I absolutely love to travel, and have been lucky enough to travel to some incredible places recently including Rome, Dubrovnik, Bali, Switzerland, Australia and even an African safari. This means I’ve got all the best ways to save money at the airport and I’m excited to share them with you. 

There are lots of small ways to save money at the airport but they really can add up. With almost everything being seriously overpriced at the airport even something as simple as taking your own water bottle can add up to tens of pounds every single year. 

I’m a firm believer that the small savings add up and I don’t want to pay full price for anything. Being organised is half the battle when it comes to saving money and I hope you can come back to these tips before you travel and get yourself some nice savings! 

Whether I’m finding new ways to save money at the airport or save on daily purchases, I love to share my top tips, tricks and strategies to help you save money too. Join my Chloe’s Deal Club newsletter so I can send you a weekly newsletter packed full of the best deals, tips and tricks to save money and freebies too. 

How to save money at the airport

Use click & collect at Boots

If you’re only travelling with hand luggage, or just want to save space in your hold luggage, you can use the click & collect service at Boots to order full-size toiletries and baby essentials too. 

This is fantastic for ordering suntan lotion, full-size toiletries, snacks, drinks, ready-to-use formula milk, or even just to save money at the airport on those often vastly inflated prices. Just check that your airline will allow you to board with a shopping bag, though most will. 

You can only use click & collect as a pre-order service, and you’ll want to place your order at least five days before your flight. When I’ve used this service I always set my collection date three days before my flight, that way my order is there waiting when I want to collect it. 

Note: make sure you select the airport shop located after security when you checkout, as some airports have two shops. 

Combine airport parking with security fast track

When travelling from selected airports you can receive free Fast Track security passes. When booking multi-storey parking recently at Edinburgh we received these passes, which was a nice way to save money at the airport because we would have been buying Fast Track anyway (if you’ve ever been in that Edinburgh airport security queue, you’ll know how worth it Fast Track is!)

The queue time was around 30 minutes when we arrived, but it took just a couple of minutes for us to get through with our fast track passes, which meant we could get to our discounted airport lounge quicker (blog post on that coming soon!).

These Fast Track security passes help you speed through security by bypassing the queues and can help you get to the front of the line quickly.

As we weren’t checking hold luggage on this trip we were able to park on the second level of the multi-storey car park and walk over a bridge to get to security in just a few minutes which was another great time saver. It’s worth checking if your local airport has a similar set up.

My flights are almost always delayed though (IYKYK!) so I’m not sure why I ever rush!

Book parking at least one day in advance 

I know some of us are travelling at short notice, but, one of the best ways to save money at the airport is to book your airport parking in advance. Even booking just one day before you travel, if you’re booking a last minute trip, you can still make considerable savings.

I compared some prices for a 7-day parking stay at Edinburgh, with at least 1 days notice to book, to show you that this is a great way to save money at the airport. On the day parking would be £220.

Booking in advance:

• Multi-storey parking: £119.99 (1-minute walk) 
• FastPark electric parking: £109.99 (1-minute walk) 
• Terminal parking: £99.99 (2-minute walk) 
• Mid-stay parking: £99.99 (4-minute walk)
• FastPark: £79.99 (1-minute walk) 
• Long stay parking: £69.99 (12-minute walk) 

As you can see booking in advance, even by just 1 day, can help you save money at the airport. If you’re willing, and able, to walk a short distance then you can make considerable savings with the further away options.

A lot of airports have a free shuttle service too that’ll take you from the airport car park to the terminal. Though not at Edinburgh airport, sadly! 

Pick up discounted food using TooGoodToGo

TooGoodToGo is an app that helps local shops, cafes, supermarkets and restaurants to sell their surplus food and drink to help cut food waste. 

The app is free to download and once you’ve done so you’ll have access to purchase “magic bags” from retailers – bags filled with food and drink that is being sold at a discounted price.

There are a ton of great retailers at the airport that take advantage of the TooGoodToGo app meaning you can pick up an absolute bargain – if you don’t mind gambling on what the contents of your bag will be, but that’s all part of the fun!

You’ll find both airside and landside shops on TooGoodToGo, making this a great way to save money at the airport – especially if you’re also sleeping near the airport the night before your flight too and can pick up dinner or late-night snacks.  

There are a wide variety of companies listed including Marks & Spencer, Costa, Starbucks, Harris + Hoole, Tortilla, Krispy Kreme and many more, though the exact shops you’ll find available to purchase from will vary based on the airport you’re at as well as the time of day you’re travelling.

