Welcome to the PC PAL Newsletter - September 2016
Many thanks for the positive feedback about last month’s newsletter on “Why you should consider Windows 10”. This month we are dedicating our newsletter on how to find the best deals for holidays and trips away online.
Looking for a holiday online can be a daunting prospect with so many sites trying to tempt you with the best deals.
In this newsletter, we are going to look at some of the best websites you can use and other ways in which you can save some money on your holiday or trip away.
PS... Don't forget to forward this email to your friends, family & work colleagues - we're sure they'll appreciate the tips and advice!
How to Find the Best Holiday Deals
Register for Late Deals
If you are flexible with your dates you can probably pick up a great late deal from many websites including the following:
Groupon
Groupon Getaway Deals have lots of choice in the UK, they usually offer smaller mini-breaks of up to two to three nights which can include mini cruises and deals abroad with flights. They will have a variety of options to help you find the right holiday, this includes the airport you want to travel from, the number of nights and the date you wish to travel on. However, the price will vary depending on the options you have chosen. The savings are usually pretty good but you can be restricted on dates of travel. Please make sure you read all of the fine print and the FAQs so that you know exactly what is included in the deal.
Travelzoo
Travelzoo has over 28 million members worldwide. They cover a range of holidays like city breaks, resort packages, cruises and hotels and will only require an email address for you to view these offers. Just remember these amazing deals do get snapped up really quickly and you will need to phone the holiday company and quote Travelzoo’s reference number to get the deal.
Teletext Holidays
Remember the days of using the TV to scroll through numerous pages to find a bargain? Now Teletext are online and it's never been easier to find a great deal. They offer a lot of choice on mainstream packages at amazing prices. They have a trending holiday section which gives you the bargains for the day and some of their top exclusive offers.
Lastminute.com
This website is not just for last minute holidays, you can find deals on anything travel related. They have an offer called “Top secret hotel deals” which is usually heavily discounted but you may not know the name of the hotel until you have made payment.
Thomson & First Choice
Thomson and First Choice are part of the same company called TUI. First Choice offer all-inclusive holidays whereas Thomson offers a variety of different options e.g. BB, self-catering, etc. Both the websites have a deal section. If you click on their “last minute holidays” link this will show you some of their best-discounted last minute deals leaving within the next four weeks.
Holiday Pirates
This website puts together the best deals for package holidays, hotels and flights abroad but they also have UK deals too. It offers a variety of holidays from various providers and can give you an idea of where you want to go next at a reasonable price.
Many of these websites also post on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Saving on Holidays
As well as trying to bag a bargain you can try and save some money on your holiday by using cashback sites, loyalty cards and comparison sites.
Cashback
Before you book your holiday online you may be able to claim some cashback through popular cashback sites like www.topcashback.co.uk or www.quidco.com.
You will need to register your details to create an account for both websites. Then you need to search for the company that you are looking to book your holiday with. If cashback is available then click the link provided on the cashback website, this will then take you to your travel company's website. From here just book your holiday as you would normally do. The majority of the time you will be able to get a percentage of cash spent back, however, it may take a few months before this money shows in your account.
Once your cash back shows in your account you can then exchange this money for shop vouchers or just get the money transferred into your bank account.
Also don’t forget you can get cash back on your travel insurance, flights and hotels too.
Loyalty Cards
There are many shopping loyalty cards out there that will give you points which most of us spend on our shopping, but they can also be spent elsewhere.
Tesco’s Clubcard is a great example of this. Tesco points can be worth up to four times their value when spent via their own Clubcard website. These can be redeemed for free days out to places like Alton towers and Warwick castle, money off holidays, air miles for flights and hotels. An example of how good Tesco points can be is with Butlins. On Tescos Clubcard website you can currently exchange £5 of your Clubcard vouchers and receive £15 of Butlins vouchers to put towards your next holiday. So if you had £40 in Clubcard points you can exchange this for £120 worth of Butlins vouchers.
Nectar points are also very good and can be collected through Sainsburys, Argos and Sky but you can also collect points for holidays through Expedia and Easyjet. The points can be used for days out and flights; for example 500 points are worth £2.50 on EasyJet.
Comparison Sites
There are many comparison sites that you can use to compare different hotels and flights. Using a comparison website will give you the option to look at many different hotels on one site and compare all of them. www.hotels.com, www.trivago.co.uk and www.booking.com will compare different hotels in the area that you are looking to visit and allow you to find one at a great price.
For comparing flights websites like www.kayak.co.uk, www.expedia.co.uk and www.skyscanner.net will compare different flights and prices. They will be able to tell you whether they are direct or if they have any stops. You just need to input where you are flying from and to.
Important Things to Remember
When booking online whether it’s a package holiday, just flights, hotels or day trips, please remember to always read the terms and conditions and all the FAQs so that you know exactly what is included in the deal.
Remember to check the baggage allowance just in case you need to add on any additional baggage as this can be costly to add on at the airport.
Also please check that any websites that you are using to book holidays are ATOL and ABTA protected just in case anything goes wrong with the holiday company itself.
Check if you require any Visa or entry requirements for the country that you are going to and any immunisation that may be required.
Lastly, check what you can take into the country for example the USA do not allow you to take in Kinder eggs.
