By Kate Harvey
Content Manager | Pou Whakahaere Ihirangi
If you’re lucky enough to be planning an overseas trip, here are some tips Consumer NZ staff have learned over the years that will keep you from spending more than you need to.
Save on excess reduction when renting a car
If you’ve taken out travel insurance, your policy is likely to include coverage of your car rental excess if you damage the vehicle. So, you might be wasting money if you pay extra to lower the excess when you pick up the car. The same goes if you’re travelling around New Zealand in a rental car and want to lower the excess – it can work out cheaper to take out travel insurance instead. Make sure to check that your policy definitely covers the excess and consider whether you’ll have the funds to pay the excess upfront while you wait for travel insurance to reimburse you. For more info, check out our article How much does it cost to rent a car?
Sort out how you’ll use your phone
Research roaming packs and sim cards before you leave home, so you can keep using your mobile phone overseas without paying your telco’s casual rates. Our investigative team leader Rebecca Styles regrets not taking the time to do this before her trip to France - “I could have saved at least $250 by sorting out an e-sim card before I left. That could’ve bought me a lot of cheese and chardonnay!” We’ve put together your options in our article How to keep using your phone overseas.
Find the cheapest way to spend
We’ve compared all the different ways you might be considering spend money overseas to make it easy to find the cheapest way. In our comparison we looked at Wise and Revolut travel cards, debit and credit cards, cash withdrawal and traditional travel cards. Consumer NZ members can see which came out best in our article Travel money: the best cards to use overseas.
Prepay for excess baggage
If you’re planning on doing a lot of shopping on your trip, it’s worth prepaying for a checked bag when you buy your ticket or before you check in. Having to pay an excess baggage fee when you get to the airport and discover your bag weighs too much usually costs more. For example, if you know you’re going to do a lot of shopping in Sydney it would make more sense to book an extra bag and pay NZ$95 to take it on the trip. But if you find you need to buy another bag to fit your shopping into and just show up with it at the airport, you’ll pay AUD$105 to get it back home.
Ask hotels for their best price
If you’re yet to book your accommodation, it’s worth sending an email straight to anywhere you’re considering and ask for their best price. Investigative writer Belinda Castles did this before her family trip to the Sunshine Coast. “The advertised special wasn’t eligible for our travel dates but after I enquired, the deal was honoured. On a 7-night stay we saved about $250.”
Do your research on duty free
Don’t assume duty-free prices are cheaper than what you’d normally pay. When we last looked at duty-free prices, we found a lot of products were cheaper outside the airport. If you’re thinking about buying something duty free, make sure you do your research first. Confectionary and wine especially can cost much more than if you bought them at the supermarket.
Make the most of member discounts
If you’re a member of an organisation like AA, check out whether you could be using some of your member discounts before you book. Belinda says she’s saved on car rentals and accommodation. “It also gives you discounts on some holiday activities, which can otherwise quickly add up and break the holiday budget,” she says.
Shop around for travel insurance
The difference in what you pay for travel insurance between different providers can be huge. For example, the average price for a policy for a 70-year-old travelling to the United States for a month was $917. But when we sourced quotes online from CoverMore and American Express, the price was $1,965 and $2,243 respectively. If you’ve got a gold or platinum credit card, you might already have built-in travel insurance, but you’ll need to activate it before you leave. There are some fishhooks to watch out for though – free credit card travel insurance often has age and travel length limits.
Choose the right travel insurance
It's your safety net if anything goes awry overseas. Find out what to look for when choosing travel insurance and what's covered, then compare a range of comprehensive policies.
