I’m a money expert – these are the days & dates to book flights & save hundreds

CONSUMER expert Harry Wallop has revealed how you could save money on both flights and holidays as you prepare to go away next year.

Soaring prices have left families searching for increasingly creative ways to get away without breaking the bank.

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There are ways to keep costs down when looking for holidays, with a new report by travel company Expedia showing when it’s best to book and when it’s cheapest to fly.

Following the report, Wallop told Sun Online Travel why it’s better to both book and fly on different days.

He said: “It’s not that strange or unusual to think that flights cost a different amount, depending on when you actually fly because just like there is peak season, there are peak days of the week.

“But what is slightly weird to people who aren’t inside of the industry, is that the price fluctuates depending on the day you actually make the booking.

“And that’s all down to this thing called dynamic pricing, whereby prices fluctuate up and down endlessly, depending on supply and demand.

“According to all of the number crunching by airlines, the cheapest day to book a flight is a Sunday.

“On a domestic flight, if you’re booking on a Sunday, rather than booking on a Friday, it saves you about 20 per cent.

“On an international flight, it saves you about 10 per cent, which may not seem that much, but obviously long haul flights now are often extremely expensive, some are £800, so you’re saving £80 – that runs into the hundreds for a family of four.”

The report also revealed how far in advance to book – and booking as early as possible isn’t always advised, neither is waiting for last minute deals.

Wallop explained exactly where the sweet spot is.

He said: “There’s a slight assumption that the earlier you book, the cheaper it will be and that’s not strictly true because often the prices start at a set price and then they can drift downwards.

“The golden period for an international flight is four months before flying. That tends to be, on average, the cheapest price that you’re going to get.

“It’s slightly different for domestic flights where 14 weeks is the golden period.

“The saving is between 20 and 30 per cent on average, compared to when you pay for your booking at the last minute.

“Now there is a slight caveat there, which is most good online travel agencies tend to have pretty decent last minute deals, but you’ve got to be completely flexible with those.

“Whether it be all-inclusive to Tenerife on Tuesday or to Dubai next weekend, most people don’t have the flexibility to suddenly jump on a plane.

“In terms of just saving money and planning a family holiday, you want to book about four months in advance of travel.”

The day you pay for your flights isn’t the only factor to consider when booking flights.

Choosing the right day to fly is also important, with some days less expensive than others.

According to the report, Friday is the best day to jet off.

Harry said: “If you want to save money, if you’re travelling internationally, you want to travel on a Friday, which can save you around about 15 per cent.

“That’s on average travelling on a Friday versus traveling on a Saturday, which not surprisingly, is the peak day.

“For example, I’ve seen a flight, flying from Stansted to Istanbul in January next year, and that is £53 if you fly on Friday.

“The same airline, the same time of day, flying on Saturday to the same city is £72, so that’s a £19 saving, just by shifting the day of the week you travel.”

There are other ways for people to keep an eye on their holiday spending ahead of next summer and Harry expects all-inclusive deals to be increasingly popular.

He said: “A lot of families, for them a summer break is pretty sacrosanct and they will trim back all sorts of day to day spending, but they’re not going to cancel their summer holiday.

“I think that’s why package holidays seem to be enjoying quite a bit of a revival because you can more or less book now and know that is the price you’re going to end up paying, especially if it’s all inclusive.

“It gives people the peace of mind that, though prices are going up and up, you know what you will end up paying for your holiday.

“I would expect to see package holidays enjoy a really good year next year.”

The right destination can make a big difference too, with the pound performing well against some currencies.

The Turkish Lira and the Hungarian Forint are two currencies that will enable Brits to make their money stretch further.

Harry explained: “Turkey is the hot destination right now. It’s a very nice place and there’s lots to do and it’s relatively easy to get there from the UK.

“You can also get all sorts of bargains going to Hungary too.

“You’re getting more bang for your buck against the Hungarian Forint than if you were only going a few miles west into the Euro block.”

Meanwhile another travel expert follows these three steps to keep their holiday costs down.

Booking a mystery holiday is another way to get a holiday for cheap.

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