Cheaper for Brits to fly to Europe and send Christmas cards than put them in British postboxes – with flight prices less than 100 first-class stamps

Britons could save money by flying abroad and posting their Christmas cards back to the UK – given the soaring cost of first-class stamps, a study revealed today.

Sending a letter from some countries in Europe back to Britain now costs half as much as sending it when in the UK, after the price of a stamp went up to £1.65.

Now, analysis has found posting 100 cards from Bulgaria, Portugal, Italy, Germany, Albania and Serbia would be cheaper – including the cost of a return flight.

Data compiled by comparison site Skyscanner for the Telegraph found the cheapest option to be Serbia, which has flights from London Luton to Belgrade for £33 return.

In the country it costs £78 to post 100 cards to Britain, which would take up to five days to arrive, giving a total of £111. The postage cost is less than half the £165 cost of 100 first-class stamps in the UK – while the overall total with flights is £54 less.

The total for Albania is £112 – with Britons able to fly from Luton to Tirana for £27 next month and 100 stamps costing £85, again taking up to five days to make it back.

Germany and Italy are also cheap options, with £28 return flights available to both – from Manchester to Memmingen, and from London Stansted to Milan. The cost of posting 100 cards to the UK from Germany would be £91, while it is £108 from Italy.

Further options are Bulgaria and Portugal, with return flights from Luton to Sofia for £37 and Luton to Faro for £29 – and postage costs of £106 and £108 respectively.

The analysis comes after Royal Mail raised the price of a first-class stamp by 30p to £1.65 on October 7 after revealing it faced an ‘urgent’ financial challenge.

First-class stamp prices increased by 10p to £1.35 in April and by 10p to 85p for second-class. Second-class prices did not rise in October.

Reacting to the findings, Age UK charity director Caroline Abrahams told MailOnline: ‘As Christmas approaches, the rising cost of postage stamps is a growing concern, especially for older people who cherish the tradition of sending Christmas cards.

‘For many older people, cards are not just a way to share festive greetings—they are a deeply personal means of staying connected with loved ones in an increasingly digital world and while digital greetings offer an alternative, they are not a solution for everyone.

‘The post remains their mainstay, both for sending and receiving greeting cards and for paying bills. It’s important to keep postal services affordable because otherwise some older people could be left high and dry, without a basic form of communication on which they have happily relied throughout their lives.’

Royal Mail has insisted it has sought to keep price increases as low as possible in the face of declining letter volumes, inflationary pressures and the costs associated with maintaining the so-called Universal Service Obligation (USO) under which deliveries have to be made six days a week.

It also pointed out that its second class stamps cost 85p and would arrive faster than a letter sent from Albania. 

Royal Mail raised the price of a first-class stamp by 30p to £1.65 on October 7 (file photo)

Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky’s takeover of Royal Mail is set to be approved by ministers

A Royal Mail spokeswoman told MailOnline today: ‘Our stamp prices of 85p for second-class and £1.65 for first-class remain well below the European average of £1.33 and £1.73 respectively.

‘We always consider the price of stamps very carefully in the face of declining letter volumes and the increasing costs associated with maintaining the one-price-goes-anywhere Universal Service to all 32million UK addresses.’

She added that a ‘complex and extensive network is needed to get every letter and parcel across the country’, with post travelling on trucks, planes, ferries and even drones before it reaches its final destination on foot.

Royal Mail said letter volumes have fallen from 20billion in 2004/5 to around 6.7billion a year in 2023/4, so the average household now receives four letters a week, compared to 14 a decade ago.

The number of addresses Royal Mail must deliver to has risen by four million in the same period meaning the cost of each delivery continues to rise.

The spokeswoman added: ‘The Universal Service must adapt to reflect changing customer preferences and increasing costs so that we can protect the one-price-goes anywhere service, now and in the future.’

Postal regulator Ofcom said in September that Royal Mail could be allowed to drop Saturday deliveries for second class letters under an overhaul of the service.

Under plans being considered, second class deliveries would not be made on Saturdays and would only be on alternate weekdays, but delivery times would remain unchanged at up to three working days.

A file photograph of Royal Mail’s South Midlands Mail Centre on the outskirts of Northampton

Ofcom said no decision had been made and it continues to review the changes, with aims to publish a consultation in early 2025 and make a decision in the summer of next year.

It comes as the takeover of Royal Mail by a Czech billionaire looks set to be approved by ministers – placing the postal service into foreign hands for the first time in its 508-year history.

Trade union bosses representing around 100,000 posties told their members it was ‘likely the Government will clear’ the £3.6billion sale to Daniel Kretinsky on national security grounds.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) also said it ‘anticipates’ ministers will reach an agreement with Mr Kretinsky and his backers over safeguarding its future.

Union bosses have drawn up an ‘engagement plan’ in a bid to get the best deal for staff – including higher pay and more favourable working conditions.

Royal Mail, which traces its roots back to the Master of Posts established by Henry VIII in 1516, is set to be taken over by Mr Kretinsky, 49, in a swoop on its parent company International Distribution Services (IDS).

An energy baron nicknamed the ‘Czech Sphinx’, he already controls nearly 28 per cent of IDS through his vehicle Vesa Equity.

Also today, the Royal Mail issued a new set of stamps to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Sir Winston Churchill – including the one pictured above

But in May he tabled an offer for the rest of the business which was accepted by the IDS board, sparking fears over its future.

In its manifesto, Labour pledged to ensure any takeover of Royal Mail was ‘robustly scrutinised’. A review under the National Security and Investments Act was launched in August.

Mr Kretinsky has offered a series of promises on jobs and the USO to win support for the deal.

However, many remain concerned over the implications for Royal Mail given the promises are limited to five years at most.

CWU general secretary Dave Ward said the union has been in talks with Mr Kretinsky’s representatives and Royal Mail bosses and that a crucial two-day meeting with the Czech billionaire’s EP Group is due to take place next week.

IDS will publish half-year results tomorrow while Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds is expected to face questions from MPs about the deal at a meeting of the House of Commons business select committee on Tuesday next week.