I generally avoid travelling during popular holidays. During these times, flights are more costly and also more limited. I’m retired so I have the luxury of picking and choosing which periods of time to travel abroad.

More recently, I have become aware of the downside of booking flights and hotels with third-party, online vendors with a credit or debit card. Without getting specific with names and circumstances, I will make the general statement that consumers leave themselves open to unauthorised charges at the time of purchase and later, misrepresentation of services offered, and loss of/diminished privacy and security when using digital means of purchases such as with a credit or debit card. This also applies to car rentals.

Therefore, in summary, I prefer to deal with hotels, car rental companies, and airline ticket offices directly and pay cash in person. I get instant confirmation, a receipt for payment, and avoid the shenanigans inherent with digital purchases.