How To Budget At The Airport

Last Updated on: 27th January 2024, 09:58 am

How To Budget At The Airport Before An Early Flight

The benefit of booking an early flight is that you do not need to book a hotel to stay in. You can arrive at the airport on the last train, or drive up there late at night. We usually get the last train and arrive at the airport about 15 minutes past midnight. But you can also get a coach all through the night from central London. Here are some tips to help you budget at the airport when you take your next flight.

When we get to the airport, we find a place on the floor to get comfortable and place a blanket or a wide scarf on the floor. Tilly then lays down to have a nap and covers herself with a blanket. This is completely safe to do as long as you look after your bags as you sleep. This saves a lot of money by not buying a hotel room for the night. There are always lots of people around and there is security walking around all night. Do not find somewhere out of the way where you will be alone. Make sure you stay surrounded by lots of people.

Take Your Own Water Bottles

We take our own drink bottles to the airport and empty them before security. Then when you have been through security, you can use a water point to fill your bottle. If you buy a bottle of water or a fizzy drink before you go through security, keep that bottle to refill later.

If you choose to use a lounge, you can usually fill your drink bottle up in there. I always ask out of courtesy. I usually take an empty Pepsi Max 1.25l bottle through security, then fill it up on the other side. There is usually a Burger King at the airport. The refilled drinks are about £4.00 at Burger King, you get given a cup and you just keep refilling it. So I fill my bottle up there with a fizzy drink. It is cheaper to do this than pay £3 for a small fizzy drink from an airport shop.

Use Lounge Vouchers To Save Money And Budget At The Airport

I usually only use the lounge when I am travelling without Tilly. This is purely down to cost because it gets expensive when you have to pay for the family too. When I go with friends, there is only me to pay for out of my pocket. But I have a Dragon Pass to use at airport lounges worldwide. You get the lounge for about half price.

When you choose to have breakfast and a drink at the airport, it can set you back £25. Getting a Dragon Pass, you can get a lounge for £24. You can eat and drink as much as you like, and alcoholic drinks are also included. Some lounges have showers and places to plug your phone in too. Then we fill up our drinks bottles and grab some food for a packed lunch later.

You can also get free lounge visits sometimes when you book a holiday, or you can get cheap visits through Groupon or Wowcher. If you have certain bank accounts or credit cards, you also get free lounge access at the airport.

Duty Free Shopping Isn’t Always Cheaper At The Airport

If you are planning on buying any fragrance from the airport, always check the prices before you arrive at the duty-free shop. Sometimes you can get fragrances from a drug store or even TkMaxx for cheaper than what you pay at the airport. Check out your local Superdrug, Boots or even The Perfume Shop and see how much the perfume is that you want to buy. If the fragrance is cheaper in the local shops buy it there. You will also collect your loyalty points when you shop in these shops too.

Even shopping on the plane is often cheaper than shopping at the airport. You usually get to view the onboard shopping magazine before you get on the plane. On the plane, they also offer bundles of fragrance. You can buy twin packs of fragrance that you can share between 2 of you to save some money.

Other Airport Tips On How To Budget At The Airport

One tip that I always share at the airport is to get an airport shopping bag, especially if you are over on your hand luggage. Every airline lets you take on an airline shopping bag per person. So if you are over, pop some bits in this bag and hide it all with your shopping on the top. Buying a meal deal at the airport from Boots, means you save money on food on the plane. But it also means you get an airport bag to shove your shopping in.

Don’t even try to sneak an extra bag onto the plane. Budget airlines will be out for everything they can get. So if you take a large bag or a second bag to the gate you will end up paying around £60. To get around this, fill your coat pockets with as much as you can. Layer up and wear two lots of clothes if you have to. When you get on the plane, you can take the extra layers off.