Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

The speedy overseas holiday MoneySaving checklist - easy ways to save & avoid pitfalls
Don't leave home (or the country) without it

Holidays abroad are back, at least according to travel firms, with claims that bookings are massively up, and that the average family spend is around £3,500. Whether this is people wanting to escape the cost of living crisis, or simply an illustration of a financially-split nation, we don't know.

What we do know is there are easy ways to save, and pitfalls to avoid when booking. So let's get you through 18 of them as quickly as possible:

1. Ensure you've a valid free GHIC if you're going to the EU. These cards (or their predecessor EHICs) give you access to state-run hospitals or GPs at the same price as a local. So if it's free for them, it's free for you. Get a GHIC for FREE. If you've already got an EHIC, five million expire this year, so check section 4b on your card and use the same link to order a new one.

2. Take two minutes to download the cheapest way to spend abroad (perfect rates and 1% cashback). App-only Chase Bank's* debit card is one of quite a few cards that give virtually-perfect exchange rates, and fee-free ATM withdrawals (max £1,500/month), yet it also gives 1% cashback on most spending in the UK and abroad, making it the winner. You NEEDN'T switch banks to get it, or even go through a hard credit check.

As it's a debit card, you don't get Section 75 protection though, so if you're planning important £100+ purchases while away, a credit card gives more protection. The current top pick overseas card is Barclaycard's Reward Visa. For more options, see our Travel cards guide.

3. Just want travel cash? If you don't like plastic, or want some cash with you just in case, you can find the top rates through our TravelMoneyMax comparison.

4. Don't get flight prices straight from airlines. Check key comparison sites, as there can be other routes to cheaper prices which may be preferable. Yet to really cut flight costs, see our 28 tips for booking cheap flights.

5. Check when your passport expires - you now usually need at least six months left when you travel. Check when yours is valid to now, and see Passport rules & renewals for 40 common destinations. PS: From next month, the cost to renew a passport is increasing - see Passport fee increases.

6. Don't book a hotel on the first site you see. The same room is often sold at vastly different prices. The top hotel comparisons search all the different booking sites. Try for free cancellation too, as it means if the price of your room drops before travel, you can cancel and rebook at a cheaper rate, like Dawn who emailed us: "I checked reservation and was amazed the same room was now £116 cheaper. I reserved the new room and cancelled the original on the booking form. Really quick and easy, thank you so much". For far more help, see our 25 hotel booking tricks.

7. Package holidays can be the cheapest route and offer extra protection. These days, many web-savvy folk like to do DIY booking, yet if you're travelling to a traditional holiday destination for seven, 10 or 14 days, don't diss a package holiday. They're generally the cheapest for those types of holiday AND you get extra protection if the travel company or airline goes bust, or bad weather stops you from travelling. See Cheap package holidays.

9. Book now to save £100s on car hire. Early booking is almost always the cheapest route.

Use Skyscanner*, Kayak*,TravelSupermarket* and Carrentals* comparison sites to find your cheapest rental. Prices have gone up a lot since the pandemic, so the sooner you sort this, the better.

Our Cheap car hire guide takes you through it, then....

10. Avoid the car hire excess insurance trap (so many get caught out). Basic car insurance is included in the hire, yet at the pick-up desk, firms often try to fear-sell you excess insurance as an add-on, claiming without it an accident could cost £1,000+ extra, even for a scratch.

These add-on policies can cost an extra £150+ a week, but you can get a standalone policy for as little as £15 a week through MoneyMaxim's comparison site* and by checking our 20%-off excess insurance codes. Then when you arrive, tell the car hire firm you don't want their add-on.

They may make you jump through hoops even then, asking for usually a £500 to £1,000 deposit on a credit (NOT debit) card, one that is in the name of the person who booked. If you have an issue, they'll take money from that, then you reclaim it from your standalone insurer. Full help in car hire insurance help.

11. Planning to park at the airport? Pay less by booking early. Use our discounted airport parking comparison site links, including Holiday Extras* (10% to 35% off), SkyParkSecure* (10% to 28% off) and Airparks* (10% to 20% off).

For example, you can get a week's parking at Manchester Airport for as little as £44 through our links, compared to at least £400 on the day, though as these sites usually compare parking for you, do also check the provider lets you cancel or move your booking if you need to. See Cheap airport parking.

12. Grab cheap or FREE access to airport lounges. It may be a tad early, but it's worth knowing that airport lounge access can be free with certain credit cards or bank accounts, or you can get it cheaply through frequent flyer schemes, such as Virgin Atlantic's Flying Club. See Free or cheap airport lounges for our 10 need-to-knows.

13. Want to preload currency at today's rate? The cheapest debit and credit cards (see above) give you the best exchange rates ON THE DAY you spend.

If you want to bag today's best rates NOW, just in case things get worse before you travel (and you've budgeted at this rate), an easy way to do that is on a top prepaid travel debit card. Or you could go half and half to hedge the risk. Rates could, of course, get better if you wait, but in today's uncertain world, who knows?

14. Beat school holiday travel price hikes. We've loads of tricks to help in our Beat school holiday price hikes blog, including:

- Find hidden cheap booking dates (if your term differs from others). For example, many Leicestershire schools break up for summer a week earlier than most others - we found a seven-day Majorca holiday £160 per person cheaper that week compared to the one after.
- Check other countries' holiday dates. For example, book Disney World when US kids are back at school in August - a family Disney stay was over £130 cheaper than in late July.
- Fly from Scotland in the last two weeks of August - even if you don't live there. As Scottish schools generally start back earlier, you can make big savings by flying the family out from Scotland instead. We saw the same holiday flying from Glasgow for £700 less than flying from Manchester.

15. Beat airlines' seat reservation charges & sit together for FREE on BA, Easyjet, Virgin and others. A family of four could spend £100s to be certain they'll sit together on return flights - yet unless your heart's set on particular seats, it's usually unnecessary as long as you check in online as early as you can. See How to beat seat reservation charges for many airlines.

16. French, German, Belgian or Dutch Center Parcs can halve the UK price - especially in school hols. That's even after you've factored in the cost of flights or ferries, so it's worth comparing. Steve told us: "Center Parcs Longleat for four adults and four children was £3,200 in the school holidays, but France Center Parcs was £1,500, including crossing". See Center Parcs tricks for this and lots more ways to save.

17. Can you roam when not at home? Last year, three of the four main networks (not O2) reintroduced roaming charges of £1 to £2 a day for using your data allowance in the EU. Yet many smaller networks don't - see our Roaming charges and how to save guide for full info.

18. Learn to talk like a local for free. Don't be a classic 'Brit abroad' - there are clever apps to help you learn the lingo before you go, and to translate 59 languages offline when you're there. Do it now and you may get beyond 'bonjour.' Try out free language apps.