Savvy pre-travel tips for reducing the cost of your holiday
Do you book the holiday of your dreams every year or do you book based on the price? If you book based on price are you actually ripping yourself off? Forget about having to scrimp and save, just follow these simple pre-travel tips and get your dream holiday for less…
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Switch your credit card
If you already have a credit card it may be worth switching it for a credit card that offers travels deals, travel insurance or one that has low foreign transaction fees. Choosing the best one for your needs will vary depending on what kind of traveler you are. This blog post gives you a full guide on how to pick the best one for your requirements.
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Pay in installments
There are many travel companies that enable you to book your holiday for just a small deposit, then you can pay a little each week or month until it’s all paid off. This breaks down the cost and even better for those that aren’t so great at saving. Some companies that offer this are Flight Centre and AlphaRooms.
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Use cashback sites
Did you know that you can get money back for the purchases you make? Whether its flights, hotels or holiday clothes, sites like topcashback.com will give you money back for shopping, just visit their site first, click the link for the relevant provider and shop as usual. You can also register your credit card so you can get money back on all your purchases.Â
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Get an international data bundle
Using data when you travel can cost a fortune if using your regular SIM card. Reduce this cost by as much as 95% by getting a data SIM bundle. You can get up to 1GB of data that can be used in 100 countries. If you use this SIM to make calls and SMS over data, using apps like Skype, Whatsapp, or Cheaper-Calls for example, you can ensure your roaming charges are super low without having to rely on searching for free WiFi. Let’s face it, WiFi is never around when you really need it!
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Choosing your destination
If you just want some sun and aren’t that fussed where you go you could pick your destination according to the cheapest summer destinations for 2017 which also lists the places to avoid. Alternatively, you can use look for the cheapest destinations on Skyscanner; just do a flight search as normal but leave the destination field blank and it will list all the options with the cheapest first.
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Travel insurance
Some people say that travel insurance isn’t important but if you are unlucky enough to be in an accident on holiday you won’t be covered for medical bills which could cost thousands. It’s always best to get travel insurance; even the basic ones cover medical costs and these are generally very cheap. If you travel a lot or take a lot of expensive items think about getting annual travel insurance. Some bank accounts also offer travel insurance for free. If you are getting travel insurance that covers all your fancy gadgets it will be pretty expensive so think about what you really need.
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Flights
Often the cheapest flights are the ones that leave in the early hours of the morning before the sun rises but the problem with this is getting to the airport – if you are going to have to pay for a taxi as there are no trains this bumps up costs so it might actually be more economical, and more enjoyable to take a flight a bit later when public transport is available.   Similarly with airports; if the ‘cheap’ flight leaves or arrives at an airport that’s a bit of a distance away from your home/the hotel, then getting from the airport to your destination could be pretty costly so keep this in mind when selecting flights.
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Go long-haul
This really depends on where you call home; for Europeans, traveling to Europe may seem like its less expensive but your daily spend budgets are likely to be more than 10 x the price of Asia. Flights to Asia might seem more expensive but everything else (spending money, attractions, hotels, transport etc) cost MUCH less so traveling to far off destinations can be cheaper, especially if you are going on a two week holiday.
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Travelling soon? Check out these kick ass travel accessories for tech lovers.
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