Watch this Time video with tips for getting a great deal on a summer vacation and bringing down your holiday cost.
Self-study activity:
Before watching the video, read the statements 1-6 below and from your experience say if you think they are true or false.
Watch the video and check your answers. The activity is suitable for Intermediate 2 and Advanced students.
1 Taking a direct flight is cheaper than if you have to change planes.
2 Having specific dates to travel is likely to result in higher prices.
3 Travelling to the Caribbean in December is cheaper.
4 A right choice of credit card is key.
5 We should try to avoid credit cards with rewards.
6 Very often travellers get a cheaper deal if they book flight and hotel separately on their own.
We're here today with Jackie Gifford, senior editor at Travel & Leisure, and we just wanted to get some tips for budget travel where in the last few years it's been hard to get a good deal and certainly now that people are trying to go on their summer vacation they're wondering, you know, what, what are some first steps they can take to really get a great deal for their summer fun.
Right. Everyone's looking for a great deal, so one thing to consider is flying with a low cost carrier such as Norwegian Air or Wow. They're flying to Europe. Something to consider is maybe not doing a non-stop flight, those are going to be more expensive. If you do a stopover, yes, it may take longer but at the end of the day you're saving money.
What if you have some flexibility, saying your dates, or even the destination where you want to go.
Flexibility is absolutely key and here's why. When you lock yourself into certain vacation dates,
you’re locking yourself into whatever prices are coming up for those days. So in general Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays are some of the cheaper days to fly. So just being flexible about the time that you’re going to take for vacation can really save you money in the long run.
Great and if you're planning far ahead does the season matter?
The season absolutely can matter so, for example, consider travelling during the shoulder season so
from about May through August that's the shoulder to low season in the Caribbean so you have more flexibility when it comes to negotiating a great hotel rate.
Are there any other tips that you would recommend?
One thing to consider is to pick a credit card that doesn't have a foreign transaction fee, so many cards actually will charge a fee for use abroad so consider take… getting a card that doesn't have those fees.
We always care a lot about, you know, making sure there aren’t any hidden fees and that you get not only no foreign transaction fee but you get travel rewards, right, if you’re a frequent traveller.
Absolutely. Rewards are a huge perk of many credit cards. Another thing to consider is going with an online travel agency that actually bundles their fairs, so sometimes you can get a better deal by booking with the companies such as Expedia and they’re able to bundle the airfare and the hotel together. It's cheaper than if you were to book those separately on your own.
Thanks so much for joining us, Jackie. For more travel tips go to money.com and travelandleisure.com.
Key:
1F 2T 3F 4T 5F 6F
