Information on Loughborough

Hints for holidaying with a credit card

Posted on 28/08/2009

Leicestershire Councty Council Community Services

27 August 2009

Hints for holidaying with a credit card

Top tips have been created to help holiday-makers cut the costs of using credit cards abroad.

The advice from County Council Trading Standards officers is designed to make sure that people planning to use them whilst away are aware of the advantages and the different kinds of charges involved.

To minimise the cost of using a credit card, it's important to understand how they work:

  • Most credit cards charge a “foreign currency loading” (FCL) fee every time a card is used, usually over 2% of the cost;
  • Drawing cash from a cash machine ( ATM) there is usually an additional charge, of about 2%;
  • When paying in GB Pounds abroad, the business will use “dynamic currency conversion” to convert from the national currency to GBP. This can sometimes be used to inflate the price by use of an unfavourable conversion rate.
  • In some countries there is a charge for using an ATM of around a £1 or so.
  • Card-holders will start to pay interest immediately on cash withdrawals.

    • Most of these charges will also apply to debit cards.

    There are however lots of advantages to using credit cards abroad:

  • They avoid the need to carry a lot of cash although of course need to kept securely
  • They are accepted almost everywhere
  • Some include insurance of the goods bought
  • When buying items costing over £100, the credit card company is equally liable with the seller meaning a claim can be made against the credit card company if the goods are faulty or mis-described

    • David Bull, the County Council's Head of Trading Standards, said: “The credit card is a great boon when travelling abroad but if a check shows high charges for transactions or taking cash out abroad, it may be worth shopping round for one that will be more economical to use.

    "It is a really easy way to pay but don't forget to tell the card company that you are travelling abroad and importantly, keep within your budget."

    http://www.leics.gov.uk/tradingstandards

    Contacts

    Paul Davis - 0116 305 6534

    Keith Regan - 0116 305 6533