The most common collection time to pick up magic bags seems to be evenings, from 7pm – 10pm, which is ideal if you’re going on a night flight or just sleeping nearby the night before an early flight. 

Look out for airport hotels too which may have buffet breakfast magic bags that you can collect towards the end of their buffet breakfast serving times. One of the best TooGoodToGo bags I had was from a hotel where we were given a box to fill up from the buffet breakfast – considering some hotel breakfasts can be £20, it was great value!

Take a water bottle

It blows my mind whenever I see people buying water at the airport… so please promise me you’ll stop buying it!

Instead, you can take an empty water bottle and then fill it up once you’ve passed the security checkpoint. You’ll find multiple water fountains at the airport and I’ve never had an issue finding one.

You can also use the Refill app to find shops that’ll be happy to refill your water bottle for free. They have more than 300,000 locations listed globally and you’ll find well known brands on there such as Costa, Starbucks, Pret, LEON, Bills, Fullers, and many more. 

Pack snacks for the plane

We’ve all seen the posts on social media, right? People taking an entire cheeseboard on a plane, or those who have packed a huge box full to the brim with a vast array of tasty snacks. It seems like not many people realise this, judging from the comments on those posts, but you really can take your own snacks through security to eat on the plane – most of the time anyway! 

Personally I like to stick to easy to eat snacks, such as individually wrapped treats like crisps, protein bars, dried fruit snacks and a nice sandwich. You can buy a meal deal airside, but these tend to be overpriced at the airport so you can save money at the airport by bringing your own food from home.

Check the rules of the airline you’re flying with just to make sure you don’t fall foul of any rules, however, worst case scenario you could always eat your snacks before you board the plane. 

Pack hand luggage only 

I love to travel with my trusty travel backpack. Not only does this save money at the airport, not paying for hold luggage, but I know that I’ve got my belongings to hand and don’t have to worry about them going missing when I arrive at my holiday destination. I actually managed to fit in 5 days of clothes for Rome on an easyJet flight last year!

When I’m travelling light I love to use packing cubes because they really do work, and pack toiletries such as shampoo and conditioner bars as they just take up so much less space. I love to take free perfume samples to save space and weight too – I often share these perfume samples in my weekly newsletter which is free to join.

I’ve actually added all of my favourite packing items to this handy packing essentials list so you can see them all in one place.

I’ve also been known to sneak a small second bag onto the plane under my coat, and hope I don’t get caught! This usually holds my Kindle, Airpods and liquids so I can have those close by for the plane. 

Look out for family lanes

This is going to vary depending on the airport you’re using, but be on the look out for family lanes. 

These family lanes are marked with a picture of a pram or a family with a young child, but can often be used when travelling with children up to 12 years of age. 

Also, if you’re travelling with a child under 2 you can often use premium or priority check-in lanes with specific airlines, do check with staff first before joining the queue to avoid any disappointment. Don’t ask, don’t get, right? 

Look out for these family lanes in both security and passport control areas as they can save you a considerable amount of queuing time which is ideal if you’re travelling with young children, or need a little more space if you’re using a pram. 

Consider booking an airport lounge

If you like being organised then you may want to arrive at the airport hours before your flight, just to avoid any public transport or motorway delays. Booking an airport lounge can be a great way to save money at the airport as once you’re in the lounge all of the food and drink is included. 

While some airport lounges are reserved for those passengers travelling business class or first class, some airport lounges can be booked for a fee and are open to all, though advance booking is a good idea.

Airport lounges often have pretty good facilities, such as unlimited free food and drink, including hot food, wine, beers and coffee, plus access to showers, TVs, newspapers, work spaces and unlimited Wi-Fi. 

If you hold elite frequent flyer status with an airline you can typically gain access to airport lounges for free. 

Amex Gold credit cards come with lounge access, Capital On Tap business credit card (Pro tier) and premium bank account customers of NatWest and Barclays can also receive free lounge access. 

You can join the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, for free, and get yourself a discount on entry to No1 Lounges which you’ll find in Heathrow Terminal 3, Gatwick, Luton, and Birmingham.

With the average cost of a meal and drink at the airport nearing £20, and the average lounge costing just a little more than this, at around £30 on average, you could actually save money at the airport by booking an airport lounge – especially if you’re someone who likes to arrive at the airport hours before you fly to avoid any last minute panic. 

