Britons paying unnecessary holiday travel money fees

Britons off to holiday abroad are set to pay out a staggering £73 million in unnecessary holiday travel money fees as they exchange currency.

Research from Abbey Credit Cards has found that British holidaymakers budget an average £274 per week spending money.

Nearly 60% though are going to use their debit or credit card for their purchases abroad.

Using the cards in this way invariably incurs an exchange fee, typically 3%, meaning the costs soon add up – generating a national bill of £73 million just for this summer!

Abbey is offering their Zero credit card which includes

• fee-free foreign exchange usage around the world
• no cash advance fee
• 0% on balance transfers for 12 months
• 0% on purchases for 3 months

Worryingly though, 10% of Britons are still paying off their credit card bill from last years holiday, adding interest charges to the cost of the holiday too.

Another option for holiday travel money that maybe can help control the spending are prepaid currency cards.

MoneyHighStreet recently undertook a review of currency cards which you might find useful.

They are growing in popularity amongst holidaymakers and are available from such as Lloyds TSB, Travelex, the Post Office, FairFX and CaxtonFX.

MoneyHighStreet currently has a special reader offer with FairFX

You can get a FREE FairFX currency card here – just sign up and load €10 and get the card free – it usually costs £9.95.