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  • Introduction
  • Welcome to Australia's premier travel club, Est. 2002

    Welcome

    This is your introduction to Australian Escapes Holiday & Travel Club. Read on to discover what we do and how we'll benefit you.

    Our mission:

    Make sure you are so happy with our service, your holiday and the value received that you are willing to give us a 5-star review on Product Review and Google.

    We're in business because of the long term relationships we've built with our members. When you join, we make a contract and commitment with you to ensure your satisfaction with the travel arrangements we make for you.

    Professional

    We put your holidays into our "5-star complete care" program.

    In fact we take as much or more care with your travel planning and bookings as the most professional surgeon would put into ensuring that you are happy with the results they deliver. In the same way, we know how important it is to get everything exactly right.

    FREE TRAVEL CHAT OFFER: Discover the "Travel Club Advantage" of savings, experience and service for free. Book a free consultation today.

    Book a FREE 10-Minute Travel Chat

    Receive genuine holiday value.

    For over 20 years, Australian Escapes has had a clear focus: Getting you the best overall value, and making sure you enjoy the best holiday experiences. We have more than 90,000 happy customers and members and numerous 5-star online reviews.

    You'll use member travel credits called "Getaway Cash" to track the value you are receiving... About Getaway Cash

    Product Review Service Ratings:

    Australian Escapes: 4.2 out of 5 (https://www.productreview.com.au/listings/australian-escapes)
    Flight Centre: 1.5 out of 5 (https://www.productreview.com.au/listings/flight-centre)
    Helloworld Travel: 3.1 out of 5 (https://www.productreview.com.au/listings/helloworld)
    (Ratings as at December 2023)

    World-wide Savings Guarantee

    Saving Guarantee

    Bring us a competitor quote and let us go to work for you.

    We guarantee to beat any competitor accommodation-only quote or travel package price and/or value by a minimum of 15%. Conditions.

    Upload Competitor Quote

    Saving Guarantee

    World-wide savings Guarantee

    We guarantee to beat any competitor accommodation-only quote or travel package price or value by a minimum of 15% ("price-beat") on the following conditions:

    Note: By requesting a price-beat you are under no obligation to place a booking with us or proceed with the final travel package as the case may be. A non-refundable deposit is required in the case of a tour/travel package price-beat (see below).

    Terms & Conditions

    The following terms and conditions apply to travel plans and accommodation quotes requested from and supplied by Travel Directions Pty. Ltd. trading as Global Escapes Travel, Australian Escapes Holiday & Travel Club (Australian Escapes) and Kiwi Escapes (the company) and are subject to change without notice. These conditions are to be read in conjunction with our standard booking conditions and conditions applicable to Australian Escapes Holiday & Travel Club membership as defined in website FAQs.

    1. ACCOMMODATION-ONLY

    There are two main scenarios:

    (1) You request a price-beat on a specific property. Our objective is to provide at least 15% more total value or a price that is 15% lower than a competitor quote supplied to us for the same accommodation property, on the same conditions and with the same inclusions, provided we have access to be able to book the accommodation through our normal supplier channels.

    If we do not have access to member rates that property we will offer an alternative that is of the same or higher standard, as per our hotel rating system and that meets the stated requirements, subject to availability, and subject to the following:

    1. Any price supplied is an estimate only and is subject to our standard booking conditions.
    2. The price beat and inclusion details will be confirmed in a travel plan.

    (2) We propose a property with member pricing: If the "you pay" price we submit is already discounted using GCash travel credits and the lowest available price at the time it was submitted, it does not qualify. Otherwise our objective is to provide at least 15% more total value or a price that is 15% lower than a competitor quote supplied to us for the same accommodation property, on the same conditions and with the same inclusions.

    A price-beat will be deemed successful and this guarantee is therefore met when the applicable objective is achieved.

    2. TRAVEL & TOUR PACKAGES

    Inclusions in travel and tour packages assembled by competitor travel agents, tour companies, wholesalers, online travel promoters will all be different in some way. Packages will typically vary by inclusions, validity, suppliers, component type, standard, terms and conditions, travel date, etc ("package components").

