HOLIDAYMAKERS have been warned of a common airport mistake that could cost them hundreds. Many passengers find themselves leaving exchanging their travel money to the last minute at the airport. But research conducted by eurochange compared the price offered in five of the UK’s busiest airports and found it could leave people significantly out of pocket.
It revealed travellers could lose an eye-watering £200 when they take away €1,000 at London Stanstead - ranked the most expensive. Their exchange rate is currently €0.9076 per £1.
At the other end of the spectrum, Birmingham Airport came in cheapest, but holidaymakers were still missing out on £155.98. Meanwhile, when taking out $1,000 at the same airport, passengers can expect to lose £144.
17. This is still significantly cheaper than the wasted £193.93 at Stanstead for the same transaction.
The reason for such figures is that global exchange rates are a lot steeper within terminals than in regular shops. Laura Evans-Fisk, head of digital engagement at eurochange told Metro : "Changing money at the airport is absolutely the least cost-effective way of picking up your holiday money, as rates can be up to 13% higher than they are on the high-street or online. "This is simply because there is much less competition, and they know customers aren’t shopping around for the best deal, so they can rack up the rates.
" The expert also urged travellers to research the exchange rate ahead of time and take advantage of the bes.