Home
FairFX Prepaid MasterCard®       ~       Looking for Corporate Cards?

FairFX Press Releases > Travel plans Related Posts

> Stretch your gap year cash on a shoestring

> Save up to €300 or $400 with the FairFX.com currency card

Gap year travellers could be wasting up to €300 or $400 unknowingly by having the wrong foreign spending habits. A better choice of travel money could give their budget some much-needed extra stretch.

As more gap year travellers head abroad this year than ever before, due to university deferrals and redundancies, FairFX.com, the foreign currency specialist, provides some handy tips to make the most of their money:

1) Pre-trip research: research your trip before you go – it’ll be easier to work to a realistic budget. Look at approximately how much you'll need on a daily basis for food, accommodation and activities, and then multiply that by the number of days you will be away. It's often better to over-budget in case of emergencies.

2) Carrying cash: A pre-paid card is the most secure form of travel money, but take a wallet for loose change and everyday spending. Wear a secure money belt under clothing for your valuable documents and any other cash.

3) Extras: If you're planning to do any adrenaline-junkie sports or extra activities, you'll need to take this into account as they’re often quite pricey. Make sure you’ve covered this in your pre-trip budget.

Stephen Heath, Chief Executive of FairFX.com, said: "No one likes to find out too late they could have got a better deal. Anyone heading off now on a gap year could get an extra $426 or €307 if they use a FairFX.com pre-paid currency card (assuming an average spend of £4,000)."

Wednesday 17 June 2009, 02:03pm

Tags: gap year, holiday money, saving money, travel money, travel money card, travel plans, travel tips

Commenting on bank customers being asked to disclose travel plans to cut fraud, Stephen Heath, Chief Executive of FairFX.com, said: “There is no doubt any measures holidaymakers can take to reduce fraud are a good idea. Indeed, it is sound advice for all Brits planning to use credit cards abroad to alert providers before travelling to avoid cards being declined.

“However, time poor travellers who want to avoid the inconvenience of ringing their card provider each time they go abroad should consider using a prepaid currency card such as the FairFX.com Currency Card instead. The FairFX.com card is designed specifically for use abroad so people do not have to alert us when they travel.

“The FairFX.com card is also a safe way to spend abroad - the chip and PIN technology makes it much harder for fraudsters to clone cards and the fact it is prepaid, with no credit facility beyond that which is loaded onto the card, means potential losses are limited. The card is particularly useful for people planning to go to the States where chip and PIN hasn’t been introduced and fraud is much more prevalent.

“As well as being the most convenient option and offering superior fraud protection, the FairFX.com card also offers people the best bang for their buck. FairFX.com is currently offering €1.0825 to £1, and $1.4775 to £1 for every £200 exchanged, beating most other providers hands down.”

Wednesday 07 January 2009, 01:54pm

Tags: banks, top travel tips, travel cash, travel money, travel plans, travel tips

feed
Subscribe to our feed

Updates by email:

Latest 'Travel plans' Posts

Why Tell Banks Your Travel Plans?

07 January 2009, 01:54pm

Monthly 'Travel plans' Archives

2009

June (1 entry)

January (1 entry)

All Tags

0% commission 0% myth 4th july APACS Australian dollar European Central Bank Federal Reserve G20 meeting Germany ICE M&S Money Transfer US employment data USD YouGov abroad airport airports bank of england banks best exchange rates best rates birmingham airport business expenses business expenses platform business expenses software cash cash abroad charges chip and PIN compare rates consumers corporate expenses credit crisis credit crunch currency currency card currency card discussion currency card reviews currency charges currency discussion currency exchange currency providers currency rates currency report currency volatility dollar dollar exchange rates dollar rates euro euro rate europe travel euros exchange rates fairfx fairfx.net fairpay feeling the pinch foreign foreign currency forex fraud fraud protection free card free fiver free money gap year global stock markets heathrow hidden charges holiday holiday charges holiday costs holiday money holidaymakers independence day industry interest rate interest rates international money transfer lock in rates london city luton market movement marks & spencer matalan monetary policy committee money supermarket mpc new york opodo partnership post office pound pound weakness prepaid cards press press mentions qe quantitative easing recession research round the world ryanair cash passport ryanair charges ryanair currency card ryanair fees ryanair prepaid mastercard ryanair travel card save money saving money ski holiday sms banking sms services sms top-up south africa south africa travel south african rand spending cuts spending power stephen heath sterling strong dollar strong euro students study summer holiday text top-up thomas cook top travel tips tourist rates of exchange transfer money from the uk travel travel cash travel money travel money card travel plans travel tips travelex travellers us dollar venice film festival withdrawing cash world cup travel