Whether you fly around the world regularly for business or just look forward to an annual summer holiday with the family; saving money on travel is something everyone can enjoy. With so many expenses involved in exploring the globe, the costs can soon add up and lead you to have less cash to spend once you get to your exciting new destination. However, there are many ways to get money off your flights, as well as enjoying discounts on the holiday extras such as airport parking, hotels and airport lounges. See if you are missing out on money saving opportunities on your travel with our money saving guide.
1. Delayed/Cancelled Flight? You Could Get Compensation
If you are travelling within the EU and have found that your flight has been delayed by more than 3 hours or even cancelled, then you could get compensation of up to a huge £540. Under EU law, there are certain steps the any EU airline (or flight connecting to an EU airline) has to take when a flight is delayed or cancelled including; food and drink, access to calls and emails and accommodation if required. However, be mindful that compensation can only be granted if the delay or cancellation was due to a fault with the airline such as technical difficulties or booking complications. Find out if you are owed compensation from your airline through MyFlightDelayed.com.
2. Sign Up to Frequent Flier Programmes
For the regular traveller, frequent flier programmes are a fantastic way to get money off future flights; as well as luxury airport extras such as airport parking and airport lounges. Airlines such as Emirates, Virgin Atlantic and EasyJet offer loyalty programmes for their regular customers, with the opportunity to gain points every time you fly as well as enjoying benefits such as free upgrades and extra baggage. If you fly regularly from London, be sure to sign up to Heathrow Rewards, where you can collect points every time you shop at the airport, fly or book cheap Heathrow airport parking! Save up and spend your points on your next business trip or family holiday.
3. Use The Best Online Booking Hacks
Booking all of your travel essentials online is one of the best ways to ensure you get the best price for your journey. You can get money off every aspect of travel from getting to and from the airport to flights, airport transfers and hotels when you use these online booking hacks:
- Compare Airport Parking Prices: Here at Parking At Airports you can enter your travel dates and get instant quotes from all of the top airport parking providers. Say you are travelling from Bristol to Barcelona, you can enter the dates of your travel and find cheap Bristol airport parking instantly.
- Use Money Saving Vouchers: With so many travel agencies competing for customers, many of them have taken to offering exclusive online voucher codes to tempt customers to book with them. Explore vouchers and offers for travel websites such as Easyjet, Expedia and Stena Line and you are sure to find discounts of up to 50% off your holiday. Sites such as STA Travel even offer student discounts so you can save every time you book.
- Book Early: This top money saving tip will no doubt be familiar to the regular bargain-hunting travellers out there. However, this tip goes for all aspects of your holiday from booking your hotel to booking your cheap Cardiff airport parking. The earlier you book, the more you’ll save, and you can get up to 1/3 off your travel just by booking at the right time. Most travel companies suggest that booking 2-3 weeks in advance is the prime time to enjoy big savings on domestic flights, and 3-6 months in advance is best for international journeys.
- Be Flexible with Your Dates: Booking in the first two weeks of the school summer holidays isn’t always the best idea, with peak prices and busy bookings. If you have some flexibility as to when you travel, be sure to take advantage of travelling on the cheaper days. Sites such as Skyscanner offer instant comparisons for flights with over 600,000 routes!
4. Find Cheaper Connecting Flights
Finding the cheapest route to your destination can sometimes be time consuming, which is why many airlines benefit from doing all the legwork for you. However, if you spend a bit of time searching for the cheapest connecting flights, you could end up saving yourself hundreds of pounds on your holiday. Explore different routes and see if there are cheaper ways to get to your destination via connecting flights, to save money on your travel without compromising on your holiday plans.
5. Don’t Overspend on Your Hotel
Booking a bargain hotel doesn’t have to mean spending your holiday in a 1-star B&B, sharing a room with 10 other travellers. In fact, you can compare prices and filter through hotels across the world using our money saving Hotel Booking Page; where you can compare prices and book a room which is ideal for you. Our hotel booking tool allows you to search for hotels local to UK and international airports, so you can book airport car parking and an airport hotel all in one go, as well as a range of other hotels from resorts to holiday cottages. Save up to 80% on top quality hotels just by booking your accommodation online!
6. Book On a Sunday
This surprising hack was discovered by Skyscanner, who found that last year, those who booked their flights on a Sunday ended up paying an average of 4% less than those who booked midweek. You can also save by departing on Friday, which is the cheapest day of the week to travel. Although it might not seem like much of a saving, every little helps; and you can save a bundle on flights for the family when you wait until Sunday to book your break.