Black Friday holiday deals can actually cost you more - here’s what to look out for

Make sure you're not left out of pocket with a deal that's too good to be true (Photo: Shutterstock)Make sure you're not left out of pocket with a deal that's too good to be true (Photo: Shutterstock)
Make sure you're not left out of pocket with a deal that's too good to be true (Photo: Shutterstock)

When faced with tantalising price cuts and limited time offers, we can sometimes find ourselves signing up for a deal that isn’t quite as promising as it sounds.

Which? Travel has released a report revealing that Black Friday holiday deals might not be all that they’re hyped up to be.

False deals

Which? Travel reported that, during Black Friday 2018, they found that a sample of holidays they researched were no cheaper during Black Friday than they were two weeks later in December.

They recorded promotional holiday prices from British Airways, easyJet, Norwegian Air, Ryanair and Tui.

In 2018, Ryanair advertised a Black Friday deal of 25 per cent off one million seats if you purchased by midnight and travelled between January and April 2019.

“None of the flights we checked were any cheaper if you booked on Black Friday than buying them a fortnight later,” Which? Travel reported of the Ryanair deal.

“Most were just the same price, and two flights - London Stansted to Oslo, and Stansted to Lanzarote - were actually £5 more expensive.”

Guilty airlines

It was a similar story with the easyJet promotion as well, which claimed it could save you £50 on 60,000 short city breaks.

“But eight out of the 21 holidays we look at on Black Friday were cheaper when we checked the prices again two weeks later,” Which? Travel explained.

“We also found that Tui was publicising online discount codes offering £100 or £150 off selected breaks. However, these codes didn’t work with two of the five holidays we looked at.”

It appeared that British Airways fared the best out of the airlines that Which? Travel inspected, with three out of four of their advertised holidays being better value for money on Black Friday. The fourth holiday was the same price.

How to make sure you’re not overpaying

Which? Travel has this advice to make sure you’re not paying more for a false deal:

Do your research, take a look at the prices of flights before Black Friday and then check on November 29 to see if prices have been reducedCompare prices across different sites to make sure you couldn’t be getting a better deal elsewhereRead the small print: Which? Travel says you should keep an eye out for any unusual payment, cancellation or amendment policies

What and when is Black Friday?

Black Friday is the informal name given to the Friday following Thanksgiving Day in America. It’s regarded as the beginning of America’s Christmas shopping season and stores offer highly discounted sales.

While an American tradition, the unofficial holiday has made its way to other parts of the world, including the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Sweden.

Black Friday takes place this year on Friday 29 November 2019.

Black Friday is also connected to Cyber Monday, which sees online retailers offering discounts and promotions for people shopping online. Cyber Monday takes place the Monday after Black Friday, on Monday 2 December.

This article originally appeared on our sister site Edinburgh Evening News