300+ purchase on this card ...

KrzAramis wrote: »

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.

fzr400rrsp

grumbler wrote: »

See post #27 above.

All that post says is "yes they will" and "no they won't"

grumbler

No, what it actually says is that they don't allow *changing*. Reportedly, you have to close the old card and reapply for a new one, possibly after some time, not instantly.

eDicky

grumbler wrote: »

No, what it actually says is that they don't allow *changing*. Reportedly, you have to close the old card and reapply for a new one, possibly after some time, not instantly.

I am pretty certain that someone reliably posted that they requested Halifax to exchange their card for a Clarity and they did it right away. I think on the 'Flights, currency and car hire' board, too many 'Clarity' threads to search. Anyway, it should be worth a trying the request...

grumbler

It wasn't an isolated report.

Mids_Costcutter wrote: »

I just tried this, about to close one Halifax credit card account and asked if it could be transferred to a Clarity account. Customer services advised that they don't transfer accounts in this way and I would need to close old account and wait at least 30 days before applying for another.

karrlai wrote: »

...They also said some people have managed to upgrade via phoning up but it's not always possible.

I unfortunately am in the latter category and they said I should cancel my card and wait 2 months (1 month to close down, 1 month for credit agencies to update) before applying for the Clarity but there is no guarantee that you will get it after closing the other one...

That said, this post implies that some people can get lucky.