'With our prepaid card we don't have to worry about charges': How to have a great holiday and save a fortune

Whether you have booked your summer holiday abroad, have yet to book it, or are planning to join the growing numbers who prefer to have a ‘staycation’ here in Britain, you can save yourself a fortune by doing nothing more arduous than following our invaluable guide.

Dollar deal: Alison and Paul Reeson, with their schnauzers Mitzy, left, and Dora

SPEND ON THE RIGHT CARD

Credit cards can be the cheapest way to spend on holiday – but only the right ones. Halifax’s Clarity credit card has no loading of foreign exchange fees when you spend on the card and no fee for cash withdrawals.

Anyone with a Nationwide current account has access to its Select credit card, which also waives foreign exchange fees, though there is a 2.5 per cent fee for cash withdrawals. Alternatively, some prepaid cards are good value.

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There are many available, so avoid any that charge fees for use abroad or for withdrawing cash at foreign cash machines. Paul and Alison Reeson, who live in Surbiton, Surrey, use a prepaid card from currency exchange company ICE to pay for their spending abroad. 

The couple first used it when they travelled to New England in 2011, locking in to a good rate and converting pounds to dollars all in one go. They are set to use the card again later this summer when they travel to California. They also receive a one per cent bonus in cashback for all their purchases on the card.

 

Paul, 54, who works in human resources for Royal Mail, says: ‘We don’t have to worry about charges, which is good as we have been stung by credit card fees in the past.

‘I’ve put about £500 worth of dollars on the card and will probably take the same amount in cash. There is a free back-up card too, so if we lose the main card we have another and can carry on using our money.’

Travelex has launched a new prepaid card that holds up to seven currencies at once. Travellers can lock into rates before leaving home and when using the card, the right currency is selected automatically.

The card is free to buy, free to use in shops and restaurants and free when using an overseas cash machine – though the local bank or ATM may still charge. When paying for food or shopping, whether by credit or prepaid card, pay in the local currency if there is a choice – otherwise the restaurant or shop can apply its own exchange rate, which could be high.

This is known as dynamic currency conversion. Spreading holiday money over cards and cash is common – but to get the best exchange rate go to sites such as MyTravelMoney and CompareCurrency. Many online companies will be much more generous than banks and will throw in free next-day delivery for sums higher than £500.

AVOID AIRLINE AND AIRPORT RIP-OFFS DON'T COME HOME TO A MASSIVE MOBILE PHONE BILL

Many of us use our mobile phones while abroad. But 15 per cent of travellers come home to an average bill of £120, according to price comparison website uSwitch.

From July 1, the cap on mobile charges within the European Union will be lowered again. Calls will cost about 21p a minute, or 6p a minute for receiving one. Standard text messages will be about 7p each. An overall cap of about £43 (€50) a month also applies. Customers must actively opt out if they want to exceed the cap.Using the internet on a mobile costs about 38p per megabyte – loosely equivalent to checking a couple of web pages and updating a Facebook status.There are no price caps for using a mobile farther afield – including European countries that are not in the EU, such as Switzerland. Travelling outside the EU?  Ask your mobile network for  a price list covering calls, texts and internet before leaving  the UK – and consider buying  a local Sim card.Turn off data roaming on your handset and rely instead on free, local wi-fi.

Getting to the airport and parking can be expensive – especially if you leave it to the last minute. 

Booking early for a parking space online, via websites such as Travel Supermarket or HolidayExtras, can mean a 60 per cent saving on the cost of your airport parking.

Renting someone’s driveway near the airport could be even cheaper. ParkatmyHouse and ParkonMyDrive match drivers with homeowners who let a garage or a space on their driveways. Spaces near Gatwick airport are available for £25 a week – about half the price of some pre-booked online options.

Further traps await travellers inside airport terminals. Budget airlines – notorious for extra charges – push up prices for checking in both bags and people at the airport. EasyJet will charge £25 per bag per flight. The airline is also cutting its guaranteed carry-on luggage allowance by 37 per cent as of July 2, which means that hand-held bags over the ‘guaranteed’ limit (50cm by 40cm by 20cm) but still within maximum limits (56cm by 45cm by 25cm) may have to be put in hold if the flight is full. There is no charge for this.

