Martin Lewis has shared his top holiday money saving tip, explaining whether you should pay in local currency or pounds on your card abroad – and how it could save you money on extra charges
Martin Lewis has finally settled the age-old holiday debate, revealing whether it’s better to pay in pounds or local currency when using your bank card overseas. Sharing his expert insight with BBC viewers, he cut through the confusion, offering clear guidance on the smartest way to spend abroad without losing out.
Martin advised: “When you go abroad and you pay on plastic [card] and the overseas cash machine or shop asks you: ‘Do you want to pay in Pounds or Euros?’ What do you do?
“Well, the correct answer is you should always pay in euros or whatever the local currency is. That means it’s your plastic that’s doing the exchange rate conversion, not the overseas shop or ATM.”
He stressed that this rule applies no matter where in the world you are. Social media users were quick to chip in with their own tips and experiences. One user suggested: “Just get Revolut or Monzo.”
Another declared: “I use Starling Bank it has no fees abroad and recommends paying in the local currency instead of Pounds. Something I saw online about dynamic exchange rate and it can cost you more otherwise.”
A third added: “Revolut has always been the best on doing this, can exchange right in the app as well, and when withdrawing it’ll just take it straight from that, half the time the only fee is the cash fee by the machine you use.”
Meanwhile, a recent holidaymaker shared their own experience: “Just back from Spain and not a single ATM did free cash withdrawals either, thankfully that’s all I was charged with my Chase account.”
One shrewd traveller commented: “I just get Euros before I go anywhere save all the hassle, and if I’m really stuck for cash go into an actual bank on holiday and withdraw money on my card.”
This handy tip comes on the heels of advice from a money-saving guru who stressed the importance of securing travel insurance ‘ASAB’.
During an appearance on This Morning, the financial whizz revealed: “My travel insurance rule is get it ASAB (as soon as you book). People do get a little confused about this, so let’s break it down.”
He continued to explain: “If you’re getting a single trip policy, so that is a policy to cover just one holiday, then what you do is as soon as you book, you go on one of the travel insurer’s website, you tell it your holiday dates and you buy the policy then.”
Martin Lewis made clear that if your holiday falls in August but you booked back in January, getting your insurance sorted in January is equally crucial.
“That means you have the travel insurance in place to covers that holiday,” he said, adding: “You don’t need to [cover yourself] for extra dates [in case there’s a delay at the airport] because you have your return date.
“If something delays you, so you weren’t back, that would still be covered because that delay is all part of the travel insurance.”
