Holidays

Motorists planning to hire a car in the UK or abroad will now have more time to get a 'check code', following criticism that the original 72 hours wasn't long enough.

The financial crisis in Greece and ensuing euro worries mean the pound is currently buying €1.41 – a seven year record high. This would've been unthinkable this time last year when you'd have done well to get €1.25 and two years ago when €1.17 would've been worth whooping about.

It's hoped a deal will be reached this week to stop Greece having to leave the euro, but many in the UK are still worried about forthcoming holidays booked to the country.

If you're planning to hire a car either here in the UK or abroad you may need to show a code from today, as the paper counterpart of photocard driving licences is being replaced with a new online system.

Update August 2016: This news story was written in May 2015, though we've done further analysis on the Mastercard and Visa rates since then, and the logic is still the same – Mastercard still usually comes out the winner. We will do a full update of this article soon...

British holidaymakers heading to France, Spain, and Greece right now are finding life out there far cheaper than in previous years. The pound is at near record highs with £1 buying €1.39 – a huge rate compared with this time last year, when it was €1.20 or two years ago when it was €1.15.