I am one of the people that use my current account purely for holidays. However, I leave a few hundred pounds in from one holiday to the next for which they pay me no interest.We too will take cash in future. I prefer not to but when you have to keep your money in a savings account for a year to earn 2% interest there is no way I am prepared to give it back to actually withdraw it !

Santanders Zero Current account gives you free withdrawals abroad although I am sure you need to have a minimum amount going in each month, personally I dont feel confident enough in the Indian cashpoints to use a card that is for my main current account, feel a bit old fashioned but I still use good old travellers cheques when going to India with a back up credit card in case of emergencies

Sam would you post this in the General forum as well please as I'm sure this information will be useful to members who don't view the Goa forum.

Cheers
Or perhaps I could move this thread to there?

There was an article in today's Daily Mail about Nationwide too !

I dont feel confident enough in the Indian cashpoints to use a card that is for my main current account

I must admit that's another reason we have the Nationwide account as that has damage limitation... a smallish overdraft facility!

Yep thats it for me too.

Back to cash until we find an alternative.

Big competitive market out there.

Papa

I posted something on the new Halifax Clarity card on the MONEY/ATM thread.

http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=108996&start=340

It's worth looking at - I've just got one for travel in Australia and Thailand later this year.

Santander Zero Current Account does give you free cash withdrawals abroad, but you have to put a minimum of £1000 per month into the account and also have your mortgage with them. I used mine whilst in Singapore and Bali and found it really useful for me.

I posted something on the new Halifax Clarity card on the MONEY/ATM thread.

viewtopic.php?f=60&t=108996&start=340

It's worth looking at - I've just got one for travel in Australia and Thailand later this year.

Thanks for highlighting this Roma. As I bank with the Halifax I have applied for one instead of my Platinum VISA which I never used. You get £5 reward each month you spend over £300 which is an attractive little bonus and more than I earn on my savings !
There are two things to watch out for though, you pay interest on the cash withdrawal from the minute it comes out of the machine to the day you pay it off. Might be a good few weeks before you get the bill.You could avoid these costs by overpaying your previous bill and having a credit balance but you need to be careful because the amount you can withdraw in a month may be dictated by your credit limit
Using it abroad, the other unknown is that there might be an hidden cost in the exchange rate they give you, a couple of rupees to the pound makes a big, big difference, and that is the biggest problem..... you don't find out until you get the bill when you get home.

Just noticed that the interest rate on the Halifax card is not all that it seems. They scream 12.9% APR at you in their advertising but look carefully and you will see that they have a 3 different interest rates starting at 12.92% and rising to 21.95%.
Check your agreement to see what you are going to be charged.

Good observations, Dave.

I have set up a direct debit to pay the bill automatically in my absence so there won't be any interest on purchases. Yes, cash gets charged from the minute of withdrawal (and if you don't pay in full, the cash advance gets paid off last!) and it's advisable to double check the rate - mine is definitely 12.9%. I don't really plan to use it too much for cash - it's just good to know it's there in an emergency. I hadn't thought of overpaying and getting a credit balance before travelling - good idea!

The wording on the conversion rate is "at the exchange rate used by the exchange rate system on the date it passes us the transaction". Suitably vague and I think we're all a bit suspicious of banks, these days but at least there's no separate transaction charge.

I certainly don't get the £5 for every £300 spent - that seems a great deal!

I guess the banks are all after screwing us - it's just about finding one that screws us the least.

I certainly don't get the £5 for every £300 spent - that seems a great deal!

You have to have a current reward account and you get a maximum £5 per month...hence both my wife and I will have seperate cards in our own names and use them both. However, as she is a zero wage earner, but qualifies for a reward account because I transfer more than £1000 into her account every month, she has only been given a £500 credit limit and an interest rate of 21.95 % ! The £500 is enough to get the £5 cash back and as we pay off the balance every month the 21.95% isn't a worry unless we use it to withdraw cash. Then there is no saving over the Nationwide we have been using !

The Santander card mentioned by Nightnurse is quoted as having an interest rate of 18%ish but that too might be variable when you look into it. Having to have a mortgage with Santander to get one would put off many applicants too, I was only too pleased to pay mine off

The T&C's of most credit cards prohibit you from having a positive balance and they will normally refund this back to source.

luci

The T&C's of most credit cards prohibit you from having a positive balance and they will normally refund this back to source.

Not so Luci, I have done it by accident in the past and I asked at the local Halifax branch and they checked for me and said it could be done, either on line or over the counter.The terms and conditions for the Halifax state you can't create credit balances using another credit or store card and don't mention cash from your bank account at all.
The problem they saw was that if I overpaid the previous balance by, say £1500, before going on holiday, the card might not recognise the plus balance when I try to withdraw cash , so if I have reached the £500 credit limit on that card I can't get any more that month.
Now that poses the question of wether or not interest is charged until the computer works out that you have a credit balance when you get your monthly statement.
All in all, is it worth the bother ?
As a card for use in the UK yes, abroad, the jury is out. As with them all, you never know what exchange you get until you get the bill and by then it's too late to change your mind. Again in the unlikely event you decide, from India, to ring up the Halifax they will tell you what you have been charged but can only give you a guesstimate if you ring just before paying the bill.

From what I've read of the Clarity card, which I admit isn't a lot, it states that interest will be charged on cash advances "even if the balance is paid in full". Might need to call them up to have that statement clarified.

luci

I take that as meaning that interest is charged from the day of withdrawal for cash advances.

So you can pay your Clarity account in full on the due date and pay no interest on goods or services but you will pay interest on cash from the date you take it. Think so, anyway!

I take that as meaning that interest is charged from the day of withdrawal for cash advances.

So you can pay your Clarity account in full on the due date and pay no interest on goods or services but you will pay interest on cash from the date you take it. Think so, anyway!

That's the way I see it too.
What they don't explain is what happens if you have a credit balance when you withdraw the cash ! There is a possibility that they hadn't thought that one out. There is only one way to find out and that's to try it ! When I get my card I'll try it in the UK to see what happens !!!

Oh there is no doubt they will have thought it out.

There is not one single way they have not figured out how to steal more from us with creative terms and conditions.

Papa

Cynical ???? No realistic !!!!
You are probably right Papa but you never can tell !!!

From the T&C's of the Clarity card:-

7.7 You must not make payments or transfer funds from another credit or store card to your account that would leave a credit balance on your account. We may return any funds that exceed the balance owing on your account to the account from which the money was sent.

I read that as you must not make payments (of any kind) or transfer funds, etc.

luci