Spain Money Saving Tips and Offers

Easyjet's new £9 admin fee - Visa Electron is no longer free

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 00:55:19 GMT

I have just booked a return flight with Easyjet and noticed that they have now sneakily introduced a new £9 admin fee that is automatically added to the booking. I guess this must be in response to the OFT's recent ruling about card charges? I wonder what the OFT will have to say about this? The £9 admin fee relates to debit cards only. There will be an additional charge for Credit Cards.

From the EasyJet website:

All bookings will incur a £9.00 administration fee. Bookings made by Visa Credit Card, MasterCard, Diners Club, American Express, Carte Bleue (domestic transactions only) and UATP/Airplus will incur an additional fee of 2.5% of the total transaction value, with a minimum charge of £4.95, whichever is greater.

This also means that it will no longer be free using a Visa Electron card.

The sales have started

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 19:06:25 GMT

The Sales in Spain started yesterday (7th Jan) and will run for the next month or so, with discounts of up to 70%. We arrived at La Cañada in Marbella yesterday morning just before 10:00am and we managed to get parked no problem. By midday, the place was packed, and as we were leaving at around 1:30pm, there were massive tailbacks on the A7, with police directing traffic.

We then headed to Malaga city, and passed the Myramar centre in Fuengirola and then Plaza Major shopping centre on route. There were massive traffic jams at both places as well.

Despite the stress and crowds, I'm glad I went as I got some absolute bargains. My best purchase was a pair of Nike Air Max for 50 euros, reduced from 130 euros.

Credit card fees ban will stop customers being ripped off, says treasury minister

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 12:42:05 GMT

A plan to ban airlines, travel companies and retailers from charging fees when people pay by credit or debit cards will stop customers being ripped off, the Tresury minister Mark Hoban said today.

Customers are being charged as much as £12 to use their cards when they pay, though the transactions cost as little as 20p to process.

In some cases, the surcharges are higher than the value of the item being purchased.

Speaking on Radio 4's Today Programme, Mr Hoban said: "It's important that consumers know up front what charges they pay.

"What we have announced today will give consumers the transparency they need.

"I think consumers do feel ripped off and we want them to be able to shop around."

Legislation would be introduced by the end of next year but consumer group Which? is hoping companies will start being upfront about their charges from today.

Richard Lloyd, executive director of Which?, welcomed the move.

"The Government’s decision to ban rip-off debit and credit card surcharges is a huge victory for consumers.

"Given that airline passengers alone pay more than £265,000 a day in card surcharges, businesses should not drag their feet over this," he said.

"While the law will come into force at the end of 2012, we want companies to be upfront and fair over card charges today."

Read the rest of the article at the Telegraph

Banks ordered to scrap debit card charges when customers buy foreign currency

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 13:37:54 GMT

Holidaymakers will no longer be charged for purchasing foreign currency with a debit card in the UK after banks were pressured into changing complex levies which earnt them more than £1 billion last year.

The Office of Fair Trading led an investigation into the banks' confusing charges and the poor information they provide for travellers after Consumer Focus raised a 'super complaint' about the practices.

It is estimated that around 40 per cent of foreign currency purchases in the UK are made using cards rather than cash, with banks charging 1.5 to 2 per cent of the amount exchanged just for the transaction.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2076463/OFT-orders-banks-scrap-debit-card-charges-buying-foreign-currency.html#ixzz1h4r23OVf

Free tapas in Madrid

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 16:10:09 GMT

Those who have spent time in Jaen, Almeria and Granada provinces will be used to getting free tapas every time they order a drink. Outside of these 3 provinces, it is very unusual to get free tapas. At best you might get a few olives or toasted almonds.

I was recently in Madrid and managed to unexpectedly bag free tapas in 3 different bars. The first bar was in a town called Pinto, south of Madrid. I ordered a jarra (pint) of beer and was given a couple of croquetas and a small hotdog sandwich. Not the best tapas I've ever had, but I can't complain because they were unexpectedly free.

Then in Madrid city itself, not far from the Gran Via area, we ended up in a bar and ordered a bottle of beer and received some slices of sachichon and bread.

Then the following day we eneded up in another bar in the Bilbao area (I think anyway!) and got a free montadito (small roll) with a jarra.

I don't know if this is a response to Spain's economic crisis, or if it has always been like this in certain bars in the capital. I've certainly never had free tapas in Madrid before in my previous visits.

25% off everything at Mango on Saturday 26th November 2011

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 15:00:25 GMT

Just received an email from Mango saying that on Saturday 26th November 2011, there will be 25% off their entire range both online and in store. To get the discount online, enter the following code: 5DAY2011