Ryanair’s prices range from £60 to £140 per bag per flight at the airport. Prices are cheaper if this is done via their respective websites instead. Scrimping on flight prices is fine for solo travellers and couples, but a family of four might find that carriers which offer a more generous luggage allowance and free check-in (and at the airport, if preferred), such as British Airways or Lufthansa, are actually cheaper overall.

DRIVE A CAR HIRE BARGAIN

Renting a car is fraught with traps for the unwary holidaymaker. Insurance is included, but often comes with an excess of about €1,000 (£850), which must be paid if there is any damage to the vehicle.

Expert Nick Gibbs warns: ‘The car hire company will often try to sell you an “excess waiver” to lower the excess. But this charge is often big when bought on the spot, upwards of 20 euros a day. It’s better to buy this beforehand – you can find it online for about £2 a day.’

Families travelling with young children must also bear in mind that despite booking a child seat, not all car hire companies guarantee one will be available. However, it is a legal requirement in many countries and parents risk being charged if they find the child seat is missing but drive away regardless.

Gibbs says: ‘Some airlines will let you take on a seat for free on top of your standard luggage allowance, so it’s worth finding out before you go.’

HAVING A STAYCATION? THEN DO IT ON THE CHEAP Voucher fans: John Moore and Helen Lynn with twins Harrison, front, and Finlay

Thousands of families will holiday at home this year to save money – but day trips are not necessarily cheap. Discount websites and vouchers are now essential for families enjoying a ‘staycation’.

Helen Lynn, from Surrey, and her partner John Moore, 34, are saving up for their wedding next year and want to ‘keep it cheap’ this year by taking days out and short breaks in Britain rather than heading overseas.

Helen, 30, who works part-time at a supermarket and is mother to 22-month-old twins Harrison and Finlay, says: ‘We want to visit wildlife parks or zoos and will spend a day in London using discounts from the VoucherCodes website.’

As well as using vouchers for entry to tourist attractions, Helen and John, who is a claims manager for an insurance company, double up with discounts for train journeys and for eating out at restaurants with two-for-one deals or where children eat free.

Helen says they manage to save hundreds of pounds each year through prolific voucher use. ‘We look up deals using the mobile app too, so there’s no need to plan in advance,’ she says. ‘We can go wherever is nearby at the time for a cheap place to eat.’

Website TopCashback also offers printable vouchers, cutting entry prices to hundreds of attractions by 20 per cent. Parents with £8.50 cashback in their account can transfer this to the same value in Tesco Clubcard points, which can be used to quadruple spending value towards days out.

This would equal a one-day entry token to Alton Towers in Staffordshire, saving more than £30 when booking online. But vouchers can be found the old-fashioned way too – by checking the side of cereal boxes.

Some Kelloggs brands, such as Frosties and Honey Loops, come with two-for-one vouchers for entry to Sea Life Centres, Legoland Windsor and Warwick Castle among others.

TRAVEL COVER - BUY SMART Ordeal: Angela Fritton broke her arm on a trip with daughter Skye

Ten per cent of travellers fall ill or are injured while abroad, insurers say, making travel cover one of the most important items to pack.

Angela Fritton is thankful she did. Only hours after arriving in Majorca last August for a break with her daughter Skye, she slipped in the hotel corridor and broke her arm. A week-long ordeal ensued where Angela, 50, had to spend three nights in hospital, including having surgery on her arm. Her husband Mark, 49, flew out to look after their terrified daughter, who was only 14 at the time.

Angela, a bank manager from Bassingbourn, Hertfordshire, says: ‘I was taken to hospital straightaway and it turned out that I had broken my arm in two places.

‘I was in a bit of a shock. Luckily, our insurance company paid out for everything. The hospital had given me a contraption to hold up my arm so I needed two seats on the plane, but our flight was fully booked. The insurer paid for the extra nights in Majorca, and our flight back. I didn’t even see a bill.’

The £35.70 Angela paid Direct Line for one-week’s insurance covered a claim that amounted to £12,750.

‘Since the accident, I never go on holiday without travel insurance,’ she says. Premiums are based on the age and health of the policyholder, the destination and the duration of the trip. Prices start from about £9 for seven days’ cover for a family of four going to France.

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