Martin Lewis reminds anyone heading abroad of two crucial passport checks to make NOW – or risk losing £1,000s
MARTIN Lewis has reminded holiday makers they need to make two key passport checks now – or face the possibility of losing some serious money.
The Money Saving Expert, 52, issued the advice while appearing on ITV’s This Morning earlier this week.
Mr Lewis warned those gearing up for their summer holiday to check their passport and not to assume it is still valid.
The personal finance guru said: “There are two things you need to check.
“First of all, and this is all about the day you enter the country, there should be generally more than six months left on your passport.
“If you’re going to the EU it’s more than three months left.
He added: “Now, most people know that but what they don’t know is that you also need to check that your passport is not over 10 years old on the day that you enter.
“Many countries will not let you in if your passport is older than 10 years.
“This is not a small thing. People get sent back and you can’t travel.
“You need to check the specific rules of that country. If you’re out of date, you need to get it renewed.
Mr Lewis advised people to check today as the sooner you did, the cheaper it is to renew and there is more chance it can be sorted in time.
The financial whizz previously issued the advice on his podcast earlier this month.
The UK passport office recommends allowing up to 10 weeks to get a new passport but Martin said he has heard other say it is taking longer.
While some get it even quicker, within days sometimes, although you pay get charged extra for a faster service.
Doing these checks and making sure your passport is up to date could be the difference in wasting thousands of pounds on a holiday you can’t even go on.
Previously, another of Martin’s tips for holidaymakers this year is to check if the hotel or car hire you have booked now cheaper than when you booked.
This is a handy thing to know if your booking allowed for free cancellation, so you could swap to a better deal.
He recommends using comparison sites like SkyScanner, TripAdvisor, Trivago and Kayak.
Martin revealed that a holidaymaker who had used this tip had managed to save over £1,000 after re-booking a different hotel.
Meanwhile, holidaymakers have been hit with a warning over extra airport charges adding to their bills.
Plus, a man shared how one of Martin’s tips helped him save £2,000 on his holiday.
Another holidaymaker saved £354 on their break thanks to a little-known Martin Lewis hack.
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