With these tips, you will save some money on your next trip
Most online travel portals such as MakeMyTrip, Cleartrip, Booking.com, Goibibo, etc., offer discounts on bookings made using certain bank credit cards on specific days.
Book directly
If you are looking for deals at leading hotel chains such as the Taj, Marriott and Hilton etc., then it is best to book directly on the hotel website. Some of these hotels offer deals during the festive season and also run round-the-year offers on direct bookings. However, such offers may also be limited to select properties.
Several large hotel chains with properties spread across the country may offer a wide range of room tariffs. If there is any scope for flexibility in terms of dates and destination, you could get rooms at lower tariffs than what one would normally expect for a five-star service experience.
Make use of membership & loyalty programmes
If you have signed up for a membership or any loyalty programmes from different chains of hotels, then you can use accumulated loyalty or reward points with every booking. These points can also be used to pay for future bookings. Make sure that you read the terms and conditions for such loyalty programmes. For example, certain properties (or brands) of a hotel chain may not offer any loyalty points, and in such a scenario, bookings at such properties will not give you any points. Moreover, take note of blackout dates such as festivals and peak season on which no offers and promotions apply as these are high-demand days for hotels.
Check online travel portals for deals
You can also check offers by online travel agencies (OTAs). Such offers also span over a period, for instance in the course of three years, if you book 10 nights of stay at different hotels through an online agency, you may get to avail one night of free stay on your next booking.
Avail credit card discounts
At the time of booking one can use a credit card to avail discounts on hotel bookings. Most online travel portals such as MakeMyTrip, Cleartrip, Booking.com, Goibibo, etc., offer discounts on bookings made using certain bank credit cards on specific days.
If you use Axis Bank credit and debit card, you can avail a flat 15 per cent (up to Rs5,000) off on hotel bookings made via Goibibo on Wednesdays. An ICICI Bank credit card holder can avail a flat 14 per cent discount (up to Rs5,000) on hotel bookings made via MakeMyTrip every week from Monday to Wednesday. Goibibo and MakeMyTrip have offers until 29 March, according to their website.
Great information. Worth it !!