find the best online deal for your holiday cash
How TravelMoneyMax works

London-only collections

Since TravelMoneyMax.com launched, lots of smaller, very competitive bureaux de change have been added to the tool, boosting the amount of holiday money you can get.

However, many of these are based in one or two locations, often in London, meaning if you opt for collection you'd have to get to their store.

This is great if you're in and around London, and able to pop to a branch to pick up the cash, but as this isn't practical for some MoneySavers, we've added the option to exclude these providers from your search, and see only bureaux with a wider store network.

This tool whizzes around online currency bureaux to find the best exchange rates including all fees.

If you want foreign cash, the key question is "How many euros/dollars/shekels will you give me, after all charges and fees, for my pounds?", then go with whoever gives the most. TravelMoneyMax.com does this for you, searching 23 major online foreign currency bureaux in seconds

It factors in exchange rates, commission fees and any delivery costs. TravelMoneyMax.com repeatedly gathers information from bureaux's websites throughout the day. This means there is a very slight chance the prices will be a few minutes out of date after a rate change.

Always double check the deal before buying your currency

How to use it

Enter the currency you need, then either select how much you're willing to pay e.g. "I want £100 worth of dollars" or how much you want e.g. "I want €200". Then pick delivery, or collection. TravelMoneyMax.com displays the prices from online bureaux de change, taken directly from their websites, ranked in order of how much cold hard cash you'll get.

Who's included?

The Travel Money Maximiser only searches online providers; primarily as it's a web tool and these are much easier to search. Luckily though, many high street providers and banks now offer their rates online, though you may have to go instore to collect.

The providers currently included are: ACE FX, Best Exchange, Thomas Exchange UK, Thomas Exchange Global, No1 Currency, ICE, Post Office Online, Tesco, Travelex, M&S, Natwest, HSBC, FX4You, FairFx, Interchange FX, Crown Currency Exchange, Travel Money Services, Bupa, Saga, Nationwide, Co-op, Travelcare, Online FX, First Direct.

What's Buy-back?

A few providers also offer to change back your left over foreign cash back into British Pounds. The rates for this will always be worse than the other way round; however, attempt to do it at big high street names and they'll be even worse! To do this by post, you often have to send the currency back by registered or special delivery in order to guarantee it reaches the bureau.

Find the cheapest travel money

Pick Your Currency
Always double check provider's website prices before buying your currency
Amount you
want to spend
OR Amount of
Euros
£ 
Collection or delivery?
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Latest travel news

Vodafone to issue mass refunds after billing blunder

The mobile giant overcharged tens of thousands of mobile customers by wrongly adding VAT to non-EU use

27 August 2010

Multi-pocket jackets take-off to beat airline baggage fees

Department store Debenhams has reported a 350% surge in the number of coats sold with numerous pockets

25 August 2010

Slash all travel costs

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Annual Travel Insurance £14

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Free Flights and Cheap Hotels

How was this calculated?

To find the overall cost of buying €1000 in Pounds, we assumed the following 'typical' transactions when using a credit or debt card...

  • 30 overseas purchases (in a shop), worth €750
  • 10 cash machine withdrawals worth €250
  • Exchange rates as at 9 July 2010

Not going yet? Using currency ISN'T the cheapest way!
Instead apply for specialist travel plastic that beats even the best bureaux.

Most cards add a 3% 'load' cost, giving a rubbish exchange rate, plus ATM withdrawal fees.

These four avoid most, but always repay IN FULL to avoid interest. See full Cheap Travel Money guide.

Cost of €1000 in pounds

What's the difference?
Top specialist card: £837
Best cash via TravelMoneyMax: £843
Typical credit card: £892
Debit 'card from hell': £918
At 9 July's rates (full details)

Top pick: Halifax Clarity (full info)

Perfect exchange rate, zero ATM fee, lower cash interest. (Halifax custs only see Clarity Reward*)
Chart APR: 12.9% ATM: 0%

Top with perks: Nationwide* (full info)

Perfect exchange rate in Europe, plus extended UK warranties/protection
Chart APR: 16.9% ATM: 2.5%

Over 50s: Saga* (full info)

Perfect exchange rate, no interest on cash withdrawals but does charge fee
Chart APR: 11.9% ATM: 2%

Top prepaid: FairFX* (full info)

Top-up with cash. Only fee for ATM usage. Rate not quite perfect, but no credit check
Chart Spend: £0 ATM: €1.50/$2

Beware the 'cards from hell'
Most plastic doesn't give good rates.

Worse some DEBIT cards - Lloyds TSB, Halifax, RBS, Intelligent Finance, Santander & Natwest - also add a fee of up to £1.50 every time you spend! Read about cards from hell

Full details in the
Cheap Travel Money guide.
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The sites are included based on their competitive online rates and feedback. Yet there is little regulation of foreign exchange bureaux and this site can't take any responsibility for problems that occur. Please be careful before you part with your money. Small local specialists can beat online rates, yet it's rare. Try areas with many overseas visitors e.g. Bayswater. If you spot another competitive online provider that you think merits inclusion, let us know

Explanation (of * links) Any links with a * by them are affiliated. That means go via this link and a contribution may be made to MoneySavingExpert.com, which helps it stay ad-free and free to use. You shouldn't notice any difference, the links don't impact the product at all and the editorial line (the things we write) is NEVER impacted by it. If it isn't possible to get an affiliate link for the best product, it's still included in exactly the same way. As we believe transparency is important, we're including the following 'un-affiliated' web-addresses for the same things: ICE, Online FX, FairFx, Travelex, Saga, Halifax, Nationwide, Moneysupermarket, EHICPlus, Direct Travel, Kayak, Car rentals, Travelsupermarket, Holiday Extras, APH, Airmiles, BMI (MBNA), Skyscanner, Opodo, Travelocity, Expedia, Ebookers, Tripadvisor. Read more about this in how this site is financed.

 
TravelMoneyMax.com is brought to you by MoneySavingExpert.com. This website is based on journalistic research. It does not constitute financial advice. Any information should be considered in regard to specific circumstances. All tips are followed at your own risk and should be followed up with your own research . See Full Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy . Martin Lewis, MSE, Money Saving Expert, MoneySavingExpert and Moneysavingexpert.com are registered trademarks belonging to Martin S Lewis.
 

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