Knowing how much you need to save for your trip starts with choosing your destination and the type of holiday you’re after – luxury or budget. It’s also wise to think about when you’re travelling, as prices can soar during peak holiday periods.
Once you’ve worked out where you’re going and for how long, it’s time to start planning.
Here are some tips for saving for a holiday:
Consider your upfront travel costs
These are the costs you’ll most likely need to pay before you go, such as flights, accommodation, travel insurance and visas, passport fees and vaccinations if you’re going overseas.
Set a daily budget
To work out how much you’ll need to take with you, do some research and estimate your costs for every day that you’ll be away, factoring in accommodation, meals, entertainment, tours and shopping.
Set aside emergency funds
Don’t forget to set aside extra funds in case of an emergency.
Set a savings goal
Now you’ve got an idea of how much your trip will cost, it’s time to put a plan in place.
Here are some tips to help you reach your savings goal:
- Create a budget to see how much you can realistically afford to save. If you’re unable to save as much as you need in time, look at how you can cut day-to-day costs with our everyday savings tips, or reassess your travel plans
- Open a savings account so you can regularly deposit your savings (and any extra when you can). If you already have money saved, you might want to think about a Term Deposit – you’ll get a fixed rate of return for the nominated term, so you know exactly what your investment's worth
- You can set up a savings goal using Goal Tracker* in the CommBank app. We’ll break it down into weekly targets and help you set up automatic payments from your everyday account into your goal
- To keep your goal top of mind, try setting a photo of your destination as your phone or computer screensaver, or stick a photo on your fridge.
Want to better understand your spending? Explore Transaction Notifications and Spend Insights to see how much you’re spending, when you’re spending, and where your money is going.
Top tips for saving on holiday costs
- Book early to try to avoid high costs during peak holiday periods, and use flight comparison sites to get the best possible deal. You might also get discounts on tours if you pre-book.
- If booking flights, you may notice the price has gone up since your last visit to the website. A lot of airlines do this to encourage you to buy before the price goes up again. Try deleting your internet cookies and see if the prices fall.
- With a CommBank Gold Awards, Platinum Awards, Diamond Awards or Ultimate credit card or World Debit Mastercard, you, your spouse or partner, and up to 9 dependent children (if they're travelling with you for the entire trip) have international travel insurance included with your card.
- For eligible cards, you’ll need to spend at least $500 in a single transaction on prepaid travel costs (e.g. the cost of their return overseas travel ticket, prepaid accommodation, cruise, travel or tour) by charging the cost for that trip on their eligible card account and activate before leaving Australia to receive any cover.
Customers will also qualify if the $500 worth of prepaid travel costs is redeemed using CommBank Awards points or Travel Booking travel credits (prior to 29 September 2026) or using CommBank Yello points or Travel booking credits (from 29 September 2026). Customers will need to provide a copy of the letter/statement/email confirming the redemption, or a screenshot of the Travel Booking confirmation with the payment method.
If you don’t have an eligible card, or you are travelling within Australia, you can look into buying a policy.
- Keep a close eye on exchange rates in the lead-up to your trip if you want to buy foreign cash or put money on a Travel Money Card. Locking in a good rate when the dollar is strong is a great way to save.
- Get more out of your money when you’re away with our tips on how to access and manage your money overseas.
* Requires a GoalSaver or NetBank Saver in your name only.
