Overseas holidaymakers should check credit card fees

by Gill Montia

Story link: Overseas holidaymakers should check credit card fees

The Post Office is advising consumers to check with their bank or credit card provider to ascertain the level of fees charged for using their card abroad.

In its research, the Post Office found that 49% of UK holidaymakers plan to use their credit cards when taking this year’s holiday and the total spend is estimated to be in the region of £9.4 billion.

Fees on this amount could be as high as £258 million, as the majority of credit card providers charge around 2.75% for each overseas transaction.

Some debit card providers make similar charges and a number have recently announced increases in fees for transactions abroad.

In its survey, the Post Office found that 47% of consumers were unaware of the hidden costs of such transactions. In fact, 34% believed that their provider made no charge for overseas spending.

Those aged between 18 and 24 years were the least likely to know whether or not a fee would be charged.

The survey also revealed that 26% of holidaymakers did not set a budget for their trip.
Of those who did, women were more likely than men to keep within it (69%). Only 59% of men were successful in doing so.

Overseas spending on UK issued credit and debit cards has increased fourfold in the past 10 years.