Beware mobile phone and bank fees on holiday

Contacting your mobile phone provider and finding out roaming costs before going overseas will save any nasty surprises. Photo / File

Surprises are often a pleasant part of travel but an unpleasant and costly one may await on the return home.

Consumers seem to be losing out when it comes to spending overseas even when travelling on a buoyant home currency, a study finds.

Some 36 per cent of Australians seriously overspend on holiday and 21 per cent run out of funds mid-trip, the survey by online finance comparison service Mozo finds.

And 24 per cent of those surveyed take more than six months to pay off a holiday credit card debt.

Mozo managing director Rohan Gamble said travellers often don't consider the extra charges they might incur overseas.

"There are a lot of things which are more expensive overseas, like global roaming on mobile phones and exchange fees," Mr Gamble said.

"One thing that amazed us was the significant percentage of people who didn't know you get charged commission on foreign exchange."

Choice media manager Ingrid Just said extra charges for ATM transactions and mobile phone usage were a major source of overspending.

"Combating the problem could simply be a matter of looking into other ways of accessing cash, Ms Just said.

"It's also advisable to contact your phone or internet provider to find out what the roaming costs are and set up alerts so you can receive messages telling you what your spend level is at for that particular month."

- AAP