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Britons will spend £16 billion in Europe using plastic, costing them £576m in charges, new research has revealed.

British holidaymakers are expected to spend £8.6 billion on their credit cards with the average purchase worth £65 - and withdraw a further £7.9 billion in cash this year, research by USwitch has found.

Nick White, head of personal finance at uSwitch, said: 'Holiday spending can be difficult enough to budget for at the best of times, without the bill creeping up by way of these hidden charges.

'It is possible for consumers to reduce the amount they will pay in fees, or avoid paying them altogether, if they take a little time to research the credit card market before going away and make sure that they are packing the right plastic.'

There are several fees that travellers may find themselves paying when using plastic.

Card issuers often charge 2.75% on credit card and debit card transactions as an 'exchange rate administration fee' or 'exchange rate adjustment charge', while debit card payments may also by hit by a 1.5% transaction fee.

Some retailers may offer shoppers the chance to buy in sterling, but a 4% charge may follow and by law any charges must be clearly identified, although, in practice, this does not always happen.

Withdrawing cash could hit see people hit with a withdrawal fee of as much as 2%.



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