Halifax Clarity vs Monzo

[Deleted User]

I travel 6 months out of the year and have been using the Halifax Clarity credit card for the best exchange rate (and to save me carrying cash) for the best part of 2 years.

However, I'm looking to move away from credit cards and so I've been looking for an alternative... Which is when I found Monzo.

I'm struggling to find an answer to my question about exchange rates though. While Monzo decares it's exchange rates are;

We believe everyone should be able to use their debit cards to spend money abroad, without having to pay rip-off fees on each transaction.

So, we pass the Mastercard exchange rate directly to all customers, without any markups.You can see the current exchange rates on the Mastercard website:

Open Mastercard’s Currency Conversion Calculator
Choose the currency you want to convert to
Enter a ‘Transaction Amount’ (write ‘1’ if you just want to find out the rate)
Type ‘0.00%’ when you’re asked to enter the ‘Bank Fee’
And choose Great British Pound (GBP) as your ‘Card Currency’
Tap ‘Calculate’ to see the current exchange rate!

I can't find anything about the Halifax Clarity exchange rate. Being a MasterCard is it the same as Monzo?

Monzo is now debit rather than credit so is it still Mastercard exchange rate based?

TIA

20aday

Looking here: https://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/clarity-card/

It would appear Halifax only charge the MasterCard rate (without fees other than those outlined in your terms and conditions), the same as Monzo.

Monzo cap ATM withdrawals to £200/month (otherwise you!!!8217;ll incur a 3% fee over that amount). I would look into Starling Bank as they are a current account who, again, don!!!8217;t charge for overseas transactions and they don!!!8217;t seemingly cap ATM withdrawals either.

[Deleted User]

I don't withdraw from ATM - I like to be 'cashless' so that's not a problem for me.

I'll check out the Starling one. Thanks.

jonesMUFCforever

Your decision IMO should also factor in the scenario -- What if?
Who would be best to deal with emergencies - who has the better back office to help you??

I know who I would choose but then I'm old school.

eDicky

Deleted_User wrote: »

I can't find anything about the Halifax Clarity exchange rate. Being a MasterCard is it the same as Monzo?

Monzo is now debit rather than credit so is it still Mastercard exchange rate based?

Yes, both convert your pounds at the MasterCard exchange rate on the date of settlement of a transaction (couple of days or so after), without any loading on the rate by the card issuer. Starling Bank and Loot prepaid account the same.

Why not use both? Its not wise to rely on only one card when traveling in case of failure, loss, decline etc.

takman

You should definitely have both with you at least just in case you have any issues.

When i was driving abroad earlier in the year the toll booth would not accept Monzo but it did accept my Halifax Clarity. So that could have been an issue if it only had Monzo!