Nine money checks to do NOW if you’re flying off on holiday, including how to avoid ATM and card charges abroad

YOU’VE got your flights and hotel sorted – but is your wallet ready for your summer holiday? The average cost of a nine-night holiday abroad from the UK is now a huge £1,389 per person, according to NimbleFins analysis. Even if you have a budget, Post Office data suggests 85% of families spend more than they planned on holiday with an average overspend of £380. The Sun Money‘s checklist could save you hundreds of pounds in fees and extra charges that can easily creep up on you during a trip abroad. Sign up for the Money newsletter Thank you! Plus, you can even earn yourself free flight tickets or upgrades. Do these nine money checks before you leave to avoid blowing your budget. Get a card with no extra fees Monzo cards don’t charge you any extra fees on spending abroad, unlike some debit cards Credit: Handout Some debit cards will charge you a fee EVERY time you spend abroad. Banks including Halifax, RBS, Santander, NatWest, Lloyds, Nationwide and TSB all charge the extra fee. For example, some Halifax debit cards charge you £1.50 per transaction. Others charge a percentage of the purchase you made. Most read in Money Royal Bank of Scotland charges a 2.75% fee on each payment. It sounds like a small amount, but it can easily add up over the course of your holiday. For example, 20 payments with a £1.50 fee each time adds up to an extra £30. To avoid the extra charge, make sure you have a card that lets you spend abroad fee-free. First Direct, Chase and Monzo all offer debit cards with no extra travel charges, or you could opt for a credit card. Check the ATM small print Some ATMs will charge you for withdrawing abroad – opt for high street banks if possible Credit: Alamy You should also check your bank doesn’t charge extra for withdrawing money from an ATM abroad. Card providers usually add a fee of around 2.5% of the amount withdrawn, with a minimum of around £3. These charges can apply to both credit and debit cards. Again, opt for a card that doesn’t add the extra fee – Starling, Monzo and First Direct all offer fee-free. Many ATMs abroad will also charge their own fees for withdrawing cash but there isn’t much you can do about this. You could try a few different banks to find the cheapest ATM, and avoid making too many small withdrawals. Cash machines attached to high street banks are less likely to have fees than standalone machines. Buy your holiday cash at home Buying your holiday currency at the airport is usually far more expensive than at home Credit: Alamy You might want to get your holiday cash out before you head abroad so you can avoid ATM charges and get better exchange rates. The exception is if you’re heading to a country with a high inflation rate – in that case, it can be cheaper to get cash out when you arrive. However the last thing you should do is take cash out at the airport. You’ll be hit with horrendous exchange rates that eat into your money. It could be worth checking exchange rates online using comparison tools from MoneySuperMarket or TravelMoneyMax. Choose Click & Collect or home delivery rather than buying from high-street walk-in windows, which can charge high mark-ups and commission fees. Web-only rates are usually much better. Also, make sure you don’t buy your foreign currency with a credit card. That’s because credit card providers will treat it the same as a cash withdrawal and you’re likely to pay interest on the transaction until it’s paid off in full. Check your roaming plan Make sure you’re not hit with sky-high roaming charges while you’re abroad Credit: Getty Most mobile networks have reintroduced roaming charges for travel within Europe. That means you could be hit with huge extra costs to use your phone’s mobile data outside of the UK. You could either be charged a daily rate or a charge per MB of mobile data used. For example, Vodafone charges £2.74 a day for roaming within the EU, while EE charges £2.72. You could also be hit with charges if you use more data than the ‘fair usage policy’, which is a cap on your data allowance while you’re outside the UK. Most providers will let you buy roaming packages but these can come at a hefty price. You should check what your mobile network’s roaming policy is and make sure you stick to it. Some UK networks, such as O2, Giffgaff, Spusu and Lebara, do still include EU roaming in their pay-monthly and pay-as-you-go deals. You can look at your mobile provider’s app to check your roaming package, or speak to customer service. The safest bet is to have your data roaming turned off while you’re abroad and use WiFi wherever possible. If your network doesn’t offer roaming in the country you’re travelling to, you could cut your costs by getting an international SIM card, an eSIM, or a pay-as-you-go SIM card when you arrive. A local SIM will likely give you better rates on your calls and data, while an eSIM is great for convenience as you can set it up straight away. You can compare eSIM costs using Uswitch. Avoid travel insurance loopholes Activities like skiing, cycling and water sports often aren’t covered by standard insurance policies Credit: Getty You could get caught out by hidden restrictions in your travel insurance policy. Most people tend to assume they’ll be covered for any accidents, losses or cancellations on their trips abroad. But loopholes buried in the Ts and Cs of your policy could mean your insurance is invalid. For example, if you’ve had even one drink before you lose something or have an accident, your insurer could refuse to pay out. Your claim could also fail if you haven’t declared all your medical conditions, even if it’s something you consider minor such as mild asthma. It’s worth knowing that some ‘European’ policies don’t include Spain and the Canary or Balearic Islands. Most policies don’t include gadget cover, so you won’t get any money back if you lose your phone or laptop – unless you include it as an add-on. You should also check which activities are included in your policy – sports such as cycling, horse riding, skiing and water sports usually aren’t included. That means you’ll often need to take out extra cover if you’re planning an adventure holiday, which will cost you more. Book on your credit card Booking with your credit card can give you extra protection under the Consumer Credit Act Credit: Getty You can get extra protection if something goes wrong by booking your trip on a credit card. That’s because credit cards give you extra rights under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. It means the card provider is jointly responsible with the retailer if something goes wrong, such as if the hotel you booked has closed down. You’ll be covered for between £100 to £30,000. Your credit card company should refund you the full cost of the booking or purchase. However, if you’re using a credit card, make sure you pay it off in full as soon as possible to avoid extra interest charges. Make use of credit card benefits Some credit cards will give you air miles that you can exchange for flights when you spend Credit cards can also offer you extra perks on your travel. For example, some cards will let you earn “air miles” on each pound you spend which can be converted into flight tickets. They’re particularly useful for higher spenders who are able to take advantage of welcome bonuses and other credit card offers. Airline points can usually be used to get free or discounted flights at select airlines, or perks like upgrades to first or business class, hotel stays, airport lounge access and car rental. You should use the cards for your day-to-day spending to maximise the rewards. Top airline credit cards include the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card, the American Express Nectar card, and the Virgin Atlantic Reward card. Make sure you log on to your online account regularly to check your points and see if you can convert them. Pay in local currency Paying in local currency can help you get the best exchange rate while you’re abroad You’ve likely been asked by a waiter or shopkeeper abroad if you want to pay in pounds or local currency. It might seem like it doesn’t make too much difference, but many people slip up here. You should always opt to pay in the local currency because your bank will set the exchange rate. If you pay in pounds, the local retailer’s bank will set the rate and it is often much more and will leave you out of pocket. Budget for extra holiday treats If you budget before you go away, you don’t have to worry about spending so much It’s pretty likely you’ll be spending more on holiday than you would back at home. There’s meals out to pay for, excursions, transport, and probably more than a few cocktails by the beach. If you don’t want to be scrimping on your holiday, it’s worth saving up in advance. You could set aside a small amount each month in the run-up to your trip and keep it separate in an easy access account or savings pot. You could even set up a regular payment from your main account just after payday so you don’t forget to save the money. Another way to save money could be to cut out some of your subscriptions or limit the amount of treats you’re buying at home. For example, kicking your daily Starbucks habit could save you around £25 a week, or £100 a month. Put that into a savings pot paying out 4.5% in interest and after a year you’ll have £1,229 in total. Comment now