Travel question of the day: Simon Calder on the cheapest way to pay a hotel bill in Spain

Have a travel question that needs answering? Ask our expert Simon Calder

Using a credit card for a hotel in Mallorca can mean extra fees (Getty Images)

Q I’ve booked a week’s holiday in Mallorca. I’ve secured the hotel with my Barclaycard. I pay on arrival. Please advise the cheapest way to do this.

Stephen Lynam, Loughborough

A You could settle the bill with your Barclaycard, but like most credit cards it adds a “foreign exchange loading fee” that could add €10 (£8) or more on a €500 Spanish hotel bill. A typical debit card would be even worse, since most of them charge between 2.5 and 3 per cent as the non-sterling transaction fee – around €12.50-€15 on that €500 bill.

There are two straightforward alternatives. If you have time, you might want to apply for a Halifax Clarity card. This is a MasterCard that applies no loading fees and, in my experience, uses a reasonable exchange rate. So long as you pay off the balance in full each month, it is an economical way to pay big bills abroad.

Alternatively, you could pay in cash. The cheapest way to do that is, clearly, to find the best deal you can for exchanging pounds for euros. While an airport bureaux de change generally provides the worst possible rates to walk-up customers, if you pre-pay for euros online and pick up the cash at the airport, they offer some of the best deals.

You could load a pre-paid card with the appropriate amount in euros, but they can come with unexpected charges attached,

One final point: the government of the Balearics is introducing a new “eco-tax” from 1 June, payable to the hotel. The exact level depends on the quality of the accommodation, but it will cost an extra €10.50 per person per week for the average holidaymaker.

Every day, our travel correspondent Simon Calder tackles a reader’s question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder