The common airport mistake that could cost you £200 on your next holiday
There is a huge mistake that a lot of people make when going on holiday that could cost you £200.
Travelling on its own can be quite expensive - not to mention all the time it takes to plan and book everything, so why would you want to throw a couple of hundred quid away?
This summer has brought a bevy of new travel warnings, including why you shouldn't put your name and address on your suitcase and the concerning health impacts of drinking during a flight.
And now we're being reminded that there's one thing you definitely need to get sorted before your trip if you want to avoid a common mistake.
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Your bank may promise that no fees will be charged for using your card overseas, but a good tip is to have some cash handy in case you need it to pay for taxis, book excursions at the holiday destination, or to leave tips at restaurants.
And there's a few places where you can lose up to £200 when trying to exchange your currency.
Exchange rates differ all over the world, depending on the currency and the location of the money exchange, but it's worth checking reliable money sites such as Xe for the real and most accurate rates.
You should then compare this to the rates being offered at the money exchange, to see if you're getting good value for your cash - or to see if you're being ripped off.
Some people believe that exchanging at a trusted money exchange close to home is the way to go, while some others think that vendors overseas may actually offer more for some of the King's pounds.
With that being said, a study by eurochange conducted on 19 March 2024 revealed the one place that you shouldn't change money at, and it costs Brits thousands every year all because they don't do their due diligence.
Leaving the process of buying travel money to the last minute will be unkind to your pockets, as the study found that airports are the single worst place to exchange money.
The worst airports to exchange currency
In fact, in terms of prices offered at the UK's busiest airports - that being Heathrow, Edinburgh, Stansted, Luton and Birmingham, Brits could be losing out on over £200 (£208.80 to be exact) when buying €1,000 at London Stansted, which holds the worst exchange rates out of the five.
The rate there stands at €0.9076 per £1, when Xe state that it is actually €1.1756819 per £1, as the pound is a stronger currency.
The cheapest airport in the list, Birmingham, still brings a loss of £155.98 on the same transaction, which in some cases, is enough for another return flight or a lot more activities on holiday.
If we look at US dollars, the range is slightly less, with a loss on exchange for buying $1,000 standing at £144.17 at Birmingham Airport, going up to £193.93 at Stansted.
Usually, global exchange rates are inflated at terminals compared to rates found online or on the high street, with planning ahead the name of the game.
The head of digital engagement at eurochange, Laura Evans-Fisk, said: "Changing money at the airport is absolutely the least cost-effective way of picking up your holiday money, as rates can be up to 13% higher than they are on the high-street or online.
"This is simply because there is much less competition, and they know customers aren’t shopping around for the best deal, so they can rack up the rates."
While checking the exchange rate before travelling is a must, Laura also advises to change money in the week, between Monday and Thursday, as these are the least busy days for transfers and rates will see less fluctuation.
The other option too, is to get a prepaid travel money card, as they don't charge you the same as usual bank cards.
Joshua Nair