How To Avoid Holiday-Money Horrors
If you don't want to get ripped off when buying foreign currency for a trip abroad, read these travel-money tips!
With the school summer holidays well under way, millions of holidaymakers will be jetting off overseas over the next few weeks. However, sun-seekers looking to take a break from this year's truly awful British summer must tread carefully when it comes to buying foreign currency.
The market for holiday money is notorious for using sneaky marketing and spin so as to keep charges hidden from unwary consumers and make it all but impossible to compare deals. One trend in the holiday-money market this year is the tendency for more and more currency providers to offer 'commission free' deals. However, in order to make up for this lost revenue, they have worsened their exchange rates, so paying close attention to these should be your top priority.
To make life easier for you, I've done the spadework. Here is a review of the online rates available at nine leading travel-money providers:
How much does it cost to buy a thousand euros?
Provider | Exchange | Commission | Total (£) | ADD delivery fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Travelex.co.uk | 1.4471 | Nil | 691.04 | Bureau collection only. |
Marks & Spencer | 1.4280 | Nil | 700.28 | Free branch or home |
Lloyds TSB | 1.4200 | Nil | 704.23 | Free branch delivery. |
HSBC | 1.419781 | Nil on orders | 704.33 | Free home delivery |
Halifax | 1.4171 | Nil | 705.67 | Branch delivery |
NatWest | 1.4159 | Nil | 706.26 | Free branch or home |
Nationwide BS | 1.4157 | Nil | 706.36 | Home-delivery fee of |
Post Office | 1.4094 | Nil | 709.52 | Free branch or home |
Thomas Cook | 1.4000 | Nil | 714.29 | Free branch or home |
Source: Moneyfacts and providers' websites, 30/07/07
As you can see, Travelex.co.uk once again takes top honours, as it does every time I compare travel-money deals these days. Marks & Spencer claims the crown for high-street firms, with Lloyds TSB being the best of the big banks.
As usual, you can rely on travel agents to offer the worst deal, with Thomas Cook taking the wooden spoon. The difference between best and worst is an extra £23.25, which is a worthy saving.
How much does it cost to buy a thousand US dollars?
Provider | Exchange | Commission | Total (£) | ADD delivery fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Travelex.co.uk | 1.9911 | Nil | 502.23 | Bureau collection only. |
Marks & Spencer | 1.9490 | Nil | 513.08 | Free branch or home |
HSBC | 1.946656 | Nil on orders | 513.70 | Free home delivery |
Nationwide BS | 1.9437 | Nil | 514.48 | Home-delivery fee of |
Lloyds TSB | 1.9331 | Nil | 517.30 | Free branch delivery. |
NatWest | 1.9307 | Nil | 517.95 | Free branch or home |
Halifax | 1.9296 | Nil | 518.24 | Branch delivery |
Post Office | 1.9280 | Nil | 518.67 | Free branch or home |
Thomas Cook | 1.9100 | Nil | 523.56 | Free branch or home |
Once more, Travelex.co.uk grabs gold and M&S takes silver. HSBC takes bronze as best bank, with Lloyds TSB dropping to fifth behind Nationwide BS.
Yet again, the Post Office and Thomas Cook are to be avoided, propping up the bottom two slots in our table. The difference between best and worst is an extra £21.33.
Finally, here are five quick tips to getting the best deal on holiday money:
- Take the time to shop around by checking a few providers. Don't just visit your local bank or travel agent.
- Plan ahead and don't leave it to the last minute. Buying at the airport may be convenient, but it is also remarkably expensive.
- Watch out for delivery charges, which can be as high as £5.50.
- Many providers still charge a commission fee for sterling travellers' cheques, which adds 1% to 1.5% to their cost. So, don't overlook commission charges.
- If you pay by credit card, then you will probably be charged a cash-handling fee of around 2.75%, which will more than wipe out any savings made by getting the best exchange rate. Stick to paying by debit card, instead!
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