22 HOLIDAY BOOKING HACKS
Save money on your summer escape
FLIGHTS
● Tap your requirements into comparison websites skyscanner.net or kayak.co.uk and let them trawl through the hundreds of deals for you. Try and have at least a couple of dates in mind, because the more flexible you can be about when – and where – you go, the more likely you are to save.
● Get the cheapest deals on flights by booking 60 days in advance – preferably on a Tuesday! Travel comparison site momondo.co.uk has found Saturdays are the most expensive, on average 10% pricier than buying on a Tuesday.
● Travelling independently but heading to a typical package holiday destination? It’s worth checking for charter flights selling off spare capacity cheap at the last minute via travelsupermarket.com and flightsdirect.com.
● Check goeuro.com, which compares all your travel options when travelling anywhere in Europe, including across the UK. Once you’ve put in where you want to travel to and from, you’re given the best options for travelling by train, plane, bus and hire car. Surprisingly, for some journeys, you might find a plane is cheaper.
INSURANCE
● Avoid deals with travel agents, airlines or tour operators – some have been known to charge almost seven times more than other providers!
● Compare prices at more than one website. Try insureandgo.com, confused.com and gocompare. com, for starters. Look on insurers’ own sites, too.
● If you’re going away more than three times in a year, annual cover may work out to be cheaper.
● Check to see if your bank account package includes insurance cover as lots do.
AIRPORT PARKING
Always pre-book airport parking – even doing it the day before can save you up to £50.
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If you live far away from the airport and need to stay at a hotel, it’s usually cheaper to park your car there. For example, at Heathrow you could stay at the Radisson Blu Edwardian overnight with on-site parking for £16 a day.
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Parking on a local drive is often the cheapest option. For example, a space near Heathrow costs as little as £9 a day. Visit justpark.com to find the best prices.
CAR HIRE
● Use sites like skyscanner.net, gocompare.com and kayak.co.uk to research deals but, once you’ve found the best options, it’s worth checking if it’s cheaper to go directly to the car-hire companies.
● It’s easy to rack up extras when booking. New stats show that complaints about hidden car hire costs went up by nearly 36% last year – the good news is that there are new guidelines that should ensure what you see on a comparison site is what you pay. Also, our advice is: never buy excess waiver insurance or collision damage waiver from the hire company, as these extra insurances aren’t always necessary. You can add to your existing insurance for as little as £2 a day. Some companies will charge around £10 a day for extra drivers, so only add them if really necessary.
● If you’ll need a child’s car seat or satnav, bring your own. Some airlines let you take a car seat for free.
● Steer clear of ‘full-to-empty’ petrol policies where the car hire company charges you for a full tank, often at a more expensive rate than at local pumps. Drivers invariably return the car with unused fuel that they pay for. Instead, look for a ‘return as you found it’ policy. The ‘Fairer Fuel’ search facility on moneymaxim.co.uk only shows car hire deals where the customer pays for fuel at local petrol pump prices.
CAR
Save 20p a litre on fuel by checking for the cheapest petrol locally at petrolprices.com. Or use its Petrolprices app.
Want to avoid soulless – and expensive – motorway services? Download the Next Junction app, which lists more than 1,700 cafes, restaurants and pubs near motorway junctions.
TRAIN
● Nearly everyone is covered by at least one of the available railcards, which can knock around a third off the cost of a journey. If you travel with family and friends or one other person regularly, it’s worth investing in a Two Together or Family and Friends railcard. Depending on which railcard you opt for, and whether you choose a one-year or three-year card, costs are from £30 per year. Find details at railcard.co.uk.
● Buying two tickets for a single trip journey (A-B and B-C) can bizarrely give you massive savings over buying one (A-C). If part of your journey is peak and the rest off-peak, it could be even cheaper. Try new. trainsplit.com and ticketclever.com.
● Never assume it’s too late to book an advance train ticket – some are even available on the day itself.
You can save up to 50% against buying at the station. Most go on sale around 12 weeks in advance. Sign up to thetrainline.com to register your journey and you’ll be alerted when they come on sale.
HOLIDAY MONEY
Use the Thomas Cook holiday budget calculator for an idea of how much currency you’ll need and buy in advance so there are no nasty surprises or panic buying.
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The cheapest way to change currency is to order online from foreign exchange providers such as ICE, Travelex, Fairfx and Caxtonfx and then pick it up from a local bureau. On the high street, the Post Office, Debenhams and Marks & Spencer offer competitive rates. Only buy currency at the airport in an emergency, as they nearly always charge extra.