    Our objective in this type of price-beat situation is to assemble a package containing similar and/or higher value package components to that which you present to us. We guarantee to offer at least 15% more total value (through added value) or a price that is 15% lower than the competitor quote ("successful price-beat") subject to the following:

    1. Any package components that are exclusive to specific suppliers to which we do not have access will not be included.
    2. Alternative supplier products of a substantially similar type and standard may be included.
    3. Accommodation may be in a different but similar location.
    4. The price-beat may be based on alternative travel and departure dates.
    5. This guarantee does not apply to flight-only or cruise-only bookings. The booking type must qualify for Getaway Cash travel credits usage (refer to website FAQs).
    6. Added value may include travel services supplied by the company.
    7. Added value may be treated as a price deduction for the purposes of the price-beat.
    8. Any price supplied is an estimate only.
    9. The price beat and inclusion details will be confirmed in a travel plan.

    A price-beat will be deemed successful and this guarantee is therefore met when the above objective is achieved.

    3. GENERAL CONDITIONS

    The price-beat must be requested before you place a booking with any other travel agent, online booking agent or property direct in relation to the subject accommodation or package.

    A price-beat may be requested by providing clear, written evidence of the competitor quote as well as your requirements to an employee of the company who performs a reservations or travel consultant role ("company contact") as follows:

    1. Evidence regarding an accommodation-only price-beat may be supplied by phone or email stating the name of the property and room type, where you saw the price (on what website, in what publication etc.)
    2. Evidence regarding a tour or travel package must be provided to us in the form of a written quotation by the competitor travel agent, sent/forwarded via email to your company contact, or to admin@australianescapes.com.au. Enter your name as the email subject line. Alternatively, upload the quote (PDF or Word doc) via the Competitor Price Beater page. It must be a formal quotation, not an advertisement or website page.
    3. Your exact booking requirements including travel/booking date range(s), number and age of travellers and special requirements if any.
    4. The price-beat request and any subsequent travel plan and/or booking is subject to our standard booking conditions.

    A competitor quote presented under this guarantee must be genuine (not contrived) and must be a final, fixed price, backed by verifiable evidence. A competitor quote that we determine is not genuine or final is excluded. The requested date range(s) for travel/tour commencement as well as for individual package components must be realistic and flexible.

    5. TRAVEL/TOUR PACKAGE DEPOSIT GUARANTEE

    This condition applies to travel/tour packages only. We require up to $900 deposit per person (amount depending on package complexity) as a guarantee that you will proceed with the travel plan after we are successful with the price/value beat. This requirement exists because of the amount of travel consultant time required to price according to a competitor quote.

    1. The deposit amount will be deducted from the price if you proceed.
    2. The deposit amount will be refunded in the event that the proposed travel dates are not within the requested date range(s).
    3. Subject to 5.2, if you do not proceed, the deposit amount will be forfeited.

    5. MEMBERSHIP TO BE CURRENT

    Your Australian Escapes Holiday & Travel Club membership must be Gold level or above and active and paid up at the time of requesting the price beat.

    Professional services + Industry-wholesale pricing = Exceptional total value.

    Avoid DIY mistakes when you try to do everything yourself online. Instead, take advantage of our top professional services as well as industry-wholesale pricing.

    If you book with Trip-a-Deal, Holiday Max, Discover Australia, Flight Centre, Helloworld, MTA or any other travel agency and you pay "full retail".

    The overall advantage to you is of being a member is you pay an average of 25% less than full retail; potentially as much as 40% less. We back this up with our 15% World-wide Savings Guarantee as our assurance of value.

    First time Traveler Guarantee

    First Time Traveller

    If you are a new member and first-time traveler, we go a step further and guarantee at least double your membership investment in genuine, provable savings off your first travel booking.

    We're 100% flexible: Standard package or customized

    At least 90% of all trips we book for members that start as a standard package are customized in some way. About 50% of all trips are fully customized.

