Halifax Clarity Foreign Exchange Rates on MSE

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  • edwal13
    edwal13 Posts: 45 Forumite
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    Highland76 wrote: »
    Not always. I sometimes find the wholesale Visa rates are better than the wholesale Mastercard rates (for major currencies EUR, USD) and vice versa. This is from comparing forex transactions on my MBNA Everyday Visa card & on my Clarity card. Not much in it though. Swings and roundabouts...

    That's right ''not much in it'' and comparing like with like. I'm comparing here at MSE, Clarity with best rate quoted here going out to a BdeC now, and getting according to the rate 5 minutes ago 1.185 when the rate yesterday on Mastercard was 1,201! It changes daily at 2pm. This Clarity ...specifically that card ... ALWAYS appeared FIRST at the top on the holiday (not wholesale!) exchange rates on MSE and has been taken off the comparison ...ok ... for the reasons I get ... that if you don't already have the card then that is a fair comparison until you gain the facility. Obviously when you publish information that says ''here is what the cash exchange rate is'' and then at the very top of the list there is the best rate of all of any listed underneath people will say ''yeah! but I can't get it without THAT CARD''!! That's right ... so go get the card. Why? Because instead of being ripped-off at the airport to exchange all your holiday cash at once with Clarity ..or debit supposedly ... you can drip-withdraw at cash points at your holiday destination as well as using the card to purchase in local currency that again on the card will usually be your best rate available. All I'm interested in seeing on here IS THE CLARITY RATE ....and I'll make my choice accordingly .... but the rate HAS BEEN REMOVED .....why not still put it up somewhere else purely as a piece of information on which people can make their own decision??? It's as easy as that ....share the information here just like you used to!!!!!!
  • Mutton_Geoff
    Mutton_Geoff Posts: 3,820 Forumite
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    adindas wrote: »
    Halifax clarity is one of the best but not the Best.

    For cash withdrawal in foreign currensies, Debit card with no fee for withdrawal in foreign currentcies is still better than Halifax clarity. There are a few of them depends on where you want to go.

    For purchase is a credit that give you the cash back for foreign purchase.


    Which bank debit card has this facility? I'm with Barclays and they proudly announce they don't charge a fee for foreign ATMs but there in the small print is still a 2.75% loading for non sterling transactions.


    I use Halifax Clarity a lot but never drawn cash from an ATM with it. I believe that cash withdrawals from credit cards can adversely affect your credit rating.
    Signature on holiday for two weeks
  • adindas
    adindas Posts: 6,813 Forumite
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    edited 16 December 2019 at 11:59AM
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    edwal13 wrote: »
    That's right ''not much in it'' and comparing like with like. I'm comparing here at MSE, Clarity with best rate quoted here going out to a BdeC now, and getting according to the rate 5 minutes ago 1.185 when the rate yesterday on Mastercard was 1,201! It changes daily at 2pm. This Clarity ...specifically that card ... ALWAYS appeared FIRST at the top on the holiday (not wholesale!) exchange rates on MSE and has been taken off the comparison ...ok ... for the reasons I get ... that if you don't already have the card then that is a fair comparison until you gain the facility. Obviously when you publish information that says ''here is what the cash exchange rate is'' and then at the very top of the list there is the best rate of all of any listed underneath people will say ''yeah! but I can't get it without THAT CARD''!! That's right ... so go get the card. Why? Because instead of being ripped-off at the airport to exchange all your holiday cash at once with Clarity ..or debit supposedly ... you can drip-withdraw at cash points at your holiday destination as well as using the card to purchase in local currency that again on the card will usually be your best rate available. All I'm interested in seeing on here IS THE CLARITY RATE ....and I'll make my choice accordingly .... but the rate HAS BEEN REMOVED .....why not still put it up somewhere else purely as a piece of information on which people can make their own decision??? It's as easy as that ....share the information here just like you used to!!!!!!

    You fail to recognise that any specialist (no fee for foreign wothdrawal) cards "Debit" or Credit" card with Master card logo in it will give you the same result. It does not need to be Halifax Clarity card.

