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areksnumbr1sxylady

areksnumbr1sxylady

areksnumbr1sxylady

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Cambridge/Chicago
Basically we going to USA in 6 days and I am thinking of how to save as much money possible on transaction fees etc etc..

I currently have Barclays current account and Halifax Clarity credit card which is very nice, the thing is... I want it to be even nicer :D Apparently if you have Halifax Current account you can pay out "Halifax Clarity" balance when you want...

Since halifax clarity charges 13% APR for cash withdrawals and they take out direct debit every 2 months I think, that means I will get 3.2% on my spending's...

If I have halifax current account can I pay out the balance on same day and only pay 0.000003 or some other small % ?

The thing is, I never transferred my current accounts so I have no idea how long it will take and what is involved...

The other question, has anyone used Clarity credit card in USA for cash withdrawals?? What fees did you incur apart from % APR?

Thank you all.
 
My HSBC current account charges a 2.75% Foreign Transaction Fee (of the applicable wholesale VISA exchange rate) from any ATM cash withdrawal or Transaction (there are no ATM charges) anywhere in the world. There are no other charges.
 
Lazder said:
Apparently if you have Halifax Current account you can pay out "Halifax Clarity" balance when you want...
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Of course you can - you can do this with any credit card.

Since halifax clarity charges 13% APR for cash withdrawals and they take out direct debit every 2 months I think, that means I will get 3.2% on my spending's...
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They take the direct debit monthly. You can, of course, pay whenever you wish.

If I have halifax current account can I pay out the balance on same day and only pay 0.000003 or some other small % ?
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Yes, you can do this. But in practice I wouldn't worry - you will take out hardly any cash so the interest you will pay will be utterly trivial and not worth the effort of avoiding.

What I do is simply pay it when I get back. 99% of your spending - even for small value items or restuarants etc - will be on card. The entire country runs on card. With the Clarity there will be zero charges and zero interest for paying by card.

I think I withdrew about $60-80 max last time I was there.


The other question, has anyone used Clarity credit card in USA for cash withdrawals?? What fees did you incur apart from % APR?
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Yes, I have - zero fees except the interest (Though do note many ATM's in the US charge for withdrawls anyway. I found some in Walmart which did not).
 
Don't forget with Halifax if you make an extra payment, let them know before your direct debit date or they'll take the original amount minus any consideration for payments you've made since the billing date :p
 
Thing with USA, we did spend quite a bit cash there... There was a lot of petrol stations who gave discounts if you paid with cash instead of card which I found weird... With around 2k mileage and quite a lot of tanks later it saved a bit of money :D I think they discounted like 10c from a gallon if you paid cash.

We went to small restaurants which also preferred cash and Aldi refused to take our credit cards at all :D
 
If you paid cash for every gallon you used doing 2000 miles in an average American car you'd save $6.60 over just using your card, assuming every single gas station offered a discount for cash which many don't so not everyone one you used would, so in reality the saving is even lower :p

Just use card :p
 
[TW]Fox;24569012 said:
If you paid cash for every gallon you used doing 2000 miles in an average American car you'd save $6.60 over just using your card, assuming every single gas station offered a discount for cash which many don't so not everyone one you used would, so in reality the saving is even lower :p

Just use card :p
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but that is free wine money... :(

There was a decent discount on cash fuel in Chicago, since when we were there last summer... the fuel prices went through the roof to the highest in USA... it was like 5+ for a gallon... So I guess thats where we drowned most of our cash

Just wondering fox, do you travel on ESTA visa??
 
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Esta isn't a Visa, it's a visa waiver so you don't need one. Almost all of us will use one instead of a visa. You only need a visa if you have certain convictions or are staying for longer etc.
 
[TW]Fox;24569031 said:
Esta isn't a Visa, it's a visa waiver so you don't need one. Almost all of us will use one instead of a visa. You only need a visa if you have certain convictions or are staying for longer etc.
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Come on fox, dont bite into little details :D

I meant ESTA "Visa Waiver"...
 
[TW]Fox;24568947 said:
...Though do note many ATM's in the US charge for withdrawls anyway...
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This is important to remember, although if there is a charge by the ATM provider, it's likely to only be about $2 - $3, which isn't much IMO. Also, the ATMs I used last week in San Diego were a little different to UK ATMs. You put your card in and then have to immediately remove it otherwise the machine doesn't seem to process your card. Additionally, once you have withdrawn cash, remember to press NO when it says 'any other transactions?'. Once you have withdrawn cash, the ATM machine doesn't automatically reset like it does in the UK.
 
[TW]Fox;24569422 said:
Details are important :p

Basically, get an ESTA. You can't fly without it (Unless you have a Visa which you wont).
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We have ESTA "Visa Waiver" from last year, because I think its usable for 2 years??

We do have Visa :p Immigration one.
 
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Lazder said:
We have ESTA from last year, because I think its usable for 2 years??
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Correct - it's valid for 2 years.

We do have Visa :p Immigration one.
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If you have a Visa then why do you also have an ESTA :confused: Infact I'm pretty sure you can't even apply for an ESTA if you have a valid Visa? Waste of money getting an ESTA if you have a Visa :confused:
 
[TW]Fox;24570502 said:
Correct - it's valid for 2 years.



If you have a Visa then why do you also have an ESTA :confused: Infact I'm pretty sure you can't even apply for an ESTA if you have a valid Visa? Waste of money getting an ESTA if you have a Visa :confused:
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We got it in April :) way after we got ESTA last year in August.

Basically we got ESTA before we got the Visa.
 
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[TW]Fox;24570574 said:
Sounds like you've got every angle covered then :p
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Well I am glad that we got ESTA from last year, cause heard lots of stories from people with same visa we have...

At the check-in in the airport some got denied boarding cause apparently they didn't have right visa :( And they couldnt get esta done on a spot because technically they already had visa..
 
Lazder said:
Well I am glad that we got ESTA from last year, cause heard lots of stories from people with same visa we have...

At the check-in in the airport some got denied boarding cause apparently they didn't have right visa :( And they couldnt get esta done on a spot because technically they already had visa..
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Out of curiosity, what type of visa do you have (if you don't mind me asking)?
 
jon86 said:
Out of curiosity, what type of visa do you have (if you don't mind me asking)?
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imm2l.jpg

The one similar to this,

Funny thing is that its not completely valid until officer at point of entry puts a stamp in it...
 
Lazder said:
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Ah nice. Did you also get an IR1? My older brother has the same thing and just got his green card so he can live there permanently. He married an American girl. :)

I hope to go over on an L1 in a few years.
 
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