Holiday credit costing £607 million

uSwitch.com, which published the figures, found that hidden costs and add-ons are responsible for the extra payments, which are further compounded by charges from foreign traders.

Nick White, head of personal finance at uSwitch.com, said that consumers could avoid these costs by taking time to research the credit card market before jetting off.

“In the long term, it may end up being more sensible for them to have two separate credit cards – one for UK use and one specifically for using abroad,” he said.

Mr White went on to say that as Britons have been found to prefer using plastic rather than cash, consumers should “at the very least” make sure they are “fully aware” of the card charges than can be incurred overseas.