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Guide: Where I Will Be Hunting Luxury Travel Deals on Black Friday

November 13, 2019Add comment
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It is the quiet before the storm in the world of luxury travel at the moment, as prices stand slightly inflated ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2019. So don’t book anything just yet! But when 29 November comes, the number of deals and speed at which they sell out can feel overwhelming. Prepare now and make sure you get a fantastic deal!

Prepare now and get the best deals on Nov 29th!

The Facts

What: Black Friday and Cyber Monday are major discount days, historically focused on electronics, linked to Thanksgiving in the US. But the events are now used by many industries in the UK to try and boost pre-Christmas sales.

When: 29 November and 2 December 2019 respectively, but deals may start as early as 25 November.

Offer: We don’t know exactly what yet, but expect heavily discounted luxury hotels, package deals and special fares on First and Business class flights – I highlight where I’m going to be focusing my efforts below!

Availability: Deals will either be on a first-come-first-served basis in VERY limited numbers or for a short window, so you need to prep!

Maximum Extravagance, Minimum Cost

I share my top picks on where I will be focusing my searches below, but first, some tips to make sure you are prepared! No matter what deals crop up on Black Friday, there are some steps you can take now to increase your chances of snagging a great offer.

  • Fix your availability now: I have missed out on deals in previous years because of a need to agree on travel dates with companions and work. This has meant that either the offer sold out or I missed the booking window. So if you have a trip in mind, agree which dates and destinations work for you now, so you can book on the day without hesitation.
  • Save flights, packages and hotels: Across my top picks below, start looking at what destinations, hotels or packages you would ideally like to book and where possible, save these either as a wishlist, a bookmark, or in your basket. You need an idea of what you are going to buy before deals come live, even if you may need to tweak it in order to get the right dates.
  • Sign up to websites NOW: Minimise the stress of trying to snag a deal by signing up to websites now with an account, your travel details and by saving a payment card. The minutes this saves may be the difference in getting the best deals!
  • Download Apps: Using the company’s mobile app to checkout may be quicker than its desktop website. For Expedia, you must download the app in order to take advantages of the deals, so get it now!

My Top Picks

The below picks are predictions based on previous years’ deals and we will not know exactly what the best deals are until the day.

Expedia

Expedia has run great Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals for the past few years running. BUT the best offers are incredibly limited. To get these deals you will need to have the app prepped with a basket of exactly what you want to buy, ready to just add the voucher code and checkout, all within about two minutes. Going by last year, prep a hotel or package for travel that completes before 31 March 2020.

The offer page is here. Bookmark it! This will be where the codes are posted. We are likely to see:

  • 75% off hotels: At 9am on 29 November and potentially again on 2 December it is very likely that a code will be released for 75% off hotels on app purchases only. Check out the deal page here the night before in case the code is released early (it won’t be valid but it will be one less job on the morning to find out the code). The code will probably only officially be valid for 15 minutes, but will more likely sell out within 2 minutes! The offer will not be valid on all hotels, I recommend prepping a basket with one of their VIP Access hotels which they are affiliated with, or a more independent/boutique hotel.
  • £££ off package bookings: Last year we saw £400 off £800 flight and hotel bookings, and in 2017 it was £550 off! So we can expect one this year and it is likely the code will also be released at 9am on 29 November and potentially again on 2 December. This will also be a first-come-first-served code so you will need to be ready to just enter the code in the app and click buy!

British Airways

Last year, British Airways had some decent Black Friday offers. It is likely this page will get updated for 2019 deals. In 2018 you had a few days to book, rather than Expedia’s 15 minutes! If you know where you want to go, the easiest way to locate a flight only deal would be with BA’s cheap fare finder, which will highlight any sales.

  • Companion deals on Club World: Last year BA offered two tickets in Club World (their Business Class product) for £2,018. Will we see £2,019 this year?! If we do, it will likely be to US destinations across some very limited dates in December and maybe January. If I was going to take advantage of this offer, I’d look for a route that flies the new club suite on the A350 to Toronto or select 777 flights to New York.
  • Package deals: I’m pretty sure we are likely to see a discount code off flight & hotel deals, last year’s was £100 off bookings over £2,500. Even if you just want a flight, try adding on a hotel for just one night, because last year there were special fares that were only available as part of a package. Likewise, you could combine the £100 off with the above offer by adding on a hotel for a night!
  • First Class deals: These were more under the radar and not officially Black Friday, but First Class fares to New York, Washington and Chicago around Black Friday last year were less than £1,800, so check out if there are any great fares in First!

Virgin

Virgin had some good offers last year, so fingers crossed for 2019! Its Black Friday holding page can be found here.

  • Upper class deals: Last year there was a range of destinations on offer, with a focus on the Caribbean from as little as £1,089 per person in Upper Class (their Business Class product). There was good availability on a range of dates. Likewise to BA, I’d be looking for a deal on their new A350 Upper Class to New York.
  • Package deals: Just like BA, last year Virgin offered £150 off Upper Class package bookings. This was valid on both Virgin Atlantic Flight + Hotel and on Virgin Holidays, so check out both websites for the best deal!

Air France & KLM

Last year Air France and KLM both ran reduced Business Class fares from the UK (and other destinations). Air France & FLM don’t run sales very often, so you may get a good deal. I’d say anything long haul under £1,300 in Business is pretty good. There are no Black Friday pages up yet but the Air France offers page is here and the KLM offer page is here.

I’ll personally be looking out for La Premiere (Air France’s First Class product) deals, but I don’t be holding my breath!

Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines have great Business and First Class products and have run Black Friday sales for the past few years running. Last year there were deals in Economy through to Business, but again, nothing in First. Fingers crossed for this year! There is no Black Friday page yet, but their promotions page is here. I’d be looking for long haul Business below £1,500.

Emirates

Finally, last year Emirates ran a Black Friday sale with Business class flights included, but be careful. ‘Sale’ fares started from around £2,300pp, whereas you can book Business right now from London to Dubai for just over £1,900. I will be looking for fares from London or Milan for below £1,400 or Frist Class for around £2,500.

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