Holiday travellers risking their money
Holidaymakers have yet to take to using pre-paid travel currency cards for their holiday money.
The survey, carried out as the holiday season gets under way, shows that nearly half of travellers (48%) rely entirely on cash in the currency of their holiday destination, taken out before they travel.
Yet only 3% of those questioned say they use pre-paid currency cards, which have been hailed as the ‘new currency' for holidaymakers.
The findings also showed that a quarter (23%) pay for what they need using their debit or credit cards, while another 14% use cash they obtain from ATMs while away.
The use of travellers' cheques appears to be declining, with only 8% using them but the use of secure pre-paid cards appears to have been slow to catch on.
Mark Huggins, director of AA Financial Services, say he is surprised at the number who rely entirely on cash for their holiday spending.
"This really is the most risky way of taking your money. It opens you up to organised pickpockets and opportunistic thieves as well as accidental loss, which could make life difficult for your remaining holiday.
"What's more, if you do lose money you'll find that your travel insurance is likely to have strict limits on claims for loss of cash and some may not cover this at all."
Mr Huggins points out that while using debit or credit cards is secure and easy, their use could carry high transaction charges both for taking out cash from an ATM and for foreign exchange.
"It's worth doing your homework first and checking what charges might apply if you do use conventional cards," he says. "Clearly, depending on how much you spend - their use could land you with unwelcome additional costs when you get home."
Mr Huggins says that although pre-paid cards seem to be some way off becoming the first choice for travellers, they are the future of holiday money for savvy travellers.
"Not only are they secure they are also potentially the cheapest way of managing your money while away," he points out.
AA Financial Services offers both Sterling and Euro travel currency cards.
"Application is straightforward and it can be loaded with Euros or Sterling in advance (depending on your destination) at a competitive exchange rate.
"It can be instantly topped up by by BACS, online or text message at any time of day or night from your own linked bank account and there are no transaction charges for its use or for taking out cash sums over £50 or €50."
If a travel currency card is lost, it can be stopped instantly while if a second card is held, funds can be transferred to that, says Mr Huggins. "It means that your money can still be available. If you lose a credit or bank card, the whole account is frozen until issue of new ones."
The AA's website has a useful calculator that identifies the current card exchange rate.