So where SHOULD you buy holiday cash?
There’s plenty of choice — and one place to avoid at all costs
THOSE brightly coloured currency booths are so convenient; simply buy your euros, explore duty-free, then head for the departure gate.
But an Escape investigation shows that the premiums you pay for buying currency at an airport can be staggeringly high (see the table below right).
This week, branches of Moneycorp and Travelex, two giants of UK airport currency exchange, were offering a mere ¤0.96 to £1 at Heathrow and Gatwick airports, while other options — from the old-school (Post Office) to the innovative (online ‘currency cards’, on which you can preload cash) — were advertising rates as high as ¤1.16 to £1.
It all renders those big, ‘zero commission’ signs redundant — and means shopping around has never been more rewarding.
Here are some Escape top tips on how to get the most out of your holiday money . . .
DON’T BE AFRAID TO BRANCH OUT
REASSURING as it may be to entrust triedand-tested High Street brands such as your bank or the Post Office, the best exchange rates are almost always from less well publicised sources.
If you want to avoid online options and are based in London, try a branch of Best Foreign Exchange ( there are around a dozen spread throughout the capital) for a superior High Street rate on most currencies.
If you live outside London, you could try department stores, such as Debenhams, or shops including Marks & Spencer.
TRY BUYING IN ADVANCE
PERHAPS the airport currency exchange companies aren’t all bad. Travelex, for example, offers customers the chance to buy currency in advance and cancels the order should sterling fluctuate. Customers can then buy the money again at the new, better rate.
LOYALTY PAYS OFF
SUPERMARKET loyalty schemes aren’t only for getting a few pence off your next weekly shop. Some also offer preferential rates on currency exchange.
Sainsbury’s Bank, for example, offers a better rate to its Nectar card holders who wish to exchange money, with £1 currently buying ¤1.13, compared with ¤1.12 for those without a card.
CHECK ‘MASTER’ RATES
GET a true sense of what rates really are at any given time by going to xe.com, which updates every world currency every minute.
It’s the system used by traders and banks. You should consider this the ‘base’ level and, from here, find the provider who will offer the rate closest to what you see on this site.
GET YOUR TIMING RIGHT
IF YOU’RE not sure just how far in advance to buy your holiday money, some companies (including FairFX) will send you an email notification when sterling rises or falls beyond certain levels.
This should give you fair warning on whether today is a good — or terrible — time to exchange your pounds.