Black Friday is coming on November 27th this year, and Cyber Monday on the 30th, but if you’re looking for a travel bargain, you might not want to wait that long.
Statistically speaking, the people who are traveling right now are taking fewer trips, and making them more meaningful when possible. For everyone that’s not traveling there’s a mix of waiting for the right moment, and waiting for the right deal.
Knowing that many people won’t be buying quite as much travel this Black Friday & Cyber Monday, you can expect many travel brands to drop their best offers early this year, hoping to grab what money you do plan to spend, before you see what else is out there. Here’s a few tips to stay in the loop on the best offers, and play it smooth.
Deals Are Coming Early
As one of the bigger travel blogs out there, lots of brands like to hit us up early to let us know what to expect from their Black Friday & Cyber Monday Sales, and this year, they all have a common thread: they’re not waiting for Black Friday.
That doesn’t mean some of the best deals won’t still be coming on these two hallowed days in the shopping world, but many more brands will put their best offers up early to capture a bit of your wallet before it’s all gone.
Now, if they don’t sell as much as they hoped, there could still be some incredible last minute offers on Cyber Monday worth saving a bit in the wallet for, but the point is: if you see a winner for you, get in and don’t look back.
Where To Find The Best Deals
Each and every year, GSTP goes deep to bring the best offers in one easy to reach place. You can find the 2020 Black Friday & Cyber Monday Travel Deals page here.
Right now it’s mostly filled with highlights from last year, but if you’re just diving into this sale madness, it’s a good preview of what to expect, and the limited time offers airlines, hotels, travel agents and accessories like luggage manufacturers will run.
It’s safe to expect even better deals this year, with more seats, hotel beds and other things to fill!
We update that deal page daily or even hourly as the date approaches, so bookmark and enjoy. Any significant updates will also be tweeted, so if you don’t follow along there, you’re very welcome to!
Read The Fine Print
Unlike previous years where a “deal was a deal”, changing travel restrictions and epidemiological situations around the world mean it’s worth reading the fine print with any travel purchases during Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year. In short: look for your options if plans change.
Many hotel brands plan to lock you into a non refundable purchase, but are happy to shift the dates for up to 12 months if your travels change, without a difference in price. Airlines are typically happy to give you a full credit for future travel if plans change, but won’t refund unless they need to cancel, and you might still be on the hook for fare difference.
By and large, most travel brands have made their flexibility policies sound more flexible at first glance than they actually are. Things like “free changes” sound great, but really mean they just won’t charge administrative fees, and you could still be on the hook for thousands, if rates change.
Just take the extra time before you make the final payment screen click to ensure you know what you’re getting into. If you have travel in your budget, whether it’s for this year or next, you’re playing a huge part in keeping the travel industry going. It’s the only thing that “makes you richer”, right?
Conditions sounding better than they are is a long way from intentionally making it as difficult as possible to be contacted by under staffing contact centres needed to access said changes and actively removing online functionality to prevent customers from obtaining their legal rights…
Some airlines are distinctly #BelowAverage in their #BloominAwful approach to customers but as the author has observed, they seem to have no problem with making enemies at this time.