Travel Money/Cards

Rotty said:
I applied for a clarity and they wouldn;t let me have one as I alerady have a different Halifax card and they wouldn't swap it over :(
Click to expand...

Whaaaa :( They wouldn't allow me to open up a Clarity account as I already had a Halifax credit card. I rang them up and they swapped mine over there and then :)
 
The only reason NOT to use a Clarity for this is if they physically won't give you one. It is a far better idea than these stupid prepaid cards that everyone seems to think are amazing - they are not. They load the exchange rate just like everyone else does.

The Clarity gives you the best possible exchange rate with zero fees for card usage and a very very nominal interest charge if you use it for cash withdrawals at ATMs.

If you apply today you'll get it in time for your trip.

Lets demonstrate - we'll spend £500 in USD on a Caxton FairFX and £500 on a Clarity.

Caxton will give you $756. A Halifax Clarity would give you $773 USD.

So thats $20 free, yay. And no need to mess about loading it with currency. And no way of getting screwed when you then un-load the spare money you don't use, another area where the prepaid cards can get you.
 
Last edited:
Is the no loading strictly correct?

Current spot is 1.5436 for USD where Clarity rate is 1.5329*

*as per their website which says they use mastercard rates

still a great deal but there is a small loading
 
[TW]Fox;27670001 said:
The only reason NOT to use a Clarity for this is if they physically won't give you one. It is a far better idea than these stupid prepaid cards that everyone seems to think are amazing - they are not. They load the exchange rate just like everyone else does.

The Clarity gives you the best possible exchange rate with zero fees for card usage and a very very nominal interest charge if you use it for cash withdrawals at ATMs.

If you apply today you'll get it in time for your trip.

Lets demonstrate - we'll spend £500 in USD on a Caxton FairFX and £500 on a Clarity.

Caxton will give you $756. A Halifax Clarity would give you $773 USD.

So thats $20 free, yay. And no need to mess about loading it with currency. And no way of getting screwed when you then un-load the spare money you don't use, another area where the prepaid cards can get you.
Click to expand...

He said he applied and was turned down.
 
Rotty said:
Is the no loading strictly correct?

Current spot is 1.5436 for USD where Clarity rate is 1.5329*

*as per their website which says they use mastercard rates

still a great deal but there is a small loading
Click to expand...

There is no loading on the standard Mastcard rate with a Clarity. The Caxton FX card is also Mastercard, yet they load the standard Mastercard rate.
 
malachi said:
When I looked 2 weeks ago it stated you need a Halifax current account to apply for Halifax Clarity card.
Click to expand...

It doesn't, the criteria are:

A Halifax credit card is right for you if:

You’re aged 18 or over
You’re a UK resident
You have a regular income
You’re not currently declared bankrupt, have any county court judgements or subject to an individual Voluntary Agreement
You do not have an existing Halifax credit card
Click to expand...

Although I opened on a few months ago I've had a Clarity for years without a Halifax current account.
 
Halifax hapily gave me a card in branch after rejecting me online, the teller said she was very confused as to why I was rejected. Might be worth giving them a ring.
 
Halifax Clarity user here as well. Opened it purely because I travel either with work or for leisure. No account holder at Halifax. Best thing about it is you can withdraw money from ATM without interest (granted you pay it back within the designated period) as it counts as a purchase. Rates are perfect as well.
 
It's classed as a cash advance and you pay interest the day you take it out of the ATM, rather than purchases where interest is charged after 30+days.

It doesn't work out to be much unless you're taking huge amounts out (why?!) so it's essentially "free".
 
M1k3H said:
Best thing about it is you can withdraw money from ATM without interest (granted you pay it back within the designated period) as it counts as a purchase. Rates are perfect as well.
Click to expand...

Just to backup Amp34 - no, you cannot do this. If you withdraw money it does NOT count as a purchase and you DO pay interest from the day of the withdrawal. It's a very small amount of interest (I paid about 40p on my last foreign trip!), but it is charged.

There are no cash advance fees, withdrawal fees (Except if the machine owner charges obviously) etc etc and the exchange rate will be the Mastercard rate.
 
Am going to look into the Halifax Clarity as am soon off to Australia for 6 weeks - leaving in just over a months time!

Was tempted by the pre-paid currency cards but will give this a go first and see if they'd give me one ...
 
[TW]Fox;27670703 said:
Just to backup Amp34 - no, you cannot do this. If you withdraw money it does NOT count as a purchase and you DO pay interest from the day of the withdrawal. It's a very small amount of interest (I paid about 40p on my last foreign trip!), but it is charged.

There are no cash advance fees, withdrawal fees (Except if the machine owner charges obviously) etc etc and the exchange rate will be the Mastercard rate.
Click to expand...

How did you pay so little interest?

If my maths are correct (which they're probably not :p), that means you only withdrew around £80 in cash for a typical 14 day holiday?

Interest paid ÷ daily interest rate ÷ days = total cash withdrawn

40p ÷ 0.00035 ÷ 14 = £80.84

These cards sound very appealing, I've alway used the preloaded cards but they're a pain to keep tabs on and top up.
 
Mekrel said:
How did you pay so little interest?

If my maths are correct (which they're probably not :p), that means you only withdrew around £80 in cash for a typical 14 day holiday?

Interest paid ÷ daily interest rate ÷ days = total cash withdrawn

40p ÷ 0.00035 ÷ 14 = £80.84

These cards sound very appealing, I've alway used the preloaded cards but they're a pain to keep tabs on and top up.
Click to expand...

I took $50 in cash and my Halifax Clarity (Nationwide Select CC as a backup) to the US in the off chance somewhere didn't take card or for an emergency. I returned yesterday after 7 nights with $30 and I could have avoided spending that $20 if I'd needed to.

In most countries you just don't need cash anymore.
 
Peerzy said:
In most countries you just don't need cash anymore.
Click to expand...

Taiwan is sadly not one of those countries, cash for nearly everything.

OP, alternative option, wire me a grand and I'll withdraw it from my Taiwnese account for you as and when you need it ;)
 
[TW]Fox;27670330 said:
There is no loading on the standard Mastcard rate with a Clarity. The Caxton FX card is also Mastercard, yet they load the standard Mastercard rate.
Click to expand...

cheers, I thought people were referring to spot rate, tbh that would make no sense business wise
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom