HOW TO GET THE BEST DEAL

TRY TO BUY ONLINE

THIS is the cheapest option. Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda, among others, offer free postage if you order more than £500. Be warned that M&S and John Lewis are the only retailers to offer the same rates on the High Street that they do online.

Compare rates from travel bureaux on sites such as moneysavingexpert.com and gocompare.com. Top rates for euros, including delivery, are currently offered by Tesco and Asda, which will both change £500 into €577, according to MoneySavingExpert.

GET A FEE-FREE CARD

BANKS typically charge 3pc (£3 for every £100 you spend) to pay by debit or credit card abroad. As well as charging this 3pc foreign exchange fee, some cards charge another £1.50 transaction fee every time you spend. On top of that there can be further charges of up to £4.50 for each cash withdrawal. However, there are fee-free cards available.

The Barclaycard Platinum Visa and Halifax Clarity Mastercard have no extra exchange fee or withdrawal charges. Metro Bank offers free withdrawals and spending in Europe and Virgin Money offers fee-free spending worldwide, though it costs £1.50 to withdraw cash abroad. Be sure to pay your bill in full when you get home to avoid interest.

AVOID THE AIRPORTS

EVEN though the value of the pound has jumped, some airports are still offering less than one euro to the pound.

Sally Francis, at MoneySavingExpert. com, says: ‘Buying currency at the airport is the number one way to get ripped off — the rates are lousy because airport bureaux de change know you’re a captive customer.’

CANCEL IF YOU CAN

SOME bureaux let you cancel the transaction for free just before your holiday. So if the rate drastically improves, you can get the better rate. With Travelex you can order two weeks ahead and cancel free up to 24 hours before collection.

THWART THIEVES

YOU can load a pre-paid card with cash before you travel and it works like a normal debit card.

If it’s lost or stolen your main bank won’t be compromised. Providers include Revolut, WeSwap and Monzo. But watch out for loading fees and charges to recover unused cash.

PAY IN LOCAL MONEY

IF YOU are paying by card and a restaurant or shop asks you if you want to pay in pounds, say no.

Always pay in the local currency. If you don’t, the shop will use its own exchange rate, which is often terrible.