Halifax or Barclaycard for going abroad?

JustAnotherSaver

My sister is looking at ways of setting up legit direct debits after Tesco gave notice of them ending this feature on their savings. So she's looking at a credit card to use.

She's also off on holiday (Spain) in the summer so it may as well be a card that will be of some use to her, so i was having a look & saw the Halifax Clarity and the Barclaycard Platinum.

Just trying to figure out what would be best for her - hence why i'm here.

She'll be going in the middle of the year so looking at https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/travel-credit-cards that wipes out the £20 cashback offer from Halifax.

She'll also be paying the card off in full.

So on that note, looking at the two, the Barclaycard one appears to be the better one i would say - since you can withdraw from a cash machine abroad without charge, unlike the Halifax card where you get charged interest until it's paid off. Yes she could go online banking that day but for ease-of-use the Barclaycard one sounds better there.

Is there any reason to go for the Halifax one then in this case, since the £20 cashback wont apply here?

Like i say the Barclaycard one then appears better due to the cashback being unavailable but i don't know if i'm missing something.

PeacefulWaters

Two cards is better than one.

Give Barclays priority, but why not take both?

JustAnotherSaver

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

Two cards is better than one.

Give Barclays priority, but why not take both?

I can't tell if you're being serious or not - the problems of just words on a screen

Why not take both - well why take both? Why is 2 cards better than one when they're pretty much the same thing?

If she was going abroad now or if the cashback deal lasted longer then i probably wouldn't even ask - i'd just say go ahead & get the Halifax one.

But it's going to be the summer before she goes so that's the cashback out the window.

One has a higher interest rate than the other but this also becomes pointless as she's paying off in full.

So then looking for more differences & i found that one allows you to withdraw at a cash machine with absolute zero charge (if paid off in full on time) whereas the other doesn't.

But i have a habit of missing key details which is why i'm here to see if i've missed a reason as to why Halifax is better.

Why would you take out both then, out of interest?

YorkshireBoy

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

Why is 2 cards better than one when they're pretty much the same thing?

One is Visa. One is MasterCard. What if one network is down? What's her back up?

What if Barclaycard block her account whilst she's abroad? Halifax would be a good back up. And vice-versa.

Some general comments:

MasterCard generally gives a better exchange rate.
Two credit cards would give her 2 DDs (for your Tesco replacement activity).
Re Halifax, why can't she buy something before she travels?...on the internet for a dollar?...or a euro?...or a whatever?
When I travel abroad I carry 4 cards, all with favourable terms.

buglawton

I've been pleased with the currency conversion savings using the Clarity card, but you must set up auto direct debit to pay off entire balances monthly.

JustAnotherSaver

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

One is Visa. One is MasterCard. What if one network is down? What's her back up?

What if Barclaycard block her account whilst she's abroad? Halifax would be a good back up. And vice-versa.

Some general comments:

MasterCard generally gives a better exchange rate.
Two credit cards would give her 2 DDs (for your Tesco replacement activity).
Re Halifax, why can't she buy something before she travels?...on the internet for a dollar?...or a euro?...or a whatever?
When I travel abroad I carry 4 cards, all with favourable terms.

And this is why i like to ask on the forum - there's always a different way of looking at things (and you make some good points).

Regards the buying something in foreign currency before she travels ... how? It's not something i've ever done myself aside from physically going abroad.

Obviously she doesn't want to be spending £20s worth just to get £20. She'll want it as low as possible for maximum gains, but how?

[Deleted User]

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

Regards the buying something in foreign currency before she travels ... how? It's not something i've ever done myself aside from physically going abroad.

I believe the internet contains some foreign websites which may charge in unusual currencies.

JustAnotherSaver

Deleted_User wrote: »

I believe the internet contains some foreign websites which may charge in unusual currencies.

Yes, obviously, but when you don't really want anything in foreign money it's a bit tricky looking for something to spend on that you don't particularly want/need.

What about a cheap item on foreign eBay? A piece of paper for 1 euro or something, which ships to the UK.

Does that sort of thing qualify? Can you use your normal eBay account, do you need a (for example....) Italian one?

chattychappy

buglawton wrote: »

I've been pleased with the currency conversion savings using the Clarity card, but you must set up auto direct debit to pay off entire balances monthly.

Err.... no.

If you are making purchases only, then the situation is just as if you are making UK purchases. Use DD if you want to. Pay off the full balance if you want to avoid interest. Up to you.

If you are making cash withdrawals, then best to pay these off as soon as is convenient, even before statement generation. Interest is charged daily. Wait for DD day, and you could have as much as 7 weeks' interest.

Interest is reasonable (at least on my Clarity) so I don't break my neck trying to pay it off instantly. But I'm online most days so it gets paid in a couple of days so I'm paying pennies interest. Oh and I usually pay the entire balance showing at that time, to avoid any issues of payments being applied to purchases ahead of ATM withdrawals.

buglawton

chattychappy wrote: »

Err.... no.

If you are making purchases only, then the situation is just as if you are making UK purchases. Use DD if you want to. Pay off the full balance if you want to avoid interest. Up to you.

If you are making cash withdrawals, then best to pay these off as soon as is convenient, even before statement generation. Interest is charged daily. Wait for DD day, and you could have as much as 7 weeks' interest.

Interest is reasonable (at least on my Clarity) so I don't break my neck trying to pay it off instantly. But I'm online most days so it gets paid in a couple of days so I'm paying pennies interest. Oh and I usually pay the entire balance showing at that time, to avoid any issues of payments being applied to purchases ahead of ATM withdrawals.

Paying off the entire balance when due by DD is of course what I meant (and standard MSE advice for any credit card).

The Ts&Cs of the Clarity card state that any earlier repayment than the due date is not permitted. Unsurprising that'll be because the only way the card issuer can make money is via charging interest. I've used my card for as many foreign currency purchases as possible when traveling, plus cash withdrawals whenever needed. As we know, by paying all off on due date by DD, purchases attract no interest, only cash withdrawals do.

The total interest I've paid is very reasonable based on paying all off by DD on due date. I did a comparison to see how much I saved even with the interest, compared to old methods of normal credit & debit cards, and it worked out very well.

eDicky

A non-sterling purchase with the Clarity card from an overseas website, for example amazon.com, can be made for something that is wanted or needed anyway, and may even be cheaper than buying it on the UK site.

But make sure that you are actually billed in the foreign currency, often a website or PayPal will detect the UK card and try to bill you in pounds, imposing their own exchange rate. There is usually a choice or opt-out available. Paying in pounds of course will not qualify you for the reward.