Halifax Clarity card withdrawals

psamatt

I have a Halifax Clarity Credit card and am soon going on Holiday to Thailand.

Is it bad to withdraw money from an ATM using this card?

I dont want a bad credit rating but also dont want to have to rely on taking loads of physical cash for places that charge a crazy fee for credit cards or dont accept cards e.g street vendors.

I dont know how much in cash i will need either to cater for the above

Westminster

There is nothing wrong with withdrawing cash from this card (as long as you can afford to repay it).

Unlike usual purchases, you will start to get charged interest daily on any ATM withdrawals - but again, as long as you clear the balance in full at the end of the month, the total charge is very small compared to any alternative.

If you really want to make it as cheap as possible, then withdraw the cash and then the same day you can use internet banking to pay Halifax the amount you just withdrew and you will then not get charged anything at all.

dj1471

The ATMs in Thailand almost all charge for withdrawals, the best part of £5, so minimise the number of withdrawals.

chattychappy

I regularly withdraw cash on Clarity and have never had problem obtaining credit. For those who care about such things, my Experian score is currently 998. I believe it is only negative when taken with other factors - eg close to limits, only paying minimums, missed payments etc.

Bear in mind that cards can easily fail overseas so take backups.

Clarity is great for overseas withdrawals. No loading, no fees. Just interest from date of withdrawal at a reasonable rate. For a short trip just pay it off when you return. If you really want to minimise interest, then pay whilst you're there, but remember that payments are first applied to any outstanding balance from a previous statement.

Whilst Clarity is as good as it gets for obtaining cash on a card overseas, in the particular case of Thailand you maybe better off changing some GBP cash to THB on arrival at Suvarnabhumi. Search for "Thailand" in this area to find some threads.

bbarroso

All true. In Summary:

Make sure the ATM provider doesn't charge a fee, because that is independent of the card provider, same as most private ATM's here in the UK.

Have a second card or cash by hand because from time to time Halifax does block transactions and they will call you from an automated line to make sure you were the one trying to use your card, so you'll need to be able to receive calls on your phone.

For purchases, same as above. Many merchants don't accept overseas cards because of the fees, so even if the card is Ok you might not be able to pay with it. I found many operating as such in Germany, for example. If they do accept, you're better off paying straight with the card.

fifeken

chattychappy wrote: »

Whilst Clarity is as good as it gets for obtaining cash on a card overseas, in the particular case of Thailand you maybe better off changing some GBP cash to THB on arrival at Suvarnabhumi.

If you do this, go down to the basement level for the best exchange rate. "On airport" money exchanges have to offer the same (poor) rate, but there's a couple down there classified as "off airport" and they offer a much better exchange rate.

psamatt

I'm flying into Koh Samui for an onwards journey to Koh Toa so hopefully they'll be a cheap exchange rate when i get there

bbarroso

Why not take some cash with you from the UK?

My bank normally offers me a good exchange rate if booked online or in advance... I would use that option if travelling outside EU or US, just in case... I'm not saying a large amount but maybe the equivalent to £100-200

PeacefulWaters

bbarroso wrote: »

Why not take some cash with you from the UK?

My bank normally offers me a good exchange rate if booked online or in advance...

Hahahahahahahahaha.

OOOO

Suvarnabhumi airport has atm,s where the clarity can be used but be very careful as you will be asked about the conversion when you withdraw cash. I cant remember the exact message but make sure you dont allow the thai banks to use there rates. Only accept the rates set by your clarity card when asked