MARTIN Lewis has revealed a clever travel hack that could save parents hundreds of pounds on expensive school holiday flights.
It’s no secret that the price of flights, hotels and package holidays usually soar during school breaks, largely due to rules that stop parents from taking their kids away in term-time.
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But speaking on ITV’s This Morning, MoneySavingExpert founder Martin revealed how mums and dads might be able to beat expensive costs.
Martin suggests using easyJet’s so-called Flexi fares to switch dates by a few weeks without paying anything extra.
It works by booking a flight on the same route you’re planning on taking over half-term, but at a much less busy time and when prices are cheaper.
You can then, providing there is still seats available and only 24 hours after booking, switch your dates to the days you actually want to travel.
How to save when booking flights
IF you’re looking to save money on your next holiday, these tricks may help.
Fly on a Tuesday or a Wednesday – These days are less popular to travel on so the flights are often cheaper.
Book on a Tuesday morning – Many airlines launch their discount promotions on Monday evenings so you’re more likely to get the best deals on a Tuesday morning.
Don’t book on Thursdays – This is because airlines tend to add mark ups to the prices because that’s when people typically prefer to search.
Don’t travel on a weekend – These are the most popular days to travel so airlines bump up the prices for these tickets.
Book one way tickets – Buying two one-way tickets can sometimes be cheaper than a return ticket.
Set up price alerts – If you know where you want to go, you can set up price alerts via comparison sites which will let you know when the price drops.
Be open minded – If you’re not sure where to go, type “Everywhere” as your destination in Skyscanner to find the cheapest flights on offer all around the world.
Martin says doing this could potentially save parents hundreds of pounds on their flights.
However, it should be warned that this trick only works if there is space available on the flight you want to move your ticket to.
A good way to test the availability is to go through the process of booking standard tickets for a large party on the date you want to fly.
If you’re able to book 20 seats, the chances are that availability is good for your destination – but this by no means guaranteed.
Dates can also only be switched to one week earlier or three week after your original travel day, so you can’t just book any date.
You’ll usually pay more for a Flexi fare ticket – for example, we found a ticket from London Southend to Lanzarote that costs £149.99 normally or £258.99 as a Flexi fare.
To make sure you’re saving cash, check the prices of how much your holiday destination would cost during half-term.
If a Flexi fare costs less than this, then you’re saving money.
For example, Martin says he’s seen the trick used to slash £431 off the price of flights to Sardinia.
When The Sun looked, we the price of a standard ticket from London Gatwick to Amsterdam on March 1 going for£98.99.
But jet-setters can save cash by purchasing a Flexi fare ticket for £89.99 on February 25 and moving this ticket to the new date.
With a Flexi fare ticket, you also get the bonus of speedy boarding, a seat near the front, up to £7 to spend on on-board food and drinks and one piece of hold luggage (max 23kg) free per person.
Flexi fares aren’t available on every flight and are only available 120 days in advance.
In more ways to save cash, Martin Lewis this week raved about super cheap SIM only mobile deals that cost from £5 a month.
The MoneySavingExpert also explained how to get 50 per cent interest on savings – but you need to get Universal Credit or benefits.
Earlier this month, Martin warned that 11million households are overpaying on their energy bills.