    Debit card is better as the main function of Debitcard is for cash withdrawal while Creditcard is for spending. For credit card you will still need to bother to mitigate the interest that will incur if you do nothing.
  • adindas
    adindas Posts: 6,813 Forumite
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    edited 16 December 2019 at 12:19PM
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    Mutton_Geoff wrote: »
    Which bank debit card has this facility? I'm with Barclays and they proudly announce they don't charge a fee for foreign ATMs but there in the small print is still a 2.75% loading for non sterling transactions.

    I use Halifax Clarity a lot but never drawn cash from an ATM with it. I believe that cash withdrawals from credit cards can adversely affect your credit rating.

    Not much as it is actually a loss leader for them.

    Debitcard using Master Card exchange rate
    Starling Bank for World wide. Metro for Europe

    Debitcard using Visa Exchange rate:
    Santander Zero, Bo, Cumberland BS (have not check it recently) etc
    For Spain any Santander Current Account that meet criteria (e.g You have paid minium £500 a month) in the accounts.

    You could also add Prepaid card such as "Revolut", "Monzo" for limited wsithdrawal or even Curve Card in this league.
  • edwal13
    edwal13 Posts: 45 Forumite
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    edited 16 December 2019 at 12:09PM
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    Mutton_Geoff wrote: »
    Which bank debit card has this facility? I'm with Barclays and they proudly announce they don't charge a fee for foreign ATMs but there in the small print is still a 2.75% loading for non sterling transactions.


    I use Halifax Clarity a lot but never drawn cash from an ATM with it. I believe that cash withdrawals from credit cards can adversely affect your credit rating.

    Yes I'm with Barclays too and would never use my debit card to make cash withdrawals abroad because of the loading you mention.

    Clarity in an ATM abroad gives you the rate when it is transacted in your Halifax account. If you normally have a d/d from your current account that clears your Clarity account monthly then any interest charges are minimal set against the usual rate of exchange ...that can of course fluctuate over a period when we are holidaying. But that fluctuation can go either way and we have no control over such movement.

    If you use ANY card for credit reasons and don't clear the account monthly then naturally there'll be interest. But I thought people were here at MSE because they valued the savings that can be had by looking at the information on offer.

    My original post was about information that has been TAKEN DOWN!!!! I find it totally unhelpful when for years I've been using that info' to plan and budget spending abroad, hiring cars, buying and paying for hotels in local currency and making purchases online that need a currency transaction ie Clarity against Paypal etc ...

    I know nothing about the credit ratings issue you mention. But find it interesting you mention it ... I'll have to check that out ...cheers ...
  • edwal13
    edwal13 Posts: 45 Forumite
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    adindas wrote: »
    You fail to recognise that any specialist (no fee for foreign wothdrawal) cards "Debit" or Credit" card with Master card logo in it will give you the same result. It does not need to be Halifax Clarity card.

    Debit card is better as the main function of Debitcard is for cash withdrawal while Creditcard is for spending. For credit card you will still need to bother to mitigate the interest that will incur if you do nothing.
    specifically Clarity.


    OK fair enough ...get that ....except ...it was ALWAYS the CLARITY rate expressed as the first rate at the top of travel money maximiser ... not anybody else and not generic Mastercard ...

    Go look at another posting here that says on Barclays/Connect there is a 2.7% loading on the cash handled by them in an abroad transaction.

    As for what a ''credit card'' is for then as far as I'm concerned buying abroad cash from an ATM is just as useful/convenient ... and most importantly best rate too ... as sticking the plastic in a peage toll booth machine in France to pay for a motorway usage charge just the same as handing it over in a supermarket and requesting the transaction be done in local currency as well as paying in restaurants etc.

