Here are a few methods you can use to score cheaper prices for flights and hotels.
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GST hikes, presidential elections, Taylor Swift concert sales – 2023 has been a hallmark year for Singaporeans to say the least. With the deluge of events that happened this year, you might be forgiven for realising at this exact moment that we’re already at the tail end of 2023, that is, holiday time.
For those who have been too busy to plan their well deserved break, fret not as we’ve compiled a list of tips that can help you score cheaper tickets even during this infamous peak period.
1. VISIT TRAVEL FAIRS
It’s time we dispelled the notion that visiting expos is an aunty activity. Travel fairs, such as the upcoming Time To Fly fair, play host to multiple airline and lifestyle merchants – all with their own arsenal of deals and promotions. For instance, Time To Fly will see Singapore Airlines and Scoot offering over 370,000 discounted flight tickets to destinations such as Taipei.
Plus, the deals at these travel fairs aren’t just limited to tickets. The same Time To Fly event will also have banks like Standard Chartered and DBS giving out free luggage for purchases made with their cards.
2. SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTERS
Admittedly, this advice runs counterintuitive to most cybersecurity guides but it’s true: The best travel deals are often hiding away in your inbox. Just make sure you’re opening emails from trusted brands.
Scoot, for example, has their famous Gotta Scoot Tuesdays flash sale where they offer flights to destinations such Ipoh, Bali and Osaka at discounted rates. Travel platform Agoda is also well-regarded for their coupons which can be used for flight and hotel bookings.
3. OPT FOR NON-REFUNDABLE TICKETS
With the holiday season inching ever closer, those who’ve yet to plan their vacation would be wise to forgo flexibility for cheaper prices. Platforms such as Agoda and Trip.com offer non-refundable options which can save you hundreds of dollars throughout your trip compared with their refundable counterparts.
But let’s be real for a second. If you’re planning your year-end trip this late, do you really have the luxury of flexibility?
4. BUY SEPARATE ONE-WAY TICKETS INSTEAD OF A RETURN TICKET
Conventional wisdom might make you believe that return flight tickets are always cheaper than one-way tickets. However, as someone who’s spent more time in 2023 in planes than at the office, let me tell you that that is not always the case.
The pricing structure on travel platforms is extremely complex and volatile. As such, finding the most cost-effective option might require a bit of legwork.
In the case of this flight to Melbourne below, for instance, it costs a total of S$646 to buy separate one-way flight tickets, as opposed to the S$691 it would have cost had someone bought a return flight.
To ensure that you’re truly getting the best deal, try to play around with different one-way flights and add up their prices to see if they’re cheaper than a return flight.
5. GO TO A CHEAPER DESTINATION
If you’re just planning your year-end holiday, you probably don’t have a destination in mind just yet. To ease your planning, Agoda recently released a list of the most affordable tourist destinations around Asia for the year-end holidays, based on hotel room rates.
With places like Hat Yai costing only US$43 (S$58.85) per night, you can end up saving a lot of moolah simply by holidaying there.
And if you're looking for more tips, you can check out this story, too.