As with all things in life, the way in which we travel and holiday is evolving with the times. As new technologies develop and the economic climate changes, we leave behind past holiday traditions and move on to a new way of holidaying:
- How often do you rush to buy a postcard and send it on the first day of the trip? My guess is rarely, we simply drop friends and family an email instead – that is if they don’t already know every detail from your Facebook or Twitter updates.
- How often do you go to the travel agent before your trip to order your travellers’ cheques? If you’re like the millions of other Britons, you have probably made the switch to holiday money cards or travel prepaid debit cards.
- How often do you buy an annual travel insurance policy to cover the family for the year? More and more people are opting for single trip insurance instead because the chances of a second holiday in the one year are very slim.
When you are travelling or taking a quick break, it is important that you accustom yourself with modern processes and stay safe. Some of these traditions could be missed, particularly by the older generation, however many are widely accepted as being much more convenient and safer.
Holiday Money Prepaid Cards
Most travel prepaid debit cards do come with some fees attached to them, i.e. they are free to top up by debit card but will charge a percentage fee to top up using a credit card, but the majority are free to get and use to purchase items abroad.
The Escape Travel Card is one of the cheapest travel prepaid cards because you can do most things for free on it; it is free to get if you load £100 on to it (you pay £9.99 initially but this is credited back to your card once you’ve loaded £100 onto it within the first 90 days), gives free ATM withdrawals abroad, has no monthly fees and can be topped up at any Phones4u store for free.
However, more often than not, the slight disadvantage of paying some fees is far outweighed by the benefits they bring.
Holiday money cards allow you to upload cash on to the card, meaning that you do not need a credit check and you can’t get carried away with your spending. In addition, it can be quite risky carrying large amounts of cash with you while you are on holiday as it can easily be lost or stolen.
Most prepaid travel cards are able to offer you an emergency replacement card and cash should the worst happen. This can give you the assurance you need to relax and enjoy your holiday.
Travel insurance policies
Sometimes travel insurance can seem like more hassle than it is worth, but no one can deny that it’s saved a lot of people a lot of money over the years, as well as provided priceless peace of mind for many travellers. If you have never had an accident, had belongings stolen, or had to claim for any other reason you might think it could be worth risking going without travel insurance.
However, many have found that it’s not a risk worth taking, (an example that immediately springs to mind is the bride that fell off the balcony on her honeymoon but didn’t have travel insurance and had to raise money to get brought back to the UK via air ambulance) but of course it all depends on your individual needs and circumstances.
So, if one of the reasons you don’t currently buy travel insurance is that you don’t want to spend a lot of money on it; why not look at insurance for a single trip which is actually cheaper than you might think (if you are going on more than one trip this year, you could consider annual travel insurance as there’s some savings to be made by buying a year-long policy). Before you go on holiday always compare travel insurance deals and find yourself the policy to suit your needs at the price you can afford.
Words cannot express how important travel insurance can be when you are on holiday. Although it cannot prevent accidents from occurring, it can help you when you are in difficult situations. Research has shown that there has been a 23% increase in the number of single trip policies on the market in just three years. This makes shopping around for the right policy all the more important, so always compare travel insurance deals first.
Fraud Prevention Abroad
UK holidaymakers are usually robbed of millions of pounds every single year, so it is essential that you consider fraud prevention abroad. Travel prepaid debit cards are the perfect way to keep yourself safe from fraud and ID theft. Carrying a holiday money card saves you having to take credit cards and debit cards which are linked to your bank account. Also, if your prepaid card is ever stolen, you can only lose the amount on the card at the time it was stolen (at the very worst).
However, if you report your card stolen as soon as possible, your issuer will cancel it immediately which could mean that you will get some or all of your money back on a new card (minus a small replacement fee) especially if you have kept your PIN secure. This will of course depend on how long the thief has had alone with your card and how advanced their methods are.
