When travelling abroad, many of us forget to factor in the cost of spending. But see how the Halifax Clarity Card could help save you money and provide you with added protection.
Halifax Clarity Card summary
Pros and cons:
✅ No fees when making a purchase abroad
✅ No fees when using the card to withdraw cash
(although the ATM may charge)
✅ Card comes with perks such as balance transfers and cashback
❌ Interest is charged straight away for cash withdrawals
❌ No other travel perks, such as airport lounge access
Halifax Credit Card
Halifax Clarity Credit Card
We all worry so much about having enough money to spend when we’re abroad, we often don’t consider the best way to access it. And before you know it, you’ve spent well over £100 just to get hold of your own cash.
Well, never more. Say hello to the Halifax Clarity Credit Card.
Why not take cash?
Well, apart from the risk of losing it, you lose out every time you make an exchange. This is because companies are trying to make a profit.
For example, at the time of writing, the official exchange rate listed at XE for British Pounds into Euros is 1.1622. Below is how much it would cost you to buy and sell 100 Euros with the Post Office, compared to how much it would cost using an official rate.
As you can see, buying 100 Euros will lose you a few £’s. And when it comes to selling, it gets even worse.
| Post Office | Official rate | |
| Buy 100 Euros | £89.04 | £86.04 |
| Sell 100 Euros | £75.19 | £86.04 |
Also worth reading
If you don’t like taking out a credit card, then why not see some of the best debit cards to use when spending abroad?
So what’s the answer?
A great option? In my opinion, the Halifax Clarity Credit Card. But don’t be fooled. This travel credit card isn’t only for making purchases, you can withdraw cash from it too.
Most credit cards charge you a fee for using an ATM, but not with this card.
But that isn’t the only benefit. The Clarity card also doesn’t charge you anything when you make foreign transactions.
These two facts together make it a near-perfect card. Plus, Halifax makes the exchange at the official rate so that you won’t be stung with sneaky charges. Oh, and there’s no annual charge for having the card.
You are given up to 56 days interest-free using the Halifax card for purchases. That means you can have your holiday and return home and should have enough time to clear your balance before you are charged interest.
But it’s important to note that if you use the card to withdraw cash, you are charged interest from the moment you withdraw the money.
What’s the typical APR for the Clarity Card?
The typical interest rate is 25.49%, although the rate does depend on your personal circumstances.
So, if you were to withdraw £100 of local currency would cost you around £2.12 if it took you a month to make a payment.
But these charges are still less than you would pay if you exchanged cash before travel.
Avoid the charges
If you’re feeling really savvy, then you can avoid the majority of charges that come with withdrawing cash. If you have internet banking (and I’m sure most of us have), you can make payments to your Halifax card whilst on holiday. But if you don’t fancy messing around with that, you could make an overpayment to your card before you travel. If you have a positive balance, you won’t be charged interest.
How does it compare to other cards?
So let’s see how the cost of using a Halifax card to exchange money would compare to using a debit card from Barclays or Santander.
Barclays charge you 2.75% for foreign transaction fees and possibly a £1.50 fee if you don’t use a Global Alliance member bank when withdrawing cash.
Santander charges 3% (minimum charge £3).
If you were to withdraw £500 worth of currency over the course of your holiday, Barclays would charge a minimum of £13.75 and Santander £15. The Halifax card would cost you £7.25 if you took a month to pay your bill. But pay it off quicker, and you would pay even less.
Using the Halifax credit card abroad is one of the most sensible options out there.
Other benefits to using the Clarity Card
Credit card protection
Don’t forget that you are eligible for protection under Section 75. If you purchase an item for over £100 and there’s a problem, then the credit card company and the seller are equally liable. That means you can claim through your card rather than going back to the retailer.
Transfer offers
This will depend on your account, but I am often sent money and balance transfer offers for my Clarity Card. There are no initial fees and I’m offered an interest rate of 6.9% for two years.
Cashback extras
One final benefit to the Halifax card is ‘cashback extras’. You can earn cashback when you shop using tour card at certain retailers, although you need to activate the offers first. There are quite a few travel companies listed, so it’s a good way of getting an extra discount.
Anything else you need to know about the Clarity Card?
Remember to check if Halifax needs to be notified before you travel. On my first holiday with the card in 2018, I needed to notify them through online banking. By 2019, this had changed and they no longer needed notice.
But the last thing you want when you’re abroad is for your card to be blocked because it has been flagged as suspicious activity.
Also, when on holiday, politely decline if a foreign merchant offers to charge you in £’s instead of their local currency. They will use their own exchange rate and it could end up costing you far more.
And remember, never exchange money at the airport. Their exchange rates are awful!
If you want to apply or learn more about the card, click the button below.