How to Avoid Hidden Fees and Save Money While Travelling

Planning a trip? Whether you’re jetting off for a quick weekend city break or going full Eat Pray Love mode, a little prep can save you some money while you’re away. Here are some easy travel money hacks to make sure more of your money goes on cocktails on the beach instead of fees.

1. Sort your roaming before you fly

Roaming charges can build up pretty quickly if you’re not careful. Before you head off, check if your phone network has any travel deals.

If you’re with O2, you’re in luck. They offer inclusive EU roaming as part of many contracts, which means you can use your data, minutes and texts in loads of destinations without the horror of a £90 phone bill when you get home.

If your network doesn’t offer free roaming, consider buying a local SIM or an eSIM online before you go. It’s way cheaper than just winging it on your UK plan.

2. Use a bank account that won’t charge you abroad

Please, for the love of travel money, don’t use your high street debit card abroad if it charges you.

Look for accounts like Starling, Chase or Monzo, they don’t charge you extra for spending in other currencies, and some even give you fee-free ATM withdrawals overseas.

It’s basically the easiest switch you can make to avoid those sneaky transaction fees.

3. Always pay in the local currency 💸

When you’re paying on card and the machine asks if you want to pay in pounds or the local currency – always choose the local currency.

Paying in GBP might look familiar and comfy, but it actually gives the shop or restaurant the power to set their own exchange rate (and it’s never in your favour). Paying in local currency means your bank handles the conversion and you get a much better rate.

4. Don’t skip travel insurance 

Travel insurance is one of those essential things. You don’t want to be £800 down because your suitcase full of outfits went on its own little trip and never came back (we’ve been there).

The best hack? Get an annual travel insurance policy. It’s often cheaper than buying a new one every trip, and you can set it up and forget about it.

And please… don’t be the person buying your insurance before you take off. You want it to cover you before you travel in case anything goes wrong in the run up to your trip.