IN THE SHOPS

£12 to be saved

I’ve vowed not to step into a spa this time, but I’m not ruling out a stroll down Berlin’s Friedrichstrasse. A €200 purchase would cost £181.15 with my Natwest debit card. Using prepaid cards, however, could save me more than £10 on two purchases. The Caxton FX and FairFX cards work just like a MasterCard, but I’ll be charged £176.99 and £175.05 respectively on a €200 purchase.

KEEP IT LOCAL

£16 to be saved

Some shops and cash machines will offer to convert your trans­action into sterling when you are withdrawing or paying in euros. You should always refuse and pay in the national currency, because the exchange rate could be as much as 5% worse than that used by your card provider. ATMs will often give you a choice: “Press yes for GBP, no for EUR.” Again, always choose “no”. This could save me £8 on my €200 from the ATM and £8 on a €200 shopping trip.

BACK AT HOME

£30 to be saved

When the holiday is over, it’s tempting to change any spare currency straight back into sterling, especially if I’m left with €200 or so. (I like to play it safe.) Again, while bureaux de change often do this “commission free”, the rates they offer aren’t great. For example, the Post Office sells €200 at £175.84, but pays only £158.42 to buy it back — a £17 difference.

Hold on, though. I’ll be heading to Europe again before next summer, so changing my money would be madness. The euro has fallen 10% against sterling in the past three months, and the consultancy Capital Economics reckons it could fall another 7% by spring — adding another £12 to my €200. In other words, simply by holding on to my cash, I could save £29.42.

£106 SAVED: HURRAH!

Rates and figures come from Moneysupermarket.com and were correct at the time of writing

* Travel money: order online and pick up from branches at the airport or around the country. Find the best deals at travelmoney.moneysavingexpert.com .

* Debit card: with the Nationwide FlexAccount, there’s no “loading fee” (often about 3%) for using ATMs or making over-the-counter purchases in Europe. In most other countries, the fee is 0.84% each time.

* Credit card: those from the Post Office and Saga, and the Zero card from Abbey (Santander), do not charge the loading fee or usage fees (about £1.50 a time) beloved of high-street credit cards. The Zero card offers fee-free cash withdrawals.

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