| Hi, it's Sarah Rappaport, your Pursuits correspondent in London. In February 2020, I flew direct from London to Los Angeles via Air New Zealand. I sipped crisp New Zealand wines and watched almost the entirety of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. The whole time during the 11-hour journey, I felt extremely smug that I was only spending £250 ($300), including baggage, for the seat. No random airports; no multiple connections. No points hacks. How? I set an alarm to book during the airline's Black Friday sale and was both speedy and lucky. Sadly, there's no guarantee the airline will have a Black Friday sale that good again, so my delightfully cheap (and pleasant!) flight may not be so easy for me to repeat.  The new Georgian hotel in Santa Monica, if you're looking for places to stay in the Los Angeles area Over the past few weeks, I've been reporting about other ways to save money so you have a budget for those £1,100 hotel rooms or £760 steaks. Here are my big takeaways, beyond being flexible with your travel dates, which isn't always feasible: - The old "book flights on Tuesdays to save money" tip hasn't been true for a while now.
- Clearing your browser cache won't make cheaper fares magically appear.
- You should, however, set up price alerts on Google Flights or check out Hopper's travel app to find the cheapest time to fly.
Unlike flying, booking a hotel room last minute can actually be less expensive. My editor in Dubai this week spoke with managers at one luxury hotel who said they were holding the line on New Year's prices until the first week of December, when they might dip. With many new hotel rooms starting at $1,000 or more, every little bit helps. I've written about the best new hotels in London under $500 if you're looking for some inspiration.  The Raffles Suite at the newly-opened Raffles London Hotel Can you still snag a better room? We've written about seven ways to get a free room upgrade, such as using luxury travel advisers. And apologies to my telephone-averse millennials and Gen Zs friends reading this, but calling and asking the front desk before your trip can work. Most of all, it's important to be polite. Hotel staff work incredibly hard and staffing levels are still below pandemic levels, according to analysis from Skift. Staff members are doing their best to make sure you have the best stay possible, so be kind. We at Pursuits also, of course, have moneysaving ideas from people whose budgets are a bit more flexible than ours. Our Distinguished Travel Hackers are posh road warriors who bring us their secret their high-end hacks, tips and off-the-wall experiences. Here are some of our favorites: Christine Chiu: "Avoid visiting a city during Fashion Week unless you're absolutely attending. That is when the entire world congregates in one place, in one tiny space, and so everything is going to require reservations, and hotel prices will be double, triple. So, if you're not physically attending a fashion show, you're best to avoid Fashion Weeks altogether, and travel before or after."
 Actor Henry Golding has tips about Bali. Photographer: Rachel Murray/Getty Images North America Henry Golding: "The Luxe Nomad is one of my favorite companies that I use to book villas all around Southeast Asia and that part of the world, especially Bali. Because for the same price as putting yourself up in, say, the Hilton, you can get a private villa, your own pool, chef, driver, all built into the price of the villas. You have your own 12-foot walls all the way around, so absolute privacy, at the same price you would be paying at, say, the Hilton or Bulgari hotel."
Tara Bernerd "I travel to LA so frequently that I've become a member of PS. [Annual dues start at $1,250 per person and $850 per visit.] These concierge services mean you bypass the main airport terminal [and get access to a private terminal instead]—that in itself is a game changer, so you have every sense of traveling privately. Your luggage is taken off you. Just shortly before they're about to board everyone else, you are taken through your own security check, put in whatever smart car and driven to the plane. You walk up the steps to the air bridge and go plonk yourself in your seats. I was on a flight with Swiss, in business class, and I had a friend on the plane in first class. When we landed in LA, I went to the PS and he didn't. I was at my hotel having dinner while he was WhatsApping me from the line for passport control."
Have a great trip, and let me know if any of these tips for flights or hotels worked for you! Connect with Sarah on Instagram or X. It's almost ski season. Here's what you need to know, from huge upgrades in the US and Japan, to the best cold-weather bags for your gear. | 
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