If you are yet to book yourself a summer holiday and are
wondering where would be the cheapest place to go, then DIVA has
some great suggestions on how you can make the most of your holiday
lolly in the coming months.
Whether you are looking at travelling a long way, or somewhere
closer to home, you don't want to be spending any more than you
have to. That is why DIVA has joined forces with leading foreign
exchange provider Moneycorp to offer you top rates on your holiday
money through the DIVA Online Travel Money
Service.
So here are three top tips on how to stretch your cash this
summer:
Check the local tipping conventions
Us Brits can find it hard to know how much we are supposed to
tip at times, and that can lead to us being overgenerous, or more
likely offending people. So take a look at some of the tipping
conventions before you head abroad, so you know you are not
overspending.
A recent Which? survey found that nearly two thirds of us
over-tip when we are abroad, simply because we do not know what the
'rules' are.
For example, you are looking at some hefty extras when you are
tipping in the States and Canada - restaurants will expect 10-20%
of the bill as a tip, while housekeeping and porters will look for
$1-$2 or $1 per case respectively. Even taxi drivers would expect
10-15% of the fare, according to Which?
In France, the figure is a more wallet-friendly 5%, and up to
10% elsewhere in Europe - the UK included. In Bangkok, you would be
expected to round-up the taxi fare, and put a 10% tip down in a
restaurant. But it would be considered an insult to tip in Japan,
says Which? So best avoid this if you do not want blow fish in your
sushi.
- Book your travel money in advance
Yes, we know it is easy to forget about your travel money until
the last minute, but you really can save yourself a fortune if you
buy your holiday money before you head overseas.By booking your
travel money in advance, you can save yourself as much as 10 per
cent compared to buying it at the airport, which would give you an
extra £200 if you were changing £2,000 - quite a saving.
Buying your currency online through the DIVA Online Travel Money
Service means you will get top exchange rates for your holiday
money, and you will pay around 4% less than you would pay to your
bank for the same service.
There is no commission to pay, and the money will be delivered
to your door - for free if you order more than £500 of
currency.
Take more money than you think you will
need
You may be on a budget - most of us are right now - but think
carefully about how much money you are going to need while you are
away. It is easy to think you can get by on less, but if you do not
take enough with you, then you could find yourself the victim of
poor exchange rates and high charges by using your credit or debit
cards abroad.
A recent survey from uSwitch.com found that British
holidaymakers are running up a whopping £53m in credit card fees
because they insist on using their cards abroad. With transaction
charges of around 3% not uncommon, you can easily make a big dent
in your holiday budget.
For example, the banks can charge you between 2% and 4% more for
your travel money just by tweaking the exchange rates, not to
mention giving you the option of being charged in sterling or the
local currency - choosing the latter is almost always cheaper.
This means if you take out £1,000, you could be losing as much
as £40 on the exchange rate alone, and that is without even adding
in the charges.
So check out the savings you can make with the Diva Online Travel Money
Service before you go.
