Enjoy the apres-ski... but avoid paying too much
SINCE Britain voted to leave the European Union almost 17 months ago, the value of the pound against the euro has fallen more than 10 per cent.
This means most skiing trips have become more expensive so the need to be shrewd about how to spend your pounds is increasingly important. The biggest mistake is to get your foreign money at the airport or a border terminal as this can cost 15 per cent more than exchanging in advance.
Websites such as MyTravelMoney and TravelMoneyMax trawl the market in search of the best
exchange rates you can find. These may be offered by online dealers such as Travel FX, Moneycorp, Ice and Travelex. You might also contact these traders directly and ask them to email when an exchange for a chosen currency improves.
Also consider a pre-paid currency card, such as offered by FairFX and Caxton FX, to lock into a favourable rate before jetting off on holiday. When splashing the cash with a credit card your own bank is rarely the most competitive. Instead, consider taking out a new card just for holidays, such as the Halifax Clarity card, where there are no nasty usage fees when spending or taking cash out of an overseas hole-in-the-wall.
Also, remember that when out enjoying apres-ski and using a credit or debit card for payment, always opt to pay in the local currency and not in sterling. The exchange rates shops offer might add 5 per cent to the bill.