Britons paying unnecessary credit card fees

Britons will pay more than £73m in credit card foreign exchange fees when they holiday this summer, according to Abbey Credit Cards.

The firm has conducted research that found that 57% of holidaymakers will use debit or credit cards on holiday this year, with the average person putting 41% of their spending on plastic. However, many card providers charge foreign exchange fees for using a card abroad -- typically 3% -- and after adding up the values Abbey found that £73m will be spent in total.

"Britons holidaying abroad this summer will pay out more than £73m in foreign exchange fees, a staggering and unnecessary sum at a time when people are having to manage their finances more carefully," said the head of the company, Callum Gibson. Mr Gibson suggested using the Abbey Zero card when going on holiday.

"For holidaymakers still paying off last summer's holiday, Zero offers 0% on balance transfers for 12 months, as well as 0% on purchases for three months," he explained.