Going on a holiday does not have to cost a bomb, and cutting cost does not equate to compromising your travel experience and comfort. Here's how you can #save and get the best #traveldeals without giving up the kind of travel experience you want.
1) Subscribe and Follow!
ubscribe to the e-newsletter and follow the social media accounts of all major airlines to get the first hand information on any travel deals from the airline of your preference. Some low cost airlines have signature sale days (Scootee Tuesdays, Jetstar Friday Fare Frenzy) but the bigger scale sales are often ad-hoc. If you want to save the hassle of figuring out their sale momentum, simply subscribe and be the first to know when a sale starts in your inbox.
2) Price Drop Alerts
Have a particular destination and travel date in mind? Many airlines like Jetstar (Price Watch) offer automated services that alerts you when the price drops for the destination and travel period that you are looking at so you can "sleep like a baby" while they "watch the price for you".
3) Travel and Pay Only for What You Need
In the past, full-service airlines mostly offer check-in baggage, meals, in-flight entertainment and seat selection as package in their fares. As low-cost carriers enter the industry, offering base fares and optional add-ons for an addition fee on top of the flight price, some full-service carriers (lower fare classes booked from Singapore Airlines, Finnair, Lufthansa) feel price pressure and offer options, where seat selection is an optional add-on to lower their fares to those who are not choosy on which seat they are seated. Full-service airlines also offer different tiers with different flexibility in terms of cancellation/ flight changes and mileages awarded.
Point here being, if you are going on a short trip on a low-cost carrier, good at packing everything into a small carry-on bag, and the flight does not really cross over your meal time, don't book these add-ons to save. However, it is an important point to note that if you foresee you do need to book check-in luggage, it is advisable to pre-book together when you are booking your flight, as the charges for excess baggage gets more expensive closer to your travel date and cost a bomb at the airport.
4) It's all about The Card!
If you travel very often or if you are about to make a big purchase, make sure you pay with the right card. Very often, miles credit cards have a very attractive Welcome Miles Bonus when you hit a minimum spending on the first few months of signing up. These welcome miles bonuses can easily add up to a "free trip" (with the payment of tax and miles conversion fee of course)! Here's a Travel miles card comparison chart.
It's more than just the miles. Credit cards companies always run ongoing promotions with partner travel sites like Expedia and Agoda to offer % discount off hotel bookings. Find the latest promotions here.
5) Set a budget and have a spreadsheet to collate all trip expenditures!
The last thing you want is to heavily overspend on your trip. Setting a fixed budget and having an excel spreadsheet for comparison across different airline fares, hotel bookings, car rental, day tours can be of great help to reduce your spending and keep your budget in check. If you are planning a trip for your family or group of friends, this spreadsheet also serves as a good summary to keep everyone informed of the costs.