Parents penalised by school holiday premiums

Parents hoping to treat their kids to a family holiday over the school summer holidays will be hit by massively inflated holiday premiums, according to research by Abbey Credit Cards.

The credit card provider analysed a selection of foreign holiday packages currently on sale and found that the prices on offer increase by an average of 25 per cent from mid-July, when most schools haven't yet broken up, to mid-August, when all schools are on holiday.

The highest increase in premiums can be found on package holidays to Portugal, which increase by an average of 40 per cent from mid-July to mid-August, compared to an increase of just 6 per cent for package holidays to Spain.

Families hoping to cut costs by staying in the UK face even higher average price hikes for holidaying during the school summer holidays, paying an average premium of 39 per cent for holidaying in mid-August rather than mid-July.

Once school starts back in September, however, prices for holidays abroad drop by an average of 32 per cent, while prices in the UK fall by more than half as the autumn weather starts to set in.

Callum Gibson, Head of Credit Cards at Abbey, comments: "The unfortunate reality is that families pay a high premium for taking their summer holiday during the school holidays, with Britons who are holidaying abroad paying up to 40 per cent more for the same holiday package in mid-August compared to mid-July. And those looking to make savings by staying in the UK and avoiding the poor Euro exchange rate are unlikely to be any better off, with UK resorts increasing their prices by an average of 39 per cent during the same period.

"But while school holiday premiums may be inevitable, Britons heading abroad this summer can save money by cutting out unnecessary costs such as foreign exchange fees, which are charged by most providers for card transactions made in a foreign currency. Abbey's award-winning Zero credit card helps to make holiday spending less expensive and is the only card on the high street to offer customers fee-free foreign usage on their spending abroad as well as no cash advance fee."

Features of the new Abbey Zero include:

The only card on the market with no foreign exchange fee and no cash advance fee
Zero per cent on balance transfers for 12 months and purchases for three months
Available in branch, over the telephone or online

For more information, visit abbey.com