M&S Credit Card for buying Currency

chuckley

grumbler wrote: »

What do you mean?
Don't see or don't bother to save?
That said, there are a few other cards that are no worse than Clarity. One is even better for purchases.

As in relative to the person. Just because MSE/the masses say it's the best doesn't mean it's the best for ME.

FairFX was raved about for quite some time as the 'best prepaid overseas card', however on closer inspection Caxton was and is still better for me, why? No fee to getting the card and I just wasn't feeling FairFX...

Aqua rewards is much better for overseas, personally as I have ZERO interest and will never withdraw cash on a CC. to me the Clarity just defeats the purpose of a CC, considering you're paying interest until paid, even if it's small.

People take these 'best'/affiliate tables from MSE as if there's nothing else. 'oh well if Martin said so, then I should just get it...

It's the same as people saying 'God how could you buy that on a debit card'... as if cash is no longer king.

No_6

Halifax Clarity is OK for EU spends in bars, eats etc
but I don't use for atm cash with drawls


6

grumbler

chuckley wrote: »

As in relative to the person. Just because MSE/the masses say it's the best doesn't mean it's the best for ME.

Well, it's (one of) the best for those who want to Save Money. Your criteria can be different.

Aqua rewards is much better for overseas, personally as I have ZERO interest and will never withdraw cash on a CC.

That's the one that I meant when said 'better for purchases'.

to me the Clarity just defeats the purpose of a CC, considering you're paying interest until paid, even if it's small.

On cash withdrawals only? And only until the withdrawals paid?
On purchases the interest is ZERO - like for Aqua and for all other UK CCs except one. Unfortunately, not all places abroad take cards. Even in Europe, not to mention second/third world.

People take these 'best'/affiliate tables from MSE as if there's nothing else. 'oh well if Martin said so, then I should just get it...

No, because of the facts.

redux

chuckley wrote: »

FairFX was raved about for quite some time as the 'best prepaid overseas card', however on closer inspection Caxton was and is still better for me, why? No fee to getting the card and I just wasn't feeling FairFX...

Neither of these is the best prepaid card. FairFX has a better exchange rate than Caxton, but still not as good as cards with no currency loading, such as Kalixa.

chuckley

grumbler wrote: »

That's the one that I meant when said 'better for purchases'. On cash withdrawals only? And only until the withdrawals paid?
On purchases the interest is ZERO - like for Aqua and for all other UK CCs except one. Unfortunately, not all places abroad take cards. Even in Europe, not to mention second/third world.

OK but in reality who comes back from holiday and repays their credit card spends immediately to reduce interest? I think this feature is dangerous. You may as well have changed the cash before, if you wanted instant cash. So you shouldn't be paying interest anyway if balance cleared by date. To me, that card is totally backwards in it's logic but if the masses say it's the best, then it must be.... If it wasn't for that feature, I'd say it was a good card for overseas.

The exchange rate on Aqua really surprised me though recently, it was better than the bloody cash I exchanged, even though it was a boosted rate.

Much prefer my Caxton overall though as I'm more of a cash person when on holiday. I feel safer with it that I do a credit card.

chuckley

redux wrote: »

Neither of these is the best prepaid card. FairFX has a better exchange rate than Caxton, but still not as good as cards with no currency loading, such as Kalixa.

there will always be a newer, whizzier and more fancy prepaid card. but there should just be a general comparison list of as many as possible. MSE even dropped Caxton from its list.

Strange. I got the card once it switched to mastercard with the multiple currency load. I would've thought that was a bonus, but hey he probably wasn't banking commission to list them.

grumbler

chuckley wrote: »

OK but in reality who comes back from holiday and repays their credit card spends immediately to reduce interest?

In fact many people repay cash withdrawals well before coming back.

I think this feature is dangerous. You may as well have changed the cash before, if you wanted instant cash. So you shouldn't be paying interest anyway if balance cleared by date. To me, that card is totally backwards in it's logic

No, it doesn't - if the interest is small enouth.

but if the masses say it's the best, then it must be....

It's common sense (and maths), not masses.

The exchange rate on Aqua really surprised me though recently, it was better than the bloody cash I exchanged, even though it was a boosted rate.

Both Aqua and Clarity are Mastercard, so the rate is the same, although Aqua does pay 0.5% cashback unlike Clarity.

eDicky

chuckley wrote: »

The exchange rate on Aqua really surprised me though recently, it was better than the bloody cash I exchanged, even though it was a boosted rate.

This should give you a clue about what you appear to be missing - the variation in exchange rates. When buying cash at M&S or any other exchange bureau, or using the likes of Caxton and FairFX cards, you are receiving a much worse rate than you get when withdrawing cash from an overseas ATM with a suitable card that gives you the perfect MasterCard or Visa exchange rate with no fees. The temporary CC interest on foreign withdrawals is insignificant compared to the potential losses from adverse exchange rates.

These suitable cards are currently:-
Credit cards: Halifax Clarity; Aqua Reward; Creation Everyday; MBNA Everyday Plus; (maybe a couple of others less ideal).
Bank debit cards: N&P BS; Cumberland BS (for NW England, SW Scotland residents); Metro Bank (London area, European use).
Prepaid debit cards: Revolut; Kalixa Pay.

chuckley

grumbler wrote: »

In fact many people repay cash withdrawals well before coming back.

No, it doesn't - if the interest is small enouth.

It's common sense (and maths), not masses.

Both Aqua and Clarity are Mastercard, so the rate is the same, although Aqua does pay 0.5% cashback unlike Clarity.

so what is the point of the cash withdrawals on the card? what do you gain when you automatically get charged interest from that day?!

chuckley

eDicky wrote: »

This should give you a clue about what you appear to be missing - the variation in exchange rates. When buying cash at M&S or any other exchange bureau, or using the likes of Caxton and FairFX cards, you are receiving a much worse rate than you get when withdrawing cash from an overseas ATM with a suitable card that gives you the perfect MasterCard or Visa exchange rate with no fees. The temporary CC interest on foreign withdrawals is insignificant compared to the potential losses from adverse exchange rates.

These suitable cards are currently:-
Credit cards: Halifax Clarity; Aqua Reward; Creation Everyday; MBNA Everyday Plus; (maybe a couple of others less ideal).
Bank debit cards: N&P BS; Cumberland BS (for NW England, SW Scotland residents); Metro Bank (London area, European use).
Prepaid debit cards: Revolut; Kalixa Pay.

'much worse rate' let's not get silly here and pretend these overseas cards give you double cash back on exchanging. You can get a slightly better rate yes...

but on the flipside...

Withdrawing on these cards incurs fees, regardless of how fast it's repaid. which like I said defeats the purpose of a credit card. whichever way you look at it, you're paying to withdraw cash, no matter how small... a feature I refuse to accept or use no matter how 'pretty' the other features are.