In short: exchange Pounds to Euros using WeSwap’s website or apple/android app, then buy your Interrail pass in Euros using the free card WeSwap will send you!
When browsing Interrail passes on the official website, you’ll notice that it’s possible to view the prices in either GBP (£) or EUR (€). These prices don’t change very often, which means Interrail is effectively setting a fixed exchange rate between the different currencies. As it stands, when buying an Interrail pass, £1 is worth approximately €1.12.
However, at the time of writing, the real exchange rate means that £1 is worth approximately €1.18.
Therefore, it is currently possible to save money by exchanging your Pounds into Euros, and then buying your Interrail pass in Euros.
(This also means that this hack only really works for people in the UK – sorry!)
Obviously, you’d need to be able to spend those Euros online – and fortunately, in this day and age, we’ve moved on from exchanging large wads of cash that you have to carry around on holiday. Instead, there are services offering near perfect exchange rates, with cards that can be used for online purchases, can be easily topped up through a website or app, and have low to no spending fees.
One of our favourites (and the one we recommend using for this hack) is WeSwap. This company exchanges your money with other travellers looking to do the opposite exchange, ensuring that each party gets a fair rate. You can get a card for free, there are no spending fees, and you can top up via the company’s website or app. The company takes a small percentage on each exchange – this ranges between 1.0% and 1.4%, and the faster you need the money the higher the percentage within that range. However, this fee is minor compared to other exchange services and it does not negate the savings you can make using this hack.
The other great thing about WeSwap is that they offer a referral program: for every friend you refer, you and that friend each get £5. Going Interrailing in a group of 5? That’s an extra £20 savings for you and £5 for each of your friends! (Also note: each person can refer up to 10 friends.)
Using WeSwap’s exchange rates (including a 1% fee)*, we created the following table to show you how much you could save on the different 2nd Class Youth Interrail Global Passes using this hack:
|
Interrail Global Pass (2nd Class Youth) |
Interrail Pass Price (EUR) |
Interrail Pass Price (GBP) |
Using WeSwap, GBP you have to exchange to buy pass at EUR price |
Savings using hack (GBP) |
Savings using hack (as a % of GBP pass price) |
|
5 travel days in 15 days |
€206.00 |
£184.00 |
£176.64 |
£7.36 |
4.00% |
|
7 travel days in 1 month |
€253.00 |
£226.00 |
£216.95 |
£9.05 |
4.00% |
|
10 travel days in 1 month |
€301.00 |
£268.00 |
£258.11 |
£9.89 |
3.69% |
|
15 travel days in 1 month |
€372.00 |
£332.00 |
£318.99 |
£13.01 |
3.92% |
|
Unlimited travel days in 15 days |
€348.00 |
£310.00 |
£298.41 |
£11.59 |
3.74% |
|
Unlimited travel days in 22 days |
€385.00 |
£343.00 |
£330.13 |
£12.87 |
3.75% |
|
Unlimited travel days in 1 month |
€493.00 |
£439.00 |
£422.74 |
£16.26 |
3.70% |
*WeSwap exchange rates used are from 12th April 2017. 1% fee is based on needing the money in 7 days’ time.
So, there you have it, a simple way to save some money on your Interrail pass. We’d recommend using a card like WeSwap’s for your trip anyway, so you’re just sorting it out earlier than you might have!
Ready to give this hack a try? Sign up for WeSwap online here or download their app on Apple or Android. Then buy your Interrail pass here.
Read more about WeSwap’s fees and limits here.
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