    And don't forget when you go to pick up your hire car its no good offering them your debit card as the guarantee for your excess ....they don't accept a debit card because they dont have any way of knowing if you have enough funds in your current account to cover payment in case of damage. ONLY a credit card that they can check has enough headroom on it will do, to cover a payment as required. Debit cards abroad are nowhere near as flexible as a credit card with £5k headroom on it ....especially if all you have is a current account with a few quid in it cos your salary hasn't gone in and an overdraft facility that you'll get charged on!
  • adindas
    adindas Posts: 6,813 Forumite
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    edited 16 December 2019 at 1:52PM
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    edwal13 wrote: »
    specifically Clarity.
    OK fair enough ...get that ....except ...it was ALWAYS the CLARITY rate expressed as the first rate at the top of travel money maximiser ... not anybody else and not generic Mastercard ...

    What do you mean with generic ?? No fee MasterCard exchanage rate is the same everywhere and it does not depend which bank is issuing them. Even sub prime creditcard such as Aqua, Tandem, Capital One will give exactly the same rate. The rate is here

    https://www.mastercard.co.uk/en-gb/consumers/get-support/convert-currency.html.

    It might be different because the rate you get will depends on the exchange rate date when they post it to your account which is beyond your control
    edwal13 wrote: »
    Go look at another posting here that says on Barclays/Connect there is a 2.7% loading on the cash handled by them in an abroad transaction.

    Well Barclay Connect is not a specialist foreign cash withdrawal Debitcard. I already list a few of them on the post #15 above.
    edwal13 wrote: »
    As for what a ''credit card'' is for then as far as I'm concerned buying abroad cash from an ATM is just as useful/convenient ... and most importantly best rate too ... as sticking the plastic in a peage toll booth machine in France to pay for a motorway usage charge just the same as handing it over in a supermarket and requesting the transaction be done in local currency as well as paying in restaurants etc.

    And don't forget when you go to pick up your hire car its no good offering them your debit card as the guarantee for your excess ....they don't accept a debit card because they dont have any way of knowing if you have enough funds in your current account to cover payment in case of damage. ONLY a credit card that they can check has enough headroom on it will do, to cover a payment as required. Debit cards abroad are nowhere near as flexible as a credit card with £5k headroom on it ....especially if all you have is a current account with a few quid in it cos your salary hasn't gone in and an overdraft facility that you'll get charged on!

    And Is it only Halifax credit card ?? What about a better alternative a specialist credit card that will give you a cashback ?? Also Mix it purchase with cash withdrawal in the same card if you are not careful you will pay interest.
  • edwal13
    edwal13 Posts: 45 Forumite
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    edited 16 December 2019 at 2:47PM
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    I defer to whatever information you supply here that is advantageous to me and anybody else. Why wouldn't I? I want to save money and that is the very reason I'm on here at MSE too and have been receiving stuff for a long time that has saved me money. But it's got to be the easiest and most convenient way for me to do things ...and so ....

    I'll go back to my original posting that referred to information available here for years that MSE must have considered in all that time both useful and wholly relevant, in this case about TRAVEL MONEY exchange rates. I said what nobody has presumably said because it probably didn't matter of even occur to them to mention it that after all this time the information on the exchange rate MSE has been publishing was no longer being shown that was and always has been the specific Clarity credit card rate that in my case is a Mastercatrd, as supplied to me by Halifax. And that rate has ALWAYS been better than any other rate they have chosen to publish in that exact list regardless of it been BdeC, banks, post office, pick-up, delivered, and all else you can name. THAT is a FACT. If I had ever seen that rate drop down the list I'd have gone elsewhere for the better deal.

    Now time moves on and presumably if I trawl the net I'll come up with other sources but as it has been said already by others responding here, there's little to choose between the MCard/Visa generic rates .... I wouldn't have expected any different ....and it's only certain in-house issues like ''cashback'' that might in real terms make the rate even more favourable. I'd have to know that whatever that cashback card was it provided exactly the same no-fee for ATM currency arrangement ... and no other penalties too.

