It relates to all Halifax credit cards when making cash-like transactions, such as topping up Revolut accounts, cash withdrawals, paying off other credit cards, buying currency, etc.
Purchases of physical (or digital, may be?) things, like grocery shopping, should still be fine
Really?! I’ve been paying using my cashback card with no fees or issues, even in past day or two!
Paying for things, or buying money?
Treated differently, as I said
As you said “paying off other credit cards”, so as you said I did and haven’t incurred charges?
In this example, I paid off my Amex via Cashback Halifax, haven’t seen any issues, charges or problems 
My bad - the revised T&Cs regard paying off other credit cards as Transfers - section B2.2:
Transaction type: Balance transfers
What is it?: Using your available credit to pay some or all of your credit card balance with another UK provider.The minimum transfer is £100.
How do you make it?: By completing the balance transfer request details when you apply for your credit card.You can also ask us to process a balance transfer in branch, by phone or online after we open your account. If there is any other way to process it, we will let you know.
Other important information: If you ask us to process a balance transfer or money transfer, we will transfer the agreed amount when we have completed our security checks, using the Faster Payments Scheme on the working day we approve your request. The money will normally reach the account within 2 hours and no later than the end of the next working day after we receive your instruction.If the other bank or lender is not a member of the Faster Payments Scheme, we may not be able to carry out your request. We are not responsible for this but you can contact us to see if other methods of making the transfer are available.If you make a balance transfer, you should continue to make any payments required by your other lender.If you ask us to make a money transfer or a balance transfer and we send it late, you may ask us to contact the receiving lender and ask them to credit it as if it had been received on the correct date.Section B1 tells you how much of your credit limit you can use to make balance transfers and money transfers.
Cash transactions fall into four categories.
Transaction type: Cash withdrawals
What is it?: Using your available credit to obtain cash.
How do you make it?: Using your card and security details at an ATM or at an over-the-counter service.
Transaction type: Gambling transactions
What is it?: Using your card to make transactions such as those at casinos, betting outlets and bookmakers, and buying online lottery tickets or gaming chips, share trading or spread betting.
How do you make it?: Using your card and security details.
Transaction type: Currency exchange
What is it?: Using your available credit to buy foreign currency at a currency exchange.
How do you make it?: Using your card and security details.
Transaction type: Cash equivalent
What is it?: Using your available credit limit to make cash-related or cash-substitute transactions including:
- sending money orders or wire transfers (other than balance transfers or money transfers)
- buying coins, banknotes or digital currency
- paying government or court fines, enforcement penalties, fees or costs
- online trading such as share dealing or investments
- purchasing or topping up electronic money, payment cards, mobile wallets or account dashboard services.
How do you make it?: Using your card and security details.
All four of these sub-categories have the same detail for Other important information:
Other important information: When you make a cash transaction (including gambling, currency exchange and cash-equivalent transactions):
• we charge interest from the date of the transaction;
• we charge a cash transaction fee; and
• cash withdrawals in a foreign currency also incur a non-sterling transaction fee.
We may treat any transaction at a gambling establishment (e.g. casino) as a gambling transaction, including buying food and drink.
ATMs have a daily cash withdrawal limit of £500 unless the ATM operator sets a lower limit, or we tell you otherwise.
These are the T&Cs for the Platinum and Clarity cards, so may differ for the Cashback card. The salient points for this discussion, I think, I have highlighted in bold.
Interesting, in short it sounds like Halifax clarity is now charging to withdraw cash? I used to use as a free way to withdraw cash 
and would pay off the same day once withdrawn.
Interestingly, I think they may have inadvertently used the T&Cs from the Platinum when updating the Clarity card, as their website for Clarity Travel Credit Card - Halifax Clarity Card | Halifax clearly states
- No foreign transaction fees to worry about.
- Worldwide fee-free cash withdrawals (some ATMs charge a usage fee. Interest will apply from the day cash is taken out).
Why is this forum saying I created this topic lol?
