Clarity Application for Mexico Use

keasy

I'm eligible for the Clarity Card at 21.9% which was a disappointment as I'm a safe bet for 18 I reckon, anyway.

I'm heading to Mexico for a family holiday at the end of June and was thinking of taking £600's worth of Pesos and the Clarity Card to pay for trips etc and as an emergency back up for cash.

Is it any good for Mexico? I'm going to the Grand Sirenis in Riviera Maya.

Also (I know I'm a bit thick) if I use the card over there for say an equivalent of £500 cash withdrawal, how much would I pay when I arrive back home and pay it immediately? Equivalently how much would I pay for £500 worth of on the card purchases? Bearing in mind I'm on the 21.9% and not the 18%.


We usually just take cash on holiday but I'm fed up bringing back £100's of pounds and losing out when I change currency back to sterling. The £600 of Pesos will defo be spent.

Thanks for any help.

bigadaj

I'd be tempted to take dollar cash rather than pesos, should be easy to use and more useful when you have some spare at the end.

It's a standard MasterCard so should be widely accepted, cost of £500 for two weeks be around £5 which is as cheap as most options. Remember you get the best rate available, there's virtually no buy sell spread as you get when you exchange currency though if you can pay by card when you are there then that would be a better option.

For specific advice on Mexico and your trip then tripadvisor Bacardi would be better than here.

YorkshireBoy

For 2 weeks...

£3.82 if you (could?) withdraw it in one go on day one.

£1.91 if you make 5 x £100 equivalent withdrawals spaced out evenly over the fortnight.

Actually probably a little less than this, since the transaction doesn't attract interest until posted to your account...which could be 2 days after you withdraw.

But since you haven't said how long you're going for, best do your own sums at 5.5p per £100 per day.

keasy

Well that's a lot more clarity for me.
Thanks very much guys, seems the Clarity Card is defo the way forward.

Yorkshireboy, I'm there 2 weeks and doubt if I'd withdraw the cash within the first week, now that I know just how much I'm roughly up against on pay back I feel far more confident.

APR baffles me, I can work out what a full year interest would be but for two/three weeks it frazzles my synapses!

Appreciated, thanks again. :beer:

Westie983

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

For 2 weeks...

£3.82 if you (could?) withdraw it in one go on day one.

£1.91 if you make 5 x £100 equivalent withdrawals spaced out evenly over the fortnight.

Actually probably a little less than this, since the transaction doesn't attract interest until posted to your account...which could be 2 days after you withdraw.

But since you haven't said how long you're going for, best do your own sums at 5.5p per £100 per day.

Interest is charged from the time of withdrawal when taking out cash using the clarity card not when its posted, but its nominal either way.

YorkshireBoy

Westie983 wrote: »

Interest is charged from the time of withdrawal when taking out cash using the clarity card not when its posted

Really? According to the Clarity T&Cs, condition 4.3 ...

Halifax_Clarity_T&Cs wrote:

We start charging interest on Transactions and on all other amounts from and including the date they are added to the account.


http://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/help-guidance/terms-and-conditions/clarity-card/

They further define, in section 22, what a "Transaction" is...

Halifax_Clarity_T&Cs wrote:

“Transaction”: Purchases, payments by Cheque, Cash Withdrawals and Balance Transfers.

Perhaps you could ask your employers to re-write the T&Cs so that their/your customers aren't misled?

tripled

If you want dollars, you can get them from some UK atms. I did it last year. There's a thread somewhere, but IIRC you need to find a moneycorp atm at Gatwick airport which dispenses dollars. Remember to decline their offer of a conversion as you'll get punished on the rate. In fact, that advice stands for all ATMs offering dynamic currency conversion.

Assuming your destination airport has an ATM, I wouldn't bother getting pesos over here but wait until you get to Mexico.

eDicky

Using your Clarity card in a Mexican ATM for cash will be cheaper than buying any cash before you go.

keasy

Well, that's it accepted and should be on its way.

Sticking to the 5/600 pesos cash prior to going plan as apparently there's only one ATM at our hotel and I've been advised not to use it as it's not an official bank ATM, which seems to be the general advice in Mexico. I don't know if anyone can offer any more insight to that.

The card will pay for trips and will be the emergency cash back up should I need it but sounds like a trip into the nearest town 20km away would be needed to use an official bank ATM.

ryuuoo

I was in Cancun last summer and was impressed by how good my Clarity worked out. Accepted everywhere, never declined, great conversion rates... just perfect.

glider3560

The problem with taking dollars, is you'll get rinsed on the Peso to Dollar exchange rate.

My understanding is that most retailers will say 1 US Dollar = 10 Pesos. The interbank rate is currently 1 USD Dollar = 17.7 Pesos.

I'd rather deal with local currency. The same goes for nearly any country where people suggest using US Dollars or Euros (e.g. Morrocco).