Smart Travel Money Tips: Part 1

Whether you’re a seasoned jetsetter or you’ve just decided to take your first tentative steps as a sightseeing globetrotter, it can often be a challenge to manage your travel money in a smart and secure way.

With so many ways to save and spend while you’re abroad, we thought we’d compile a brand new series to guide you through all the latest tips and tricks relating to smart money management and travel – to help keep your money safe and your spending savvy.

Because being prepared is the hallmark of any accomplished adventurer, we’re kicking things off with a few pointers on what to do when you’re getting ready for your trip.

Dial up the security

So you’ve chosen your dream destination and you’re ready to start making your bookings for flights and accommodation. When doing so, it’s always a good idea to check the websites you’re using are secure. This is easily done by looking for the ‘s’ in ‘https://’, or the padlock icon, which will indicate whether the respective website has a proper security certificate (as this should protect any sensitive information you send through it).

Also keep an eye out for features like 3D Secure support – which provide additional layers of security and authentication by texting you a one-time password to type in before completing your online purchases.

If you’re an owner of a Touch ID or Face ID enabled Apple device, you can also use Apple Pay to pay in apps and on websites using the Safari browser. Your full card number is never stored on your device or on Apple servers, cannot be shared with merchants – and transactions are protected by the use of a device-specific number and a unique transaction code.

Plan your budget

It’s helpful to run the numbers before you go, to know how much you can spend every day and preserve a peace of mind once you’re on your travels that you’re not spending excessively.

Setting an overall budget and determining a daily spending limit is good way to manage your outgoings. You might also find it useful to create a categorised budget with allocations for meals out, events and transport – so as to better balance your spending and really make the most of your trip.

It might also be an idea to transfer an allocated amount to a designated travel money account each day – to better monitor whether or not you’re keeping within your set daily allowance. Having these designated accounts set up and ready to go before you leave tends to save time and effort in the long run.

Collect your rewards points

Collecting reward points can make you considerable savings if you’re a frequent flyer – and keeping an eye out for these incentives whenever you make a flight or hotel booking is a good habit to get into.

With Monese, for example, you can link your British Airways Executive Club account to help you track and spend Avios points. You can do this straight from the app and see how your Avios balance might help supplement extra travel spending on additional flights, hotels, car rentals and so on… Check them out here.

Upgrade your account

Before you head out on your trip and start making transactions in foreign currencies, check to see if your current account is optimised to best support this type of spending. With Monese you can upgrade your pricing plan whenever you need to, and you’ll never be locked in for more than one month.

Whether you’re going for a 3-month round-the-world voyage or just a 2-week excursion, you can upgrade your account whenever you want. This means you can use a Plus or a Premium plan, on a temporary basis at least, to make savings when paying for a hotel room in the local currency, topping up your balance, or making ATM withdrawals more often should you need to.

It’s worth noting that our Premium plan enables you to enjoy unmetered access to a host of cost-saving features – while some fees will continue to apply to top-ups and transfers for those sticking with our Starter and Plus plans.

Upgrading your pricing plan couldn’t be simpler and it’s just a case of navigating to the ‘Account’ menu and choosing ‘My Plan’ to upgrade. Do ensure that you have enough funds in the account to cover the first monthly fee – and once you’re back home from your holiday you can downgrade again at any time, should you so wish.

And there you have it, our top tips for travel planning like pro! Now you’re ready to go, we’ll be sure to follow these up with some more handy pointers – this time to make the most of your money once you’re on the road.