Credit card companies have introduced a series of summer rate hikes that will see holidaymakers paying millions of pounds extra in interest on their spending.

Major credit card companies like RBS, Natwest, Barclaycard, Capital One, HSBC and Nationwide etc have all increased their rates recently, said a survey by Money Mail.

Natwest and RBS, for example, have raised the rate for purchases from 13.9 per cent to 15.9 per cent and cash withdrawals are charged at 27.9 per cent – an increase of 2 per cent on the old rate.

Cash withdrawal is now considered one of the most expensive types of borrowing because borrowers are, in addition to high interests, charged a minimum cash withdrawal fee of £3 or 3 per cent.

Nationwide’s credit cards also saw a five percentage increase on its cash advance interest rate to 27.9 per cent.

Capital One raised the purchase rate on its Platinum Mastercard to 12.9 per cent from 9.9 per cent, while HSBC’s Bank Credit Mastercard rate has been increased from 15.9 per cent to 16.9 per cent.

Barclaycard’s Platinum cards also saw a rise from 14.9 per cent to 15.9 per cent.

In spite of these increases, the study said families were still spending on credits cards.