Stuck in HK, no credit card. Only cash and debit.

puggiebu

Hey there,
Halifax has let me down big style recently. I signed up for their Clarity card solely for use on this holiday. However, half way into my holiday the card suddenly stopped working. Every time I try to use it, it gets declined.
Called customer service 3 times and they couldn’t tell me exactly what has gone wrong or fix it for me.
I’ve only got their Debit card now and also around £2k in cash.
My question is, does it work out better to use the debit card to pay for things/ draw maximum out of ATM?
Or should I exchange the cash into the local HKD currency.
Or it is about the same?

eDicky

Your Halifax debit card charges £1.50 every time you use it for foreign purchase or cash withdrawal, plus a 2.99% loading on the exchange rate.

So it will no doubt be cheaper to exchange your cash pounds for HK dollars at an exchange bureau.

At least you're not really 'stuck'. You might ask Halifax if they will waive or refund all costs of using the debit card because of non functioning credit card, if you have a cheap way to call them.

Alfrescodave

Hope most of the £2k cash is kept in the hotel safe and not on your person.
If you are staying in HK for rest of your holiday I would be changing the cash into local currency, at least you only get the one hit with the exchange rate and not every time you use the card.

badger09

puggiebu wrote: »

Hey there,
Halifax has let me down big style recently. I signed up for their Clarity card solely for use on this holiday. However, half way into my holiday the card suddenly stopped working. Every time I try to use it, it gets declined.
Called customer service 3 times and they couldn’t tell me exactly what has gone wrong or fix it for me.
I’ve only got their Debit card now and also around £2k in cash.
My question is, does it work out better to use the debit card to pay for things/ draw maximum out of ATM?
Or should I exchange the cash into the local HKD currency.
Or it is about the same?

How long will you be in HK?

What were you going to use the £2k cash for?

Do you have an Octopus card?

leylandsunaddict

I hope your £2K in cash is covered by your travel insurance. Lot's of policies don't cover much cash.

Exchanging cash in HKD would be the better option IMO.

Sorry if this sounds uncharitable, but having a debit card and £2000 doesn't exactly make you stuck.

Ganga

We were in a similar situation in Grand Canaria just over a week ago,tried to use my Clarity card and it was declined,had to exchange £ sterling for Euros at the hotel reception at a terrible rate as there was no bank handy,phoned Halifax when we got home and was told that the card was showing as frozen,i checked abroad on the app and it was not.
Sounds like Halifax have been having IT problems.

HotPotato

What you might be able to do is sign up for a card like revolut and fund that from your debit card (or bank account)

Then add the card to your phone wallet and use it as contactless from that. If you have an iphone you can usually do up to very large limits (I've paid for car hire for over 600 with face ID + apple pay).

If you're staying in HK a while revolut will also fedex you your card within a few days.

puggiebu

Thanks for everyone’s input and suggestions. I guess I’m not really ‘stuck’ like some have mentioned but it’s just frustrating as it’s going to mean we have to spend more money to use our money!
Also for those curious, the cash was in a sense for emergency purpose, we would’ve preferred not having to use all of it and also for the purpose in case some places don’t accept card payments as it’s our first time in Hong Kong and we like to venture outside the city into little villages and do stuff off the beaten path and outdoor activities.
Ah well, after this episode I’m leaving Halifax for good now. I put in a complaint and not had any reply back, then they had the cheek to call me after a week for a customer survey on how well they dealt with my complaint! :mad:

Jumblebumble

puggiebu wrote: »

Hey there,
Halifax has let me down big style recently. I signed up for their Clarity card solely for use on this holiday. However, half way into my holiday the card suddenly stopped working. Every time I try to use it, it gets declined.
Called customer service 3 times and they couldn’t tell me exactly what has gone wrong or fix it for me.
I’ve only got their Debit card now and also around £2k in cash.
My question is, does it work out better to use the debit card to pay for things/ draw maximum out of ATM?
Or should I exchange the cash into the local HKD currency.
Or it is about the same?

I would use the Debit card
Then you would stand a good chance of persuading Halifax to credit back the charges
If they don't play ball the threat of ombudsman often focuses their minds

puggiebu

Ganga wrote: »

We were in a similar situation in Grand Canaria just over a week ago,tried to use my Clarity card and it was declined,had to exchange £ sterling for Euros at the hotel reception at a terrible rate as there was no bank handy,phoned Halifax when we got home and was told that the card was showing as frozen,i checked abroad on the app and it was not.
Sounds like Halifax have been having IT problems.

Turns out I only just received the missed call and voicemail this morning from a week ago when someone from Halifax Complaints team tried to get a hold of me to resolve the problem.
You are right, turns out they did have a problem on their IT system which led to many customers abroad having issues with their pin, etc. The customer advisor promised to reimburse the fees incurred on my debit card as a result of not being able to use the credit card so I guess they’re back in my good books for now!
Hope you managed to sort something out with them too.
Btw, £2k between two people over 3 weeks doesn’t last long in Hong Kong!

Browntoa

And the other moral of the story

Always have 2 travel cards