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Your Money > Travel Finances Articles > Dodge the soaring...
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By Sarah Modlock
Everything seems to be going up. The Euro costs more, petrol costs more and holidays are costing more. The annual price hike to coincide with school holidays is well underway and hidden charges could add as much as £300 to the total cost for a family of four. Ryanair now charges parents £16 to have a baby or toddler sitting on their lap during the flight but you will pay £29 on Thomson flights and an extra £10 if want seats together. These small increases come on top of hefty fuel surcharges. A typical family of four on a short haul trip with British Airways could have to find an extra £128 on top of the ticket price this year - and the same group flying long haul to the west coast of America could end up paying £872 more. Research by Abbey credit cards shows that you can expect to pay up to 162% more if you holiday in August. A week-long trip to Park Resorts in Brynowen, Wales, soars from £170 in mid-July to £446 at the start of August. Pontins in Blackpool, Lancs, ups prices by almost £200, while Centerparcs at Longleat Forest, Wilts, adds £300. Meanwhile, the cost of an average trip abroad rises by 52%. Meanwhile budget hotels Premier Travel Inn and Travelodge are busier than ever and more of us than ever are searching online for flights and hotels. Car hire catches Foreign car hire companies keen to keep profits up in tough times will try to persuade you to upgrade your vehicle, may claim your family will not fit in the car booked and may even just give you a larger car at extra cost without asking. The car hire company is breaching a contract if they don't provide you what you paid for, and you're entitled to claim back costs exceeding what you were originally promised. "Don't get fobbed off," says Ian Crowder of AA Insurance."Refuse to pay more if they haven't got the car you booked." Insurance can also be tricky. If you're driving rented cars in the Eurozone watch out for huge excess penalties of up to £1,000 which car rental firms can swipe from your credit card. Insurance4carhire.com issued the warning to Brits travelling to Italy, Spain, Portugal, France and Ireland. Even with a policy bought from their car rental firm, drivers may still have to cough up in the event of a breakdown or damage to the undercarriage, tyres and windows as many firms exclude this from their policies. "It is astounding that many hire car drivers don't bother with the small print - this can potentially cost them hundreds of pounds should they return with a chipped window for which they weren't covered," says Insurance4carhire.com spokesperson Larry Ursich. If you are in a hurry to return the car and catch a flight, you may forget to fill it up with petrol - or not find a petrol station. Expect a big fee if you fail to fill up the tank. You may want to pay for fuel up front when you collect the car so that you can avoid the hassle and return it empty. DIY catches In a bid save money, more than 20million holidaymakers are arranging their own trips this year instead of booking packages. But of you opt for the DIY route bear in mind that you will not benefit from the safety net which comes with packages. Booking a package through company belonging to a bonding scheme such as Air Travel Organisers' Licensing scheme (Atol) or the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) means you are covered if the travel company, airline or hotel go bust before you go away. This does not apply to DIY travels and you need to check insurance policy small print very carefully as it may not pay out if you miss connections because your flights are delayed or cancelled. Paying by credit card will offer some protection - the card company will pay up if your airline collapses or cancels your flight. But the ticket must cost between £100 and £30,000. The same applies if your hotel or car hire company goes bust or bookings are cancelled. Bookings made online using Maestro or Mastercard are covered and offline bookings are also covered by the Visa debit card. Insurance pitfalls The number reason that travel insurers refuse a claim is if it relates to a pre-existing condition that was not declared when the policy was taken out. So you may think that you are saving cash by not being honest about conditions such as diabetes or asthma but if you need to pay for medical treatment it will cost a fortune. If you are planning to get adventurous then make sure you are covered for activities like paragliding, bungee jumping and scuba diving. Extreme playtime which ends in self-inflicted injuries - think diving off cliffs and anything involving lots of booze - are no longer covered by many insurers. According to research from Moneysupermarket.com, more than half of Britons admit to drinking "much more" alcohol on holiday. "If blood or breath tests show excessive alcohol intake at the time of treatment, your policy is likely to be void," warns spokesman Peter Gerrard. If you do get delayed then get written confirmation from the airline, train or ferry company you are travelling with. This should include the reason for the length of delay. Most policies will not start to pay out until after 10 or 12 hours and then it will be around a fixed £20 an hour. Watch out for bookings that 'helpfully' include their own insurance cover automatically. Ryanair and easyJet will add these to the cost of the flight when you book online so remember to remove the insurance if you do not need it. Useful links: |
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