With the announcement that Halifax are pulling out of Ireland – many of it’s credit card holders will have a problem. Halifax Ireland credit card accounts will no longer work from the end of May 2010 . You will not be able to use your Halifax credit card to purchase anything after that date.
Switching Credit Card
If you clear your balance every month – then you will have the hassle of applying to another credit card provider for a new one – but it should be fairly straightforward if your credit history is OK.
If your main reason for having a credit card is just to use it for online shopping – then you could consider getting a Visa Debit card from Ulster Bank.
Many Halifax customers had Visa Debit cards – so a lot of them will probably be switching current accounts to Ulster Bank who are currently the only other Irish bank issuing Visa Debit cards.
Lowest Rates
The lowest APR on a credit card in Ireland is currently 8.5% from AIB Click. (on purchases). Bank of Ireland currently offer 9.5% APR on it’s “Clear” Credit Card.
Balance Transfers
If you pay off your balance every month – then the APR or interest rate might not really bother you that much. Some of the card providers have introductory offers such as interest free credit for a short period of time – but be careful not to go too mad on the spending. See our list of the best credit card introductory offers here.
If you have a large outstanding balance on your Halifax Credit card you may be accepted by one of the other credit card providers – but it is possible that your application will be rejected . You may be lucky enough to be accepted by one of the providers offering 10 months or 6 months at 0% interest on balance transfers.
Personal Loans
If no other credit card provider in Ireland will take you on – and you have a large outstanding credit card balance – Halifax may agree to convert this into a fixed rate personal loan – but this is not guaranteed.
Each case will probably be dealt with by Halifax individually.
The Best Personal loan rates are around 10% at the moment – which would be a better option than paying something like the 13.4% APR on the credit card. Some loan rates are as high as 14.3% APR though.