Martin Lewis has provided holiday makers with essential advice on how to get the most from your money this summer. His advice includes how to avoid some of the perils of using ATM conversions.
Speaking on a special summer holiday money saving show, Martin was, as usual, full of advice on how to make your money go further. And he gave tips on how to make the most of your money when you travel.
His tips included which card to use abroad, and how to ensure you're not ripped off when you use cash machines overseas. It’s a tip that can save you precious holiday pocket money.
Firstly, Martin took on the often-complicated topic of which cards to take with you on your jollies. He recommends using a travel-specific card, and has three favourites in particular.
They are the Chase debit card, Halifax credit card, and Barclays credit card for travel. All three have their own merits, and there’s no one size-fits-all approach, he said.
However, he did have a favourite — the Chase card. Martin explained: “Normally if you spend abroad your bank gets a near-perfect raee and adds three percent. All three of these cards do not [add that three percent].
“You can withdraw cash for free from all three, but the limits on the Barclays and Halifax cards are bigger. Chase will give you one percent cashback as well.
“They are all good. Which has got the most green [boxes on the table]? It’s Chase, but all three are good, it’s mix and match.”
Martin also had advice for those who prefer to use cash abroad. He continued: “If you use cash it is the rate on the day you get it, but plastic — it’s when you spend. Never get cash from the airport.”
And in a special feature from Malaga, Martin explained how cash machines try and get more money out of you. To demonstrate, he tried to get €200 in cash from three different ATMs — with the exchange rate on the day meaning this should have been worth around £169.
“The first think to watch for is if there is a fee to use [the ATM],” Martin explained — with one machine asking for €7 to access withdrawals. “It says there is a mark-up fee of 4.5 percent… I want your card company at home to do the conversion” he continued.
Martin added that machines will often warn customers that they can proceed without using their conversion rates. However, not following those rates can often be cheaper, he added.
In the end, Martin decided not to use any of the conversion rates and paid £169.20 for his €200. If he had gone with conversion at the three cash machines he tried, the cheapest he would have paid was £169, he said, and the most expensive was a much bigger £191.
He added: “It just reinforces that ‘let your card do the conversion’, and pay in local currency.”
