Specials and sales and Black Friday travel offers compared

We had a lovely time in Mauritius and got a large amount of cash back through using our credit card travel partner deal.

I have been paying close attention to both local and international flights for a while now as I am planning two local trips early next year and an international trip in May. So, when the Black Friday specials were advertised, I made a note to check again early Friday morning. This was not the first time I do this, so I was not expecting much. The real specials are normally not for the dates or places or airlines I have in mind. But do not think that it is not worthwhile to check for specials, because every now and again, you do get lucky. Yes, really. So I will check again today, on Cyber Monday, just in case.

If you like to travel with Emirates be sure to have your dates and credit card ready when everybody else is doing last minute Christmas shopping because their great annual sale usually starts just before Christmas and ends in the first week of January. I usually buy all international tickets for the coming year during this time, using my annual bonus to cover the costs. And this year I will also use my loyalty programme miles to cut the costs even further on one of the more expensive trips as Emirates allows you to pay part of the tickets with miles.

When travel locally, make sure you are signed up as a member of a loyalty programme and use it when making flight and hotel and car bookings. You will really save a lot. We are on Discovery medical aid and although I cannot say that I am always impressed with the medical side, the vitality membership and the awesome Discovery credit card linked to it, are simply the best. When using the loyalty programme and paying with my Discovery Credit card, I normally get 50% discount on accommodation (at selected hotels), 35% on the base flight price (including Emirates) and 35% on car rentals. Add this up and it does allow you to upgrade the accommodation or, if you really having to save money, to do just that. This loyalty programme also have international deals which are great, but make sure you read all the fine print before you make your purchases as you will not be refunded you if you do not heed to the terms and conditions (a few years ago, we went to Mauritius and got R8000 paid back to my credit card account).