If you’re going to book an airport lounge make sure to check Quidco or TopCashback to see if you can earn yourself a small % back in cashback. I love earning cashback on day-to-day purchases and it feels even more special when I’m earning it while travelling and taking time out to spend with my family. 

Another way to get a small discount on an airport lounge is to see if the particular lounge you want to book has a newsletter. No 1 Lounges will provide you with a 10% off discount just for signing up to their newsletter.

Exchange your travel money before you hit the airport

When changing up travel money try to do it before you hit the airport. Travel money exchange rates are often worse at the airport, as they know you’re limited in choices and will likely change your money up regardless of the rates. You can save money at the airport by skipping this and exchanging your cash in a local bureau de change before you travel. 

If you don’t want to carry cash, then consider using a Chase debit card. Not only can you earn 1% cashback on most UK and overseas spending, earning you a maximum of £15 back per month, but they also offer a near perfect exchange rate, making this one of the best value debit cards to use while abroad. Honestly, I’ve not taken cash when travelling for years as I feel like I’m just losing money with the exchange so always use a card with no fees.

Credit cards such as Barclaycard Rewards and First Direct typically offer fee-free ATM withdrawals while abroad, though look out for local fees when using ATMs. Always make sure to pay your credit card balance back in full to avoid any interest or fees being added. 

Check duty-free prices before making a purchase

This may seem like a bit of an obvious way to save money at the airport, but I’m going to include it anyway just in case it helps you. A little reminder never hurts does it! 

In the past I’ve seen people assume that buying duty-free is a great way to save money at the airport. However, one thing I’ve learned is to have a quick search on Google – just to make sure that I’m getting the best price.

Often you can find the best deals at Boots, and earn yourself Advantage Card points too. You could even book a click-and-collect order for when you’re home from your travels too.

I love to save money at the airport, and pick up a bargain while on my travels, but if you’re travelling with just a cabin bag you may want to avoid the lure of duty-free shopping anyway, as it’s just another item to have to cram into your carry on! 

I’ve seen some fantastic bargains in duty-free over the years, and love to stock up on some of my favourite skincare or makeup products, but it isn’t always the cheapest way to shop now, especially thanks to cashback apps, cashback gift cards, discount codes and the great deals and special offers I often find, and share with you via my newsletter.

Club Avolta app

If you love to shop at Duty Free or grab a quick meal at the airport before your flight, then it’s worthwhile registering for a Club Avolta account (previously called Red by Dufry).

Club Avolta is a global travel and dining rewards program that’s free to use at over 5,000 outlets, so it’s an easy way to save money at the airport.

You’ll start off as a Silver member where you’ll get 5% discount in Duty Free, food and drink, convenience and even boutique shopping like Jo Malone. You need to download the app to check your location (just a heads up that no dining discounts are available at Glasgow airport) so it’s well worth having a look and pre-planning your spending.

When you scan the QR code in your Club Avolta app, you’ll collect points and once you’ve reached a certain number of points, you’ll climb up the membership tiers to Gold (7% discount) then Platinum (10% discount).

It’s worth noting that your points are valid for 1 year from the date they are earned. Every purchase you make automatically extends your status for 12 more months from the date of purchase.

Earn cashback when you pay for purchases with a gift card

When I’m shopping, whether at the airport or elsewhere, I make it my mission to get some sort of discount, deal, or find a special offer to use. I avoid paying full price wherever possible as I love to shop smart and want to maximise the discounts I get – who doesn’t like to make a bit of free money too?

Earning cashback when paying for purchases is one of my favourite easy ways to save money at the airport, though you do have to check which shops accept gift cards before you use this payment method, as some companies won’t allow you to use loyalty cards or gift cards at their airport locations. I do pick up the odd free coffee stamp at Costa though – so that’s nice! 

Companies such as JamDoughnut, Cheddar and everup will reward you with cashback when you purchase a gift card – and this is one of my favourite money saving hacks! You’ll also find them available to purchase via TopCashback or Quidco’s gift card sections too, and best of all you’ll receive instant cashback. If you’re new to cashback. just tap on one of those article links above and I’ll take you through step-by-step how they work.

Earn cashback with Chase

Chase is a cashback debit card that rewards you with 1% cashback on your everyday spending. You use the Chase debit card as you would your own bank debit card and automatically receive 1% cashback.

You can earn cashback on up to £1,500 of spending per month, which would get you £15 for purchases that you would be making anyway – that’s £15 better in your pocket!