Do I still need my Halifax Clarity card for foreign transactions?

ChristopherM87

I have a Halifax Clarity card solely for foreign transactions. But I was browsing the Natwest site today (I bank with them), and saw that the Natwest Credit Card has 0% foreign transaction fees.

I think I have that already (I have a very old Natwest Mastercard), so I might as well cancel the Halifax one to save me managing so many cards?

cymruchris

ChristopherM87 said:

I have a Halifax Clarity card solely for foreign transactions. But I was browsing the Natwest site today (I bank with them), and saw that the Natwest Credit Card has 0% foreign transaction fees.

I think I have that already (I have a very old Natwest Mastercard), so I might as well cancel the Halifax one to save me managing so many cards?

There are several providers offering similar products to the Halifax Clarity these days. There are also debit cards that can offer similar fee-free transactions - such as Chase. Barclaycard have the same as Clarity - but with the added advantage that any cash withdrawn overseas is interest free until statement date. So whatever cards you have - you're free to chop and change as you like for what best suits you, but personally I wouldn't keep all my eggs in one (financial) basket in case one provider has technical problems and all your cards get locked out while they try and fix it.

CliveOfIndia

As above, it used to be the case that Clarity was fairly unique in offering fee-free FX transactions, these days there are plenty to choose from - so feel free to ditch it if the Nationwide one will do what you want.

I'd echo the sentiment about having a backup option though.  In particular, it's a good idea to carry both a Visa and a Mastercard if possible, in case of a network issue with one of the providers.  Also, it used to be quite common to find some retailers abroad would accept Visa but not Mastercard, or vice-versa.  That's much less common these days, but it's a good idea to have one of each if you can, just to save any hassle when you're on holiday.

ChristopherM87

cymruchris said:

ChristopherM87 said:

I have a Halifax Clarity card solely for foreign transactions. But I was browsing the Natwest site today (I bank with them), and saw that the Natwest Credit Card has 0% foreign transaction fees.

I think I have that already (I have a very old Natwest Mastercard), so I might as well cancel the Halifax one to save me managing so many cards?

Barclaycard have the same as Clarity - but with the added advantage that any cash withdrawn overseas is interest free until statement date. 

Is that the Barclaycard Rewards Card? So that's a VISA credit card that allows cash withdraw for no charges and no interest, unlike Halifax Clarity which charges interest on cash withdraws?

What's the cash withdraw limit? I couldn't find any info on that.

grumbler

ChristopherM87 said:

I have a Halifax Clarity card solely for foreign transactions. But I was browsing the Natwest site today (I bank with them), and saw that the Natwest Credit Card has 0% foreign transaction fees.

I think I have that already (I have a very old Natwest Mastercard), so I might as well cancel the Halifax one to save me managing so many cards?

What 'managing'?
I had a brief look, and, unlike Clarity, Natwest CC seems to charge 3% for cash withdrawals.

ChristopherM87

grumbler said:

ChristopherM87 said:

I have a Halifax Clarity card solely for foreign transactions. But I was browsing the Natwest site today (I bank with them), and saw that the Natwest Credit Card has 0% foreign transaction fees.

I think I have that already (I have a very old Natwest Mastercard), so I might as well cancel the Halifax one to save me managing so many cards?

What 'managing'?
I had a brief look, and, unlike Clarity, Natwest CC seems to charge 3% for cash withdrawals.

According to this site, "You won't pay foreign transaction fees when you use this credit card abroad".

SiliconChip

ChristopherM87 said:

I have a Halifax Clarity card solely for foreign transactions. But I was browsing the Natwest site today (I bank with them), and saw that the Natwest Credit Card has 0% foreign transaction fees.

I think I have that already (I have a very old Natwest Mastercard), so I might as well cancel the Halifax one to save me managing so many cards?

Before leaping to a decision check to ensure that your Natwest card is one that offers fee free foreign transactions, they currently have 6 different credit cards (and it's doubtful if yours is any of them if it's very old) and only 2 of them have this.

grumbler

ChristopherM87 said:

grumbler said:

ChristopherM87 said:

I have a Halifax Clarity card solely for foreign transactions. But I was browsing the Natwest site today (I bank with them), and saw that the Natwest Credit Card has 0% foreign transaction fees.

I think I have that already (I have a very old Natwest Mastercard), so I might as well cancel the Halifax one to save me managing so many cards?

What 'managing'?
I had a brief look, and, unlike Clarity, Natwest CC seems to charge 3% for cash withdrawals.

According to this site, "You won't pay foreign transaction fees when you use this credit card abroad".

I haven't checked the site, but "foreign transaction fees" and "cash advance fees" are absolutely different things. The former are for currency conversion.

CliveOfIndia

ChristopherM87 said:

grumbler said:

ChristopherM87 said:

I have a Halifax Clarity card solely for foreign transactions. But I was browsing the Natwest site today (I bank with them), and saw that the Natwest Credit Card has 0% foreign transaction fees.

I think I have that already (I have a very old Natwest Mastercard), so I might as well cancel the Halifax one to save me managing so many cards?

What 'managing'?
I had a brief look, and, unlike Clarity, Natwest CC seems to charge 3% for cash withdrawals.

According to this site, "You won't pay foreign transaction fees when you use this credit card abroad".

You're confusing two different things there.

Most "ordinary" cards charge a Foreign Exchange (FX) fee on every non-Sterling transaction you make.  So if you use the card to buy a meal at a restaurant in France, they'll convert the amount of Euros it cost into Pounds and bill you for that, but they'll also add on an FX fee (typically 2 or 3 %, though it varies by card).  So if you buy something worth £100, you'll actually be charged £103.  Clarity won't charge you that extra FX fee.

Cash withdrawals are where you use the card to withdraw cash from an ATM.  The Clarity card doesn't charge you a fee for doing this (though you will pay interest, also the ATM owner may charge a fee, but that's outside of the card issuer's control).  Again, historically the Clarity card was a winner here, since even your ordinary debit card would normally charge a fee for foreign cash withdrawals.  These days a lot of the "newer" banks don't charge a fee for foreign debit card withdrawals - and some other credit cards won't even charge you interest as long as you repay the statement in full.

retiredbanker1

It is always sensible to have multiple methods of payment whether at home or abroad so I would keep the Clarity card.

ChristopherM87

retiredbanker1 said:

It is always sensible to have multiple methods of payment whether at home or abroad so I would keep the Clarity card.

So currently I have:

• Natwest debit card (Visa)
• Natwest credit card (Mastercard)
• Amex card
• Halifax Clarity (Mastercard) - 0% FX fees, charged when withdraw cash
• Revolut Standard physical card (Visa) - 0% FX fees (fee on weekend), no charged when withdraw cash (limit £200/month) 
• Revolut virtual card (Mastercard)

When i go to Japan, I need to withdraw all my Yen from a 7-11 ATM, instead of buying at a currency store. So I'll need to pay up for the Revolut Ultra to get the £2000 withdrawn limit. Or get the Barclaycard Rewards Card which has no limit to cash withdrawns as long as I pay my statement at the end of the month?