Holiday travel money not being spent at airports

British holidaymakers are not spending as much of their holiday travel money at airports – is this down to the recession, prepaid currency cards or something else?

Research by Santander Cards shows the amount of holiday travel money spent in airport lounges has fallen by over 60% since September 2007.

As a result of the credit crunch and the weak pound, it seems Britons are holding onto their leftover holiday travel money and saving it for their next trip.

Rather than use foreign currency cash, many holidaymakers are turning to prepaid currency cards or a credit card such as Santander’s Zero card,  which not only can save money but also remove the hassle of using up foreign currency or changing it back at the end of a holiday.

MoneyHighStreet recently reviewed prepaid currency cards and considered whether they are the best option for travel money, which you might find useful.

There are many providers of prepaid currency cards, including Lloyds TSB, Travelex, 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.

Most credit cards can be very costly when used for spending abroad but the Santander Zero card has no foreign exchange fee and no cash advance fee, currently not offered on other credit cards.

Be aware though that whilst attractive for a number of reasons, including 0% on balance transfers and purchases for a period, it does have an 18.9% APR typical which applies on balances once the deal period completes.

As with all credit cards you need to carefully assess your needs and get a credit card accordingly.

For example, the Virgin Credit card offers attractive 0% balance transfer and purchase periods and currently has a 16.6% APR typical.