    The only ''penalty'' on Clarity is to fix a settlement every month to clear the debit. Actually, you can clear ANYTHING on your credit card, anytime, by online banking using your current account/debit card transfer arrangement as I often do when I'm abroad to keep interest almost to zero. This is because I want no charges from Barclays doing these withdrawals and would never use the Via Connect when I'm out of the country. Everything in one place on Clarity works for me.

    And as I said previously the flexibility of the debit card is not that of any credit card when it comes to a deal like car hire. You CANNOT use a debit card to guarantee your possible liability when you hire a car. They have to know where they can go and get their money should the need arise and that is not your current account!!! Similarly guaranteeing at hotel check-in it's got to be a credit card...any ...and anyway credit card larger purchases are safeguarded with an insurance for you if anything goes belly-up.

    So someone kindly pointed me towards a link where I can find the daily rate for Clarity/Mastercard that IS NOT ON MSE!!!!!! Last time I looked it hadn't been updated for today ... that happens at 2pm ...but I know that when I call up the facility offered here to tell me what travel money is costing today, delivered or collected, every one listed will be less than my Clarity/Mastercard rate today, and presumably less than the other specialist abroad-use cards that have been mentioned too. OK those cards are spoken about on MSE and gives links to go to them and make applications.

    But my original question previously unasked was why MSE has stopped making the rate available as a matter of course as just a piece of information it previously published?

    Somebody said they weren't trying to convince me about what they said which is ironic when MSE and Martin Lewis plainly ARE in the business of trying to convince us we should do as they suggest.

    Lewis is on tv again tonight talking about the Broadband racketeering and I'm all ears to be convinced how I can save money on mine. I wouldn't like to think that a top-rate broadband deal that had previously been touted for years was no longer getting an outing on here purely as a piece of unambiguous information to which I might respond.

    That's what's happened to the Clarity/Mastercard daily rate for buying currency abroad ..... and not, let's be clear, talking about buying stuff in this country before you go .......
  • fewcloudy
    fewcloudy Posts: 617 Forumite
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    edited 16 December 2019 at 4:16PM
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    I've got a Clarity card and a Santander Zero card, they are as good as each another.

    Far better than either however, is my Barclaycard Platinum Cashback card.

    Unlike the Clarity and Zero, there is no interest charged on cash withdrawals from an ATM.
    That perk lasts until end August 2013 I believe, so until then those other two cards are just back-ups.

    I also get 0.25% cashback on all spending...

    It closed to new applications in June this year, so unless it reopens I'm afraid you're stuck with the Halifax Clarity card. It was listed on here as the best card for quite a while, which is why I got it.

    https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2019/06/applying-for-a-barclays-platinum-cashback-card-from-today--you-w/?_ga=2.220546712.104802100.1576495050-576172184.1573211350
    Feb 2008, 20year lifetime tracker with "Sproggit and Sylvester"... 0.14% + base for 2 years, then 0.99% + base for life of mortgage...base was 5.5% in 2008...but not for long. Credit to my mortgage broker
  • edwal13
    edwal13 Posts: 45 Forumite
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    edited 16 December 2019 at 4:54PM
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    fewcloudy wrote: »
    I've got a Clarity card and a Santander Zero card, they are as good as each another.

    Far better than either however, is my Barclaycard Platinum Cashback card.

    Unlike the Clarity and Zero, there is no interest charged on cash withdrawals from an ATM.
    That perk lasts until end August 2013 I believe, so until then those other two cards are just back-ups.

    I also get 0.25% cashback on all spending...

    It closed to new applications in June this year, so unless it reopens I'm afraid you're stuck with the Halifax Clarity card. It was listed on here as the best card for quite a while, which is why I got it.

    https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2019/06/applying-for-a-barclays-platinum-cashback-card-from-today--you-w/?_ga=2.220546712.104802100.1576495050-576172184.1573211350


    And the current rate for a € against the GBP is???
    And as you say ....its no lomger available on the terms you have it
    And you better pay it off in full every time cos the APR is over 27%
    Pros and cons . eh ....

    try this update on December 10th ...
    https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/travel-credit-cards/#bestbuys
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