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Using Your Halifax Credit Card While Travelling Abroad in 2023: Fees, Benefits, and Alternatives

Byron Mühlberg, writer at Monito.com
May 26, 2023
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Are you planning to use your Halifax credit card on your next trip abroad? Well, get ready for a few potential headaches: many Halifax customers have reported unexpectedly high fees on their statements after using their credit cards while travelling overseas.

Fortunately for you, there are a few alternatives to choose from if you prefer low-cost holiday spending. In this post, we walk you through the fees and exchange rates you'll meet when using your Halifax credit card abroad and offer savvier alternatives to use instead. So, whether you're planning a weekend getaway, a business trip, or a dream vacation, read on to learn how to make the most of your card spending while abroad!

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Halifax's credit cards are expensive to use abroad. Here are the cheapest alternatives instead:

Key Facts About Halifax Credit Cards Abroad

💱 FX Margin

0%

💷 Conversion Fee

2.95%

🏧 ATM Fee

5%

⭐ Best alternative
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Heading abroad soon? Don't forget to check the following list before you travel:

  • 💳 Eager to dodge high FX fees? See our picks for the best travel cards in 2023.
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  • ✈ Looking for flights? Compare on Skyscanner!
  • 💬 Want to learn a language? Babbel and italki are two excellent apps to think about.
  • 💻 Want a VPN? ExpressVPN is the market leader for anonymous and secure browsing.

Using Your Halifax Credit Card Abroad

It should go without saying that credit cards are versatile tools that you can use to handle all kinds of financial transactions while on holiday abroad. This is no different with Halifax's range of credit cards, all of which enable you to:

  • Pay at point-of-sale machines in foreign countries,
  • Withdraw local cash banknotes from foreign ATMs,
  • Book or handle deposits for car rental agencies, hotels, or flights.

In addition, some Halifax credit cards also let you take advantage of travel insurance, rewards, cashback, and other exclusive benefits while travelling abroad. It's always a good idea to check what benefits might apply to you before you travel so that you know what you can and cannot expect to take advantage of.

Halifax Credit Card Fees Abroad

Although they're easy and convenient to use abroad, Halifax credit cards come with some costs you should consider before travelling abroad. We've summarised them below (ignoring non-travel-related costs like annual fees, cash advance, and interest charges):

Verified: 3/3/2023

All told, these costs can lead to an unnecessarily pricey trip abroad. Let's break them down with a typical example:

Point of Sales Transactions

Suppose, for example, you're on holiday in Paris and decide to spend €100 on a boutique fashion item you like. You pay with your Halifax credit card. The first thing that happens behind the scenes will be the conversion of your pounds into euros. Fortunately, this occurs at the Visa or Mastercard exchange rate (which is generally within 0.3% of the actual mid-market exchange rate) without Halifax charging its own exchange rate on top of that. This means you won't pay much for exchanging currency, and assuming your credit card is a Mastercard, you'd be paying £88.79 (at Mastercard's rate) instead of £88.49 (at the mid-market rate) on the final statement at the time of writing. Not a big deal, right?

However, it doesn't end there. Next, Halifax will hit you with a 2.95% foreign exchange fee. This fee is rather high and leaves the final cost on your bank statement at £91.40 (2.95% or £2.61 higher than a fair exchange). This may not sound like a lot, but consider that you'll be hit with this fee every time you tap your credit card, so it all stacks up quite quickly.

Cash Withdrawals

The costs are even more profound when using your Halifax credit card to withdraw cash. Sticking with our example, suppose you next wanted to withdraw €1,000 to get you through a few more days of Parisian spending. Here, you would again pay the Mastercard exchange rate (£2.92 for a €1,000 conversion at the time of writing) plus the 2.95% foreign exchange fee (this time amounting to £26.19). On top of this, you'd then pay an additional 5% on the remaining amount (or £42.94 in this case).

After factoring in this combined £72.05 (or nearly 8%!) fee, the pound conversion on your bank statement would be a whopping £959.93.

Better Alternatives

Fortunately, there are much more affordable ways to spend your pounds while travelling to Paris or anywhere else in the world. Below, we suggest three world-class UK-based alternatives for you to consider depending on your individual needs and preferences:

Revolut: Best for Multi-Currency Balances

Revolut's debit card is another good way to spend money while abroad because it allows you to pay in over 150 currencies at the real exchange rate (although fair use limits and weekend surcharges may apply), and additional features like budgeting tools and travel insurance (on the paid plans).

  • Multi-Currency Balances: Yes (available in 35 currencies)
  • FX Margin: 0% /transaction
  • FX Fixed Fee: 0.5% /transaction
  • ATM Withdrawal Fee: 2% /withdrawal
  • Best For: Balances in multiple currencies and convert between them.

Starling Bank: Best Complete Bank Alternative

Starling Bank is a first-class online bank whose debit Mastercard is an excellent way to spend money abroad because it offers no fees whatsoever on any foreign currency spending. It also provides an excellent current account which we've ranked as the best online bank in the UK.

  • Multi-Currency Balances: No
  • FX Margin: 0% /transaction
  • FX Fixed Fee: 0% /transaction
  • ATM Withdrawal Fee: 0% /transaction
  • Best For: A complete bank account alternative to Nationwide

FAQ About Halifax Credit Card Abroad

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