Strong sterling boosts holiday budgets

Your holiday money will go further thanks to strong performance of the pound.

The pound’s continued strength against other currencies means we are facing a great summer in terms of foreign holidays. In the past year sterling has strengthened against four of the five most popular foreign currencies, according to Sainsbury’s Bank Travel Money.

This means that we can all expect to get more for our pounds when we buy our holiday money.

The biggest rise has been against the Turkish lira with the pound up 16% against the lira year-on-year and 49.3% over the past three years.

The pound has also gained against the Australian dollar, the euro and the Canadian dollar.

Unfortunately, if you are planning a trip to America you’ll find the pound is 7% weaker than a year ago, but still up 2% over three years.

Currency	One year change against the pound	Three year change against the pound	Change in currency received for £500 over a year
Euros	11%	12%	€68.3
US Dollars	-7%	2%	-$59.45
Turkish Lira	16%	49%	L290.05
Canadian Dollars	6%	22%	$58.1
Australian Dollars	13%	32%	AU$116.95

While the strength of the pound means you can get more for your money, don’t be complacent when it’s time to buy currency. Make sure you shop around for the best exchange rate.

The top rates are often offered by online companies who will deliver the money to your door, so make sure you leave enough time before you holiday for your currency to be delivered.

If you can, order your currency around two weeks before your departure date and use an online comparison tool to find the best deal.

Looking today there is a difference of over €40 between the best and worst deals when exchanging £500 for Euros. That’s enough for many more drinks on your holiday, or even a meal.

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