HOLIDAYMAKERS getting travel money at the airport are being offered dismal exchange rates where £1 won’t even buy them €1 or US$1.
At Gatwick’s north terminal this morning, MoneySavingExpert.com spotted Moneycorp’s bureaux de change offering flyers a meagre €0.89 and $0.9885 for their pound.
And that’s before you take into account commission fees of £1.50 on orders up to £20 and £4.99 on orders between £20 and £300 – it’s free after £300.
Taking the example of £100, that means you’d have got €89 or $98.85 (or €84.01 or $93.86 after fees).
In comparison, you could get €1.11 or $1.23 for the same £1 at a travel exchange near The Sun’s office in central London – and this particular firm doesn’t charge commission or fees on top.
That means £100 would net you €111 or $123 – €22 or $24.15 more.
Even ordering your holiday money in advance to pick up at Gatwick’s north terminal would net you better rates of €1.09 and $1.20, and again this particular bureaux de change didn’t charge commission or fees.
That would mean €109 or $120 for your £100.
What are my other options for spending abroad?
THERE are several specialist cards that can give you a great exchange rate.
These cards include travel credit cards and pre-paid cards which can let you pay abroad without fees or at a set exchange rate.
Travel credit cards: Travel credit cards allow you to spend money abroad without being hit by any fees or hidden charges.
But, they may still charge you for taking cash out.
We recommend the Halifax’s Clarity Card as it won’t charge you for using it abroad, nor are there any fees for withdrawing cash.
But you will be charged interest if you don’t repay your balance in full at a rate of 19.9 per cent.
And you will be charged interest on cash withdrawals until your balance is paid off too, at a rate of between 19.9 and 27.9 per cent depending on your credit score.
In other words, just because you are using plastic abroad doesn’t mean you don’t have to pay these credit cards off like you normally would.
Always pay off your balance before the end of the month with these cards to make sure that any money you saved isn’t wiped away by paying interest.
For more on travel credit cards you can read our guide here.
Pre-paid cards: An alternative to carrying cash around is to get a pre-paid card.
These cards allow you to put a set amount of cash on the card at a fixed exchange rate.
So if the rate is good at the moment, you can put money on your card and it will stay that rate when you are on holiday.
Just keep in mind that these cards can sometimes have hidden costs and charges so be sure to read the small print.
MoneySavingExpert.com deputy editor, Guy Anker, warns that getting your holiday cash at the airport is always a bad idea.
He said: “Airport rates are almost always hideous which is why we always say never, never, never, never buy from there.
“If you need cash in any currency before you go, it’s always best to compare rates online instead.”
You can find the top rates locally or for pre-order to collect at the airport using MoneySavingExpert.com’s TravelMoneyMax tool.
Of course, a safer way to spend abroad is to use a specialist overseas credit card with no fees. We’ve rounded-up the top cards here.
Pauline Maguire, head of retail at Moneycorp explains that airport rates are higher because of the extra costs to have a shop there.
He said: “The reason for our higher airport rates are the significant extra costs associated with operating there – from ground rent and additional security, to the cost of staffing the bureaux for customers on early and late flights.
“But we can promise that we work hard to offer rates that are competitive against our peers and vary only by the exchange rate and the higher costs of offering this service from a particular location.
“An easy and more cost-effective way for customers to buy travel money is to pre-order online and collect at the airport.”
The pound neared a ten-year low against the euro earlier this month when it dropped to €1.0724.
Prior to this, it had been as high as €1.44 in July 2015 but has been tumbling ever since.
The dollar, meanwhile is down from highs of $1.715 last seen in July 2014.
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