Any ideas how to save money when booking a holiday?

Littlemissraining

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Hi All,

I'm about to book quite an expensive holiday for a special occasion. I wondered if anyone had any tips to save money on flights/accommodation etc.

I thought about taking a credit card out to get air miles (obviously I would pay it off) but not sure it is worth it particularly as some you have to pay upfront fees.

Any ideas welcome.

Leah
 

Jon

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Hi All,

I'm about to book quite an expensive holiday for a special occasion. I wondered if anyone had any tips to save money on flights/accommodation etc.

I thought about taking a credit card out to get air miles (obviously I would pay it off) but not sure it is worth it particularly as some you have to pay upfront fees.

Any ideas welcome.

Leah
It really depends on the holiday

Is a package cheaper than DIY?

A lot of people seem to be using those online cards now for savings but personally, I just book the holiday pay a VERY small deposit and then just keep throwing money over to the holiday firm over the course of a year. So it's like a 0% loan that isn't really a loan if that makes sense lol
 
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Littlemissraining

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I am thinking of going to Australia for my honeymoon. I've looked at packages, but think we can do it cheaper ourselves - but obviously will compare. You can tell from me being here I love a bargain!!

Yeah it does make sense what you're saying! For me I was just thinking by getting a credit card where you get air miles it might be a way to upgrade to premium economy just from paying some of the wedding expenses that I was incurring anyhow.
 

Jon

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I am thinking of going to Australia for my honeymoon. I've looked at packages, but think we can do it cheaper ourselves - but obviously will compare. You can tell from me being here I love a bargain!!

Yeah it does make sense what you're saying! For me I was just thinking by getting a credit card where you get air miles it might be a way to upgrade to premium economy just from paying some of the wedding expenses that I was incurring anyhow.
Well if the Credit Card is a 0% one then it's a no brainer!!

We used to book our Florida holidays as a package but have been DIYing for the last few years and this year are going for only £2200 for 2 weeks + £500 flights each for the 2 of us which is MILES away from what we used to pay years ago

but I think if you are going somewhere new for the first time a package holiday does offer a certain level of confidence in what you are getting
 

Knopfler

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Hi, @Littlemissraining :) as a non-traveller I do not have a clue BUT would suggest looking here as I tend to find the answer to most things not to do with matched betting etc:-


one thread is a 'beat my quote, travel agents' for example but there are a whole host on there to give you some ideas, along with tips.

Also, you could use a cashback site to try and get a little extra (topcashback, quidco etc). The cashback is NOT guaranteed though, so do not include it in your calculations - I tend to see it as a bonus if I actually get mine :) Make sure you clear all cookies, cache etc first as in the guidelines of these sites, to make sure it tracks.

Another option is to check out Hotukdeals for any flights and/or offers coming up.

Oh, and don't forget to check for everything being atol protected, or whatever it is these days, any insurances etc.

And most important of all - enjoy it and have a brilliant honeymoon :)

HTH
 
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Knopfler

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They also have sections on credit cards, savings etc - so something like a 0% transfer might be suitable? again, not something I have used myself - so research needed :)
 
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Jon

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Hi, @Littlemissraining :) as a non-traveller I do not have a clue BUT would suggest looking here as I tend to find the answer to most things not to do with matched betting etc:-


one thread is a 'beat my quote, travel agents' for example but there are a whole host on there to give you some ideas, along with tips.

Also, you could use a cashback site to try and get a little extra (topcashback, quidco etc). The cashback is NOT guaranteed though, so do not include it in your calculations - I tend to see it as a bonus if I actually get mine :) Make sure you clear all cookies, cache etc first as in the guidelines of these sites, to make sure it tracks.

Another option is to check out Hotukdeals for any flights and/or offers coming up.

Oh, and don't forget to check for everything being atol protected, or whatever it is these days, any insurances etc.

And most important of all - enjoy it and have a brilliant honeymoon :)

HTH
good point about the cashbacks

a LOT of them don't pay out until your booking date has passed!!!
 

Knopfler

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good point about the cashbacks

a LOT of them don't pay out until your booking date has passed!!!

That's because they have to make sure that the 'purchase' has actually gone through, so probably takes about 2 weeks for that initial check and depends on how often they carry these out as can be on a weekly/monthly basis. Also a LOT of cashback refunds actually take months to receive - and you sometimes have to chase these up manually, especially if they don't track properly.

I know this sounds quite negative - just pointing out the pitfalls BUT if you are going to use a particular website anyway and can get a chunk of cashback at the same time (especially for bigger purchases like in the Op), then it is worth trying if that is the only option :)
 
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The Reverend

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Hi All,

I'm about to book quite an expensive holiday for a special occasion. I wondered if anyone had any tips to save money on flights/accommodation etc.

I thought about taking a credit card out to get air miles (obviously I would pay it off) but not sure it is worth it particularly as some you have to pay upfront fees.

Any ideas welcome.

Leah

I've booked a couple of nice holidays and there are two methods.

1) If you decided where to go just call travel agents for a price and then phone round other travel agents to see if they can beat it.
2) If you've not decided where to go, check out https://www.kuoni.co.uk/ as they have some decent prices. Also worth signing up for the secret escapes mailing list. Finally Holiday Pirates is ok but often limited in the 'nice' places to go.

Item 2) Can be split in two depending on how comfortable you are with last minute bookings. Kuoni have actual travel agents and you can call them and see what last minute offers they have. You could get a massive saving if you are flexible on location and dates.

I'd not worry about airmiles as they wont be cheaper (*may get you a cheaper upgrade*) but a cashback credit card will give you a little bit of cash back. Make sure it is a CREDIT card not DEBIT card.

Personally, if you've not booked a holiday in sections (flights then transfers then hotel/etc) then get a travel agent to do it and you'll be ATOL protected if the airlines/hotel goes belly up. If you are happy doing all the booking work yourself then you might save a bit of money but the stress/extra work might not be worth it.

Make sure you enjoy your holiday :)

The Reverend.

p.s. The final recommendation is if you are going somewhere really quite fancy, take up the all inclusive option, even if it seems expensive. I was in the Seychelles 2 years ago and it was £5 for a bottle of water. All these costs add up and if you are AI then you never have to worry about dinner costing £200!
 

Jon

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just goes to show there are loads of different ways of saving for the holiday you want.

I remember being a kid and my parents would go to the travel agent shop, come home with brochures (not even sure if they are still a thing!) and then would send a CHEQUE in the post to pay for it all.

Simpler times, but not as much choice!

I also equally remember booking holidays through TeleText holidays where you had to ring up and do it all over the phone quoting some very long-winded code you found on Channel 4 Teletext!
 

Littlemissraining

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Haha I remember Teletext...missing the page and having to wait for it to go through another 95 pages again to get back to the deal you wanted!
 
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Knopfler

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I can go back even further and remember the huge list of holiday adverts in the radio times, magazines etc and on tv as soon as Christmas was over.

So basically relying on a small advert with maybe one grainy picture to choose your annual one and only holiday, then booking it over the phone or by snail mail. Those were the days, eh!
 

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