Off on holiday? Martin says watch out for THESE
The big summer getaway is upon us, yet with the weak pound, many people will face hikes in holiday costs by as much as £200. So if you’re jetting off our Money Saving Expert has his checklist of things to watch out for.
Check your EHIC card is valid – 5.3mill have expired in the last year – has yours?The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) gives you access to GPs or state hospitals in the EU at the same price as a local; so if it’s free for them, it’s free for you. Yet over 5 million are out-of-date and invalid so check the expiry date (point 9) on the bottom right of your card now.
If it's already expired, or is about to, renew it now by applying on the EHIC website, or by calling 0300 330 1350. Most importantly don’t ever pay for it – it’s free and any site charging you is a con – even if it’s promising a fast track. Generally, it'll take about seven to 10 days for it to come through. Kids must have their own cards.
And if you’re thinking, well we’re out of the European Union so there’s no point in getting the card anymore – don’t. It’s still valid. The vote may affect this in the future, but right now nothing’s changed, and most likely nothing will change for at least the next two years. So you should carry on using it as normal.
Book car hire as early as possible to slash the cost.Don’t leave it to the last minute. If you do you could pay massively over the odds – for example, walk in now, and if they’ve got spare cars, you could pay £40+/day. Yet book now for August and it can cost as little as £9/day for Malaga.
To find your cheapest, use as many comparison sites as you’ve time for, including Kayak (good for options), Skyscannerand TravelSupermarket(both good for breadth) and Carrentals. Then once booked double check the details with the car firm.
I’ve heard huge successes of people getting great deals by booking in advance, like Dave, who emailed: "Booked four months ahead, got 10 days for £296 for a decent-sized car. Just before I went, checked and price had gone to £900."
Yet beware of some firms who try and make you pay for a full tank of fuel, then ask you to “return it empty”. And if you haven’t driven much the unused fuel can cost you more than the hire. Most comparison sites let you filter by fuel policy.
Get car-hire excess insurance BEFORE you go and save up to 80%Often when you’re at the kiosk picking up your car they’ll try and scare you into getting excess car hire insurance saying “Hey señor, you need excess insurance too - if not and there's a problem, you pay €1,000." I can't tell you how often I've hired a car and wanted to intervene when I hear this happening next to me.
Yet this insurance can cost as much as €20 a day, so to avoid it get standalone cheap excess insurance before you go for as little as £2/day. Like Glyn who tweeted me “Thanks @MartinSLewis, I followed your guide & got a week's car hire excess insurance for £13. Rental company wanted £12 per day."
The MoneyMaxim comparison site can find you a cheap policy. Though be aware that if you do book this way, hire firms may still say “you still need to pay us”, and this is true. You’ll need to pay a deposit of €600 - €1,350 on a credit (not debit) card, from which they'll take the cost of any incidents. Yet you can then reclaim the cost on your standalone insurance policy.
4. Always pay in euros (or the local currency).When abroad many shops or the ATM will ask you whether you want to pay in pounds or euros (or the local currency). Pay in pounds and the foreign shop or ATM does the conversion. Pay in euros and your plastic does. On holiday once (I’ve a very understanding wife) I checked the rates of dozens of cash machines and shops and every time paying in pounds cost more than in euros even on the WORST UK plastic. So if they ask, always say euros.
Don’t wait to get travel insurance, book it nowI can’t stress this enough. Far too often people say things to me like "Just found I've a breast lump and need treatment, my airline won't refund my ticket, no insurance, what can I do?" I always ask if they’ve got travel insurance, but the answer is often “I was going to get it before I go”.
Half the point of travel insurance is to protect you if something happens before and you can’t go on holiday. So as soon as you’ve booked your holiday, book your travel insurance too. If not, you won't be covered should anything happen beforehand, such as an illness or cancellation.
There are many cheap, decent value policies available online and via comparison sites from as little as £9 for a year’s European cover for an individual. See Martin’s ‘Cheap Travel Insurance’ guide for full info. If you go away two or more times a year, annual policies are usually cheaper.
Ensure you get near-perfect exchange rates everywhere, every time. It’s so important that when spending abroad you use the right type of plastic. If not you can be hit with a raft of extra charges adding unnecessary costs to your holiday. Most debit and credit card firms get a near-perfect exchange rate from Mastercard or Visa, then add a 3%-ish 'non-sterling exchange fee' to what they charge us, so £100 of euros costs you £103.
Yet specialist credit cards, like the Halifax Clarity and Creation Everydaycard have no exchange fee, so you get the same near-perfect rate the banks do, without that add-on. Yet of course it’s the rate on that day that you get, and so currency moves can affect it. So simply get one of these (allow 1-2 weeks to arrive), and only use it abroad, ensuring you repay IN FULL each month to minimise interest (12.9%-18.9% rep APR) and then use it on every holiday.
It’s far better to spend on these cards than withdrawing cash though (as then you will pay some interest even if you clear in full).
If you don’t want or can’t get one (as you have to pass a credit score) one of those cards, the Supercard from Travelex works the same way but anyone can get it. It links to your bank account or existing credit card and it does the conversion at the perfect Mastercard rate and then charges them. However, it charges 2.99% for cash withdrawals and you don’t get the extra section 75 protection you do with credit cards.
If you’re taking cash, find the best currency ratesNever ever leave buying cash to the last minute, especially at the airport. They know you’re a captive customer and will bump up the price (even pre-ordering and picking up from the airport tends to be more expensive). Instead, if you’re going to take cash with you use the Travel Money Max comparison site which compares over 40 bureaux to find you the best rate including all charges.
Use your smartphone as a free sat-navIf it’s got GPS, you can convert your phone into a free sat-nav for 182 countries without using any pricey data overseas. Just download the freeNavmii app for iPhone, Android, Blackberry and Windows Phone, and before you travel download the free maps. Once you’ve downloaded it to your phone, it doesn’t need any internet data to find routes, search, or access its maps via GPS, as these are stored offline in your phone.
Book cheap attraction tickets before you go away.If you’re going on a sightseeing holiday, it’s worth planning your itinerary beforehand and checking if you can buy the tickets in advance rather than at the gate once you’re there, especially for popular attractions like theme parks, water parks or historical sites. Often tickets are cheaper online and you’ll need a printer to print them – and check for flyers at the airport or at your hotel which can include vouchers.
For Disneyland use the attraction’s own ticket price as a benchmark then see if any official ticket re-sellers can beat them, such as American Attractions and Florida Tix (or Attraction Tix for other worldwide attractions). These buy tickets from the parks in bulk and then re-sell them at a lower price so you could often save. Remember though to do this with a reputable company you’ve heard of, as if there’s any issues it may be difficult to get your money back.
10. And most important of all have fun…