Families have been warned about the high cost of using cash machines when on holiday this summer by Martin Lewis.
An investigation by his MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE) team found withdrawal fees can vary between €2 and €7. even when the ATM machines are within 200m of eachother.
At the same time, many of these machines offer a poor exchange rate for Britons.
Writing in the latest MSE newsletter, Mr Lewis explained that even if a cash machine with a higher fee offers better exchange rates, this is “irrelevant” as you should always try to pay in local currency if you can.
He said: “While the €7 fee machines did sometimes offer better exchange rates, that’s irrelevant, as you should SAY NO to the foreign bank doing the conversion – you want your UK card to do it (especially if you’ve a specialist card). Foreign ATMs don’t like that.”
Mr Lewis recommends paying in the local currently if you can because if you say “yes” to paying in pounds, the overseas bank does the conversion and the rates are generally poor.
Mr Lewis also warned about “scare tactics” used by some banks abroad to try and get more money out of you.
He said: “They’ll push and try to scare you to let them convert for you, with an ‘are you sure?’, or ‘are you really sure?’ if you select the option they don’t want (as they make less money).
“Yet still say no to currency conversion. Do that and the only thing that matters is the fee, so go for the cheapest one of those.”
MSE also highlighted some top specialist overseas cards that don’t add on a “non-sterling exchange fee” when you use them.
MSE flagged Chase Mastercard as the “easiest to get” and with this card, you can withdraw up to £1,500 a month without incurring any fees.
Halifax Clarity Mastercard was named as the best if you only want to use it while abroad. This is because you can get £20 cashback on your first overseas or UK purchase within 90 days. But as this is a credit card, you’ll need to pay off the balance in full each month to avoid paying interest.
