Travel experts have revealed the common mistakes that are costing Britons money when they travel abroad – and the handy tricks to avoid them.
Many of us can struggle to understand exchange rates and the best practices for spending while on holiday, and our bank balances are worse off as a result.
But declining the ATMs’ default setting to accept the foreign bank’s conversion rate almost always costs more than choosing the option to continue without the conversion.
Bartosz Sawicki, of financial firm Conotoxia, said: “When withdrawing euros in a country with a common currency, the ATM may offer to settle the transaction in the currency of the tourist’s home country, using its own exchange rate.
“Such a rate is almost always significantly less favourable than that offered by multi-currency platforms.
“So when withdrawing funds abroad, pay close attention to the messages displayed on the screen and do not agree to the DCC service – the dynamic currency conversion.”
Travelling abroad can be full of costly pitfalls, from expensive data roaming bills to incurring fees for using debit cards.
But knowing the tips and tricks to use can make a huge difference to the holiday budget.
Experts also advise purchasing a pre-pay SIM for using your mobile abroad as many companies now charge extra for data and calls post-Brexit.
A total of 35% of respondents to a OnePoll survey of 2,000 respondents commissioned by the Lebara Mobile network said they had been charged extra for roaming while on holiday in the EU.
And some of the unwitting holidaymakers who relied on their phones to connect with family and friends, find their way around and use social media abroad faced charges of up to £1,000, the research revealed.
Rajesh Dongre, Managing Director of Lebara UK, insists paying before you go is the best way to avoid a nasty bill when you return from your winter break.
He said: “The British people are feeling the cost-of-living crunch hard and are looking for ways to cut costs, without compromising on the quality of service they are used to.
“At Lebara, we believe staying connected should be simple and affordable.
“Unlike many major network operators, we are not bringing back EU roaming charges, and those who travel to the EU on their holidays can use their phone as they would at home, at no extra cost.
“They can use all their data allowance available on the plan while roaming in the EU — up to a max of 30GB.”
For more information, visit https://mobile.lebara.com/gb/en/
Featured image credit: Pictures of Money via Flickr under CC BY 2.0 licence
