MBNA Everyday Plus vs. Halifax Clarity

jumperabv3

I went abroad to visit someone in Israel - I tried to cashout 1000 Shekels (1000 ILS) from the ATM machine using 2 different cards - one is Halifax Clarity and one is MBNA Everyday Plus.

• When I took out 1000 ILS using Halifax Clarity the pending charge in the Halifax Online account shows for approximately £167.50 (rate of 5.97 shekels ot pound).
• When I took out 1000 ILS using the MBNA Everyday Plus the pending charge in the MBNA account is showing for £171.23 (rate of 5.84 shekels to pound). :shocked:

It's quite a big difference - I'm just not sure if these are going to be the final charges or currently they're just pending and will adjust in the end ... but just wanted to share my experience here .... once I see the final charges are posted I would advise accordingly as well.

SnowTiger

jumperabv3 wrote: »

I went abroad to visit someone in Israel - I tried to cashout 1000 Shekels (1000 ILS) from the ATM machine using 2 different cards - one is Halifax Clarity and one is MBNA Everyday Plus.

• When I took out 1000 ILS using Halifax Clarity the pending charge in the Halifax Online account shows for approximately £167.50 (rate of 5.97 shekels ot pound).
• When I took out 1000 ILS using the MBNA Everyday Plus the pending charge in the MBNA account is showing for £171.23 (rate of 5.84 shekels to pound). :shocked:

It's quite a big difference - I'm just not sure if these are going to be the final charges or currently they're just pending and will adjust in the end ... but just wanted to share my experience here .... once I see the final charges are posted I would advise accordingly as well.

Halifax Clarity is Mastercard and MBNA Everyday Plus is America Express.

It's been highlighted before that Mastercard rates are generally better than Visa. Better than American Express too it seems.

But that is quite a big difference.

jumperabv3

Yes, the difference between 5.97 and 5.84 is quite massive ... I tried to find more info about this online ... looks like there is around £3 fee charged by Amex for such transactions, but if MBNA claims they don't have these fees - then maybe after the transaction posts it would be £168 instead of £171 (and then it would be only £0.50 difference from MasterCard) which in that case is pretty reasonable.

So just waiting for the transactions to post now.

reclusive46

jumperabv3 wrote: »

Yes, the difference between 5.97 and 5.84 is quite massive ... I tried to find more info about this online ... looks like there is around £3 fee charged by Amex for such transactions, but if MBNA claims they don't have these fees - then maybe after the transaction posts it would be £168 instead of £171 (and then it would be only £0.50 difference from MasterCard) which in that case is pretty reasonable.

So just waiting for the transactions to post now.

Amex hold around 3% extra for currency fluctuations. Look when the transactions post. Also Amex use exchange rate of the day after transaction, MasterCard use post date exchange rate. So you win some and lose some with both. Outside of USD though MasterCard is generally the best. When spending in USD, I find them Amex rate is better.

jumperabv3

reclusive46 wrote: »

Amex hold around 3% extra for currency fluctuations. Look when the transactions post. Also Amex use exchange rate of the day after transaction, MasterCard use post date exchange rate. So you win some and lose some with both. Outside of USD though MasterCard is generally the best. When spending in USD, I find them Amex rate is better.

Thanks, I will advise once I see both transactions posted (probably Tuesday, 3rd of Nov, my assumption).

jumperabv3

Okay - I promised to give you an update so here it is:

• With Halifax Clarity the cost of taking out 1000 ILS from the ATM machine was exactly £167.49 (rate of 5.970)
• With MBNA the cost of taking out 1000 ILS from the ATM machine was exactly £169.56 (rate of 5.897)

Both transactions were made on the same time, same day (Sunday = Weekend), with a difference of 30-40 seconds at most.
Both transactions are posted now and are completely final.


In my opinion the MBNA card is still worth it, whilst of course it sucks you have to pay extra £2 in fees for taking out money with it (in comparison with Halifax) - it's still offering a quite good rate for foreign cash advance not only in the US but in other countries as well.

System

Thanks for the update.

I've just opened an Everyday Plus to compliment my Clarity as I wanted a 2nd forex free (but non-Mastercard) option and like the Amex network offers.

One niggle is wondering if they covert all non-US transactions via USD then on to Pound Sterling.

jumperabv3

Heng_Leng wrote: »

One niggle is wondering if they covert all non-US transactions via USD then on to Pound Sterling.

Yes, I think that's what they do - they convert it first to USD and then from USD to the local currency - and that is why there is a difference between the rates.

reclusive46

Yeah, Visa Inc do this too (Not Visa Europe but Visa inc is merging with them now). It can sometimes be beneficial.

jumperabv3

Just want to mention I tried both cards (Halifax & MBNA Everyday+) one more time several days ago and this time it was on a normal weekday and not weekend like before.

This time with Halifax Clarity the rate was 5.99 and with MBNA it was 5.97 so only a minor difference there.

So probably - I assume - using your MBNA card on normal business days (NOT weekends) would be better for you as long as there are no hard fluctuations with the exchange rate.

Hope this info helps.

Clara47g

The interest rates between the two cards (charged as soon as you withdraw the money from ATM abroad) is a lot cheaper - by nearly half - with the MBNA? is this correct? Please feel free to enlighten me if i have my facts wrong.
Thank you.
Currently i have only the Halifax clarity card and have used it successfully in south east asia (cambodia vietnam malaysia thailand) with no issues and exchange rate have been fair no fees apart from the odd interest on my bank statement - when i pay the credit card bill in full that month - and as i understand it the interest is calculated as soon as the cash is withdrawn.