Ski Money - Pay less when skiing - totally painlessly!

One thing we really object to when going on a skiing or snowboarding break is paying over the odds when we don't need to. And one way we can certainly do that is by using the right method to pay for our holiday, get our holiday money, and use the right plastic abroad. Here are our top tips..

Spreading the cost of your Holiday

Ski holidays are not the cheapest of getaways. There is no getting away from the fact that on top of your transport costs and accommodation theres lift passes, ski hire, lunches up the mountain, apres ski and more to be accounted for.

However spreading the cost over a number of months can make it all a whole load easier, and rather than doing that on an overdraft or loan why not take advantage of 'free money'?

Credit cards offering interest free are back in fashion - and we suggest you take a good look at a couple –

The Tesco Credit Card are currently offering an interest free period of 15 months on purchases - which allows plenty of time to spread this years holiday, and if you pay early possibly next years as well!

If you are wanting a card which also allows a balance transfer facility (maybe you have a balance outstanding on another card already then the Sainsbury's Credit Card is worth a look. It has an interest free period of 12 months both for new purchases and balance transfers.

Don't however use either card whilst overseas - both charge for use abroad - see our section below on credit cards to use when spending abroad for better options.

Details of the interest rates and other fees are available at the foot of this page.

Tesco Credit Card - long interest free period for purchases allows the costs of your holiday to be spread without paying interest

Sainsburys Credit Card - long interest free period for purchases and balance transfers allows the costs of your holiday to be spread and other balances to be amalgamated
Spending money on holiday

The exchange rate you get when buying you ski euros, dollars, francs or levs varies enormously depending on where you buy it. The worst place bar none is the airport, where you can be just giving away 5-10% of your money, and the high street banks are not far behind!

For more information though on foreign currency do visit our sister site moneymaxim.co.uk, who offer a wider range of advice on finding the best travel money rates.

Information provided by compareholidaymoney.com whose terms and conditions of use can be found here.

Click here for our guide to these charges and how to avoid them.
The Best Plastic to Use Abroad

Using the wrong credit card to pay your hotel bill or debit card to get money from a whole in the wall can be an expensive mistake when you are skiing or boarding.

Most credit cards charge a 'foreign transaction charge' of around 2.5% - 3% - which means if you are paying a €500 hotel bill you are 'giving' your bank almost £15 for the privilege.

And whilst its natural to think that using a debit card in a cash point machine would be a cost effective way of getting cash abroad if you have the wrong card you can think again! Most will charge the 'foreign transaction charge' and then add a cash withdrawal fee of up to 2% as well!

Unless you have a debit card issued by Metro Bank, Norwich and Peterborough or a Santander Zero card we recommend using a pre-paid Credit Card for cash withdrawals. Consider the CaxtonFX card. There are no fees for loading the card, no joining or monthly fees, no ATM fees (unless the ATM owner charges them) and its free to apply for through our links. The rate is marginally worse that perfect, but still strong. As they are 'Pre Paid' Cards a good credit rating is not required.

We also recommend the Post Office Credit Card when it comes to picking one for for overseas usage. They use an exchange rate that is not subject to any fees and don't charge transaction charges.

Details of the interest rates and other fees are available at the foot of this page.

Caxton FX Europe Traveller Card. Prepaid Visa with no overseas ATM fees

Post Office Credit Card. No fees for purchases abroad, great exchange rate
Own a Property abroad? Get Cheaper Money Transfers

Did you know using a currency specialist to transfer money abroad rather than a bank could save you thousands of pounds when purchasing an overseas property? Having a property overseas can also means you need to make regular payments either to of from your overseas bank account.

Either way currency specialists can help you achieve huge savings when you repatriate funds or make regular payments between two countries. Experts in their field our partners Moneycorp deliver fantastic customer service are recommended for the following reasons:

  • Their exchange rates typically beat banks by up to 4%
  • They charge minimal - or no - commission or bank transfer fees
  • Customer service is a priority - clients have a personal account manager
  • They are FSA-regulated - your money is as safe with them as it is with any bank

Visit the MoneyCorp website for more information today

Credit Cards

The table below gives details (including interest rates and fees for the credit cards above). Please use the filters at the top to select the type of card you are looking for.