    Four ways

    There are 4 ways we can be of service to you...

    You can start with an existing package then tell us what you would like to add or change. You can outline a special, custom trip you have in mind and we'll plan it and price it for you using member benefits. Plus there are two other ways we can help. We're 100% flexible.

    Read the 4 ways we can benefit you for more about this...

    Service advantages.

    The advantages of being a member are numerous. The best way to find out what we can do for you is to talk to us about a trip you have in mind. There is absolutely no obligation.

    Example advantage: Apart from significant savings and value, we deliver exceptional service. Every member who booked travel with us in 2019 to January 2020 who also arranged our recommended travel insurance received a full refund and/or supplier credits for future travel. We handled all the preparation for their insurance claims and made the process very easy. Many non-members who booked their own overseas travel in that time lost most of their money or could not handle the process of dealing with suppliers and insurers and gave up.

    If and when something goes wrong such as a flight gets cancelled by the airline, booked accommodation is not available when you arrive or you have a travel insurance claim you can count on us to sort it out for you.

    3 months' free trial membership:

    When you submit a booking enquiry we'll automatically register you for a 3-month trial account. Or you can register any time. You are under no obligation to remain a member after the trial, although almost 85% do. Your investment to remain a member is from just $11 to $19 per month.

    Travel expertise, personalised service and genuine value.

    We individually research and tailor the best-value holiday and travel packages for you. The advantage to you is that you receive exceptional value as well as personalised service to help you enjoy the best holiday and travel experiences possible. The real value to you is that you also pay the lowest prices.

    Travel club members

    The largest member discounts (GCash usage) are achieved on domestic and overseas travel with members often saving many thousands of dollars on a single trip. You can also potentially save hundreds of dollars off domestic accommodation packages of 3 nights or more.

    Learn how everything works...

    Getaway Cash (GCash) travel credits are our "discount currency". They are used to get you industry-wholesale pricing. Free Flights Vouchers are used on special promotional packages and most custom travel plans to discount flights. It is extremely rare that any retail travel seller can beat our prices. Feel free to challenge us with a competitor quote.

    To get a full understanding of how everything works please visit... Frequently Asked Questions

    Who are our members?

    Travel planning

    The majority of our members are aged from 50 years because we make up the largest percentage of today's regular travellers. Our members are generally internet-savvy and they want the best value possible. Those who use our services know we deliver that in spades. They also value expert advice and we offer that as well.

    How to arrange pricing for a holiday...

    Either call us on 1800 669 579 or submit a booking enquiry online. We immediately assign your enquiry to the correct person for you.

    Online Booking Enquiry

    A reservations or travel consultant will contact you as quickly as possible to discuss your requirements. After that we will come back to you with best-value recommendations using your membership.

    Where can I see a list of deals and travel packages?

    Use the Holiday Finder to view example packages.

    We show example package "templates". They are a great starting point. Enquire about those or simply tell us where you would like to travel to and we'll put together the best-value travel plan for you.

    IMPORTANT: Everything you see is an example only. We source holidays and design travel plans to suit your wants and needs.

    Use our expertise for professional travel planning.

    If you're planning a holiday that involves multiple components or destinations you will quickly discover that the self-serve, online environment will only give you headaches and will waste a lot of your time. Further, you will usually end up paying too much. We deal with travel all day, every day and we know how to ensure that you pay the lowest possible price and have a hassle-free holiday.

    Can a family member use my membership?

    Yes they can. He or she should submit a booking enquiry via the website and enter your membership number. In the message section they should simply state that they are using your membership with your permission. However, it is just as easy for them to register on a Travel Club Trial initially.

    Head over to the FAQ's for answer to a lot more questions.

    Some of our suppliers

    You get the best available travel experiences because we use the world's best travel suppliers. Here are just a few...

    Qantas
    Four Seasons
    Carnival Cruises
    Trafalgar
    Singapore Airlines
    Hilton Hotels
    APