Travelling can be expensive so we have put together a quick roundup of money saving travelling tips. Some personal finance bloggers in the UK have kindly shared their top tips to help your pennies go further and make sure you don’t get any nasty surprises when you come back from your holiday.
- It is hard to avoid seeing travel-related loyalty programmes that are offered by supermarkets, airlines, hotel chains and more. Navigating the minefield of which programme to choose can be such a headache that many avoid them all! Vicky from ibeatdebt.com managed to get an Upper Class ticket on Virgin Atlantic for free by using points she had acquired using a method that she explains in this post. Start collecting your points today and who knows where they could take you!
- Hotel prices fluctuate all the time and vary between different online search providers such as hotels.com and booking.com. If you want to take a look at the whole of the market with live prices for the room you like, the breaks.com hotel search will soon become your new best friend! If you do use other hotel search sites then follow these tips from Neil on how to get the rest rates when booking.
- Who wants to travel the world for free? I don’t think many people would turn that offer down! Although this is not a reality for most, there are some ways to get much cheaper holidays and even free parts of your trip. The Money Saving Girl shares ways to get a free holiday and our favourite tip is to volunteer or work while abroad. If you have a skill such as teaching then this could be your passport to free travel.
- Don’t get caught out with poor exchange rates and credit card fees while on holiday. This mistake is made by many holidaymakers each year and can be a very costly one. The Halifax Clarity Card has been recommended by Mrs Mummy Penny and Pete at Household Money Saving due to the superb exchange rate, no fees for using overseas and it’s free to withdraw cash at ATM’s.
- Another tip when spending money using a card when abroad is to always pay in the local currency to beat the dynamic currency pricing method that can rip you off! Emma from The Money Whisperer has done an in-depth investigation and explanation of this that is well worth a read before you jet off. Scroll to the bottom of this list to see her video on the topic.
- If you want to stay somewhere for free then consider being a house sitter or doing a house swap. Although this takes more planning than simply booking a hotel, there are websites dedicated to helping setup an exchange. You can find more information about this on Joleisa’s blog here.
- Package holidays have their perks (including extra protection) but you will be surprised how much you could save by creating your own itinerary. It is fun to do and the extra money you save can go towards a treat while away! If you want some inspiration on how to plan your 2018 holiday then check out Will Pointing’s tips on his site.
- Research, research, research. Here is what Cass Bailey from Frugal Family had to say about her holiday planning, “Last year, I went to New York with my teenager and we watched Youtube videos for hours before we went. We knew how to get around, where there were free things to do and even where we could eat each day.”
In the unfortunate event that you don’t get the service you deserve from a holiday or flight company then you go to The Complaining Cow (we’re not being rude, that’s her name!) who is the UK’s best complainer and a true consumer rights champion. All you need to know about booking/complaining about holidays/flights can be found on her superb website.
If you have any other tips then please do share them. Thanks to all the bloggers who shared their thoughts on money saving in 2018 with us. Happy travelling!
Video credit: themoneywhisperer.co.uk
