Halifax Clarity Credit Card for Travelling

[Deleted User]

Heng_Leng wrote: »

So you realistically suggest taking a large bundle of foreign currency that you'd have to spend, keep or change back to Sterling?! This obviously excludes any security issues and exchange rate fluctuations.

The only reason to do something like that is going to a cash economy or to hide your spending for someone.

No I do not suggest taking any large amounts of foreign currency, only take as much as you need for emergency if you cannot use your card.

eDicky

shennan wrote: »

"Pretty much" is a subjective comparative phrase - which means my statement about the similarity between the two offerings is subjective. I did not state as fact that these two exchange rates were equal. Many here have suggested that the £1.50 interest mark on a cash withdrawal of €100 over a month is negligible. That is also subjective.

My last post had screenshots of the Mastercard/CGFX exchange rates at the same time this morning. I correctly calculated the difference, so there's no need for you to unfairly take yesterdays exchange rate vs todays.

While we're correcting misleading statements, are you saying that Mastercard (and their entire infrastructure) do not feel the need to yield profit also?

A vague statement that gives the wrong impression should be clarified or corrected. Yours implied that there's no advantage to using a Clarity card over exchanging cash at some bureaux.

MasterCard only publish rates up to the previous working day, that's why I compared their rate for yesterday with that of CG FX from yesterday.

Don't worry, MasterCard make plenty of profit without having to put a spread on their exchange rates - they leave that to most banks and companies who issue their cards.

System

How will you know exactly that much is?

With Clarity (or any card) you can withdraw as you see fit. With your method, you are totally dependent on the card as a payment method and any cash pre-exchanged - bad advice.

I take a small amount of local currency to start me off and see how things go - then either use the card or withdraw cash as needed.

[Deleted User] wrote:

No I do not suggest taking any large amounts of foreign currency, only take as much as you need for emergency if you cannot use your card.

shennan

eDicky wrote: »

A vague statement that gives the wrong impression should be clarified or corrected. Yours implied that there's no advantage to using a Clarity card over exchanging cash at some bureaux.

If my implication was that there is no advantage to using a Clarity Card while spending abroad then let me make myself patently clear: I believe there is a huge benefit in using your Clarity Card overseas. The benefits are of a financial and practical nature.

My statement was simply that their are some perceivable benefits to taking a small amount of cash with you when travelling in the event of an emergency (card malfunction/stolen etc). In the event that one does do this, it's important to find a good place to exchange. Personally, the best rates I've had in London from a bricks-and-morter exchange has been the aforementioned bureau. Others may have found better rates elsewhere, but I personally have not come across any yet.

Please, let's not go round in circles; I condone the Clarity Card as an excellent antidote to high exchange rates and transaction fees abroad. If I didn't, then I wouldn't have (very recently) visited Halifax and signed on the dotted line for one.

For those still wanting a definitive on the original question; yes, the assistant at Halifax said explicitly that purchases wouldn't have interest charged on them during the balance-clearing month.

bouncydog1

I use my clarity to withdraw cash every time I travel and stockpile the excess to fund future cash spending abroad where ATMs are not readily available or where they don't take cards (small restaurants etc). I always transfer funds the day that the withdrawal appears on my statement. Seems to work and the rate is always better than I can get from the bureau de change/banks etc. My credit record doesn't appear to have been affected.

adindas

Has anyone tried to withdraw £ (not foreign currency) using the Halifax Clarity or Creation Everyday cerditcard from UK cash machines (not overseas), and no charge, no fee, or other catches, no surprised???

It should be no interest to pay but has anyone tried it ?

What I am thinking here is that If there is no charge, no fee, or other catches, no surprised, it could become one of the mule cards for balance transfer where you could transfer the balance from 0% interest, £0 fee on BT to non-existing balance in clarity card and then withdraw the in credit balance from claritycard on daily basis until it become £ 0 ??

PeacefulWaters

adindas wrote: »

Has anyone tried to withdraw £ (not foreign currency) using the Halifax Clarity or Creation Everyday cerditcard from UK cash machines (not overseas), and no charge, no fee, or other catches, no surprised???

It should be no interest to pay but has anyone tried it ?

What I am thinking here is that If there is no charge, no fee, or other catches, no surprised, it could become one of the mule cards for balance transfer where you could transfer the balance from 0% interest, £0 fee on BT to non-existing balance in clarity card and then withdraw the in credit balance from claritycard on daily basis until it become £ 0 ??

There is interest on £ cash withdrawals on Clarity.

adindas

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

There is interest on £ cash withdrawals on Clarity.

No interest to pay if you are in credit as the result of BT from another 0%, £0 on BT creditcard. It is your money you are withdrawing, not the bank money ..

System

It's against the T&Cs of the card to preload it.
They may terminate the card.
You will also get the ATM withdrawals listed on your credit report.

adindas wrote: »

No interest to pay if you are in credit as the result of BT from another 0%, £0 on BT credit card. It is your money you are withdrawing, not the bank money

chattychappy

My Clarity card gets blocked easily when making ATM withdrawals in the UK. Also some ATMs seem to limit you to say, £300, despite the usual daily limit being £500.