Keeps sending me notifications, and the watching flag says I will receive notifications because I created the topic. No I didn’t.
I guess because a couple of posts by others were merged (because these posts were off topic) from the topic (about Nationwide), you did create, to this topic about Halifax. I wasn’t aware of this strange Discourse behaviour.
If you don’t want to receive notifications you can change the flag from Watching to Tracking, Normal or Muted.
Already done. Thanks.
Hi Joel,
I was reading through T&Cs and wanted some clarity.
I’ve had no issues paying credit card like Amex so far with cashback card halifax, what type of transaction is this classed by curve?
Halifax have said these are the only transactions that in theory shouldn’t qualify for cashback.
Does paying Amex count as any of these, I am keen to avoid any stings or issues in future. I am finding curve fronted makes me feel a little uneasy after re-reading the latest T&Cs!
@poeliev @podgib you both are usually very switched on to this sort of thing, do you think it is risky to continue paying off Amex with Halifax cashback credit card?
There are a couple of exceptions (but I am pretty sure this isn’t one of them), but Curve passes on the MCC unchanged to the underlying Creditcard. So Halifax receives the same MCC if used through Curve as when you would have used your Halifax creditcard directly to pay off your Amex card (if it is possible to pay off your Amex directly with a Creditcard).
If you want to know which MCC is passed on for these specific transaction you can contact Curve support and ask. But assuming you tested these transactions with Curve fronted switched off and in that case they failed (?) it is save to assume the MCC for those transactions is 6012 (and that is also the MCC that is passed on to the underlying card).
Performing transactions that do not qualify for cashback, should not be risky. I have performed such transactions with cashback cards in the past and all what happens (as expected) is that I don’t receive cashback, but these accounts are very much alive after performing these transactions.
It only starts getting risky if the cashback card has in their T&C’s that certain transactions are not allowed (or incur a fee), for some reason do not block these kind of transactions themselves and you keep performing these transactions.
Very useful, @poeliev
So to confirm, I have actually been getting cashback from these transactions at present!
This 6012 from your perspective would be okay with Halifax, or not from the info I attached?
I can’t decide if these transactions are actually allowed by Halifax, though I’ve had no issues or charges for past few months, rather be safe than sorry!
Thanks so much!
If you are still getting cashback then apparently this MCC (6012) is not (yet) excluded by Halifax to receive cashback. And indeed the MCC description for 6012 ‘Financial Institution Merchandise’ isn’t literally named in the screenshot you provided.
That makes sense, to conclude on my questions, do you think this is just a matter of time before Halifax change this being allowed for cashback?
Would you have any areas of caution on doing what I have been, and I am assuming Halifax cannot revoke prior allowed transactions if a future change occurs?
Thanks a lot 
@poeliev
Image below how the transactions appear
Hey @Poynty, sorry for catching up to this so late and thanks for your great insight so far @poeliev!
I’m checking this internally with a few folks who live and breathe these edge case examples so I can give you a firm answer. I’ll be in touch again soon!
Hi again @Poynty, thanks for your patience on this!
From my internal discussions so far there’s no negative repercussion to using your Curve account with Curve Fronted to pay Amex with your Halifax Credit card. However, as per our FAQs, there is the risk that this could affect your credit score over a prolonged period.
I’m still discussing this with our Paytech team to get a better understanding of how fast this might impact your credit score but it’s possible this won’t be possible to accurately predict. I’ll let you know if more information on this becomes available. 
Thanks @Curve_Joel very useful. That would be great to know, I certainly don’t want to effect my credit score!
Hey @Poynty, thanks for your patience while I’ve been chatting to the team.
Our team anticipate that the impact on your credit score would be very low (if it has any impact at all)!
The only way that we anticipate that your credit score might be affected is if the balance exceeds 25% of your credit limit across all your credit cards. In this case, it’s more likely to be flagged and would be considered riskier by lenders. It’s very unlikely you’ll be using this feature in this way frequently or in large enough amounts to reach this point. 
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