Martin Lewis' MSE says simple Ryanair swap could save cash

People could save a few extra pounds on their next Ryanair booking by using a simple method to buy seats. The better deals can sometimes come down to what you are spending with - a few people realise this could cut the cost of budget flights even more.

The team behind the MoneySavingExpert page, run by Martin Lewis, recently reported that people can save more money than they realise when booking flights with Ryanair. From avoiding those expensive mistakes and extra fees, one tip can help tourists save money before they even make it to the airport.

It's all to do with how you pay - and using British pounds could make things a little bit more expensive without people realising. Few realise they can take advantage of their international travels and pay using the local currency instead of their own.

The MoneySavingExpert team said: "Generally speaking, the more expensive the flight, the bigger the potential saving. In our spot check, the savings when paying in Euros were bigger than when paying in non-Euro currency (such as Polish Zloty or Hungarian Forint, which was actually more expensive to pay in than in pounds)."

How does it work?

Martin Lewis' team claim that holidaymakers may be able to shave a little extra off the cost of return flights with this Ryanair booking trick by sorting flights in separate transactions and by using one overlooked setting.

They said: "Search for your outbound flight as a one-way ticket. Then, in a separate tab or window of your browser, search for the return leg of your flight as a one-way ticket.

"The return flight will be in the currency of the country the flight departs from, so check what the equivalent is in pounds (use the Mastercard or Visa currency converters for the most accurate rates). Then compare the total cost of both legs with that of a regular Ryanair return flight."

The MoneySavingExpert team added: "You will only get the full gain of any savings using specialist plastic that doesn't charge a foreign transaction charge (usually around 3%)." Accounts that do not charge foreign transaction fees include specialist digital current accounts, online-only app banks, as well as some specific travel-friendly accounts offered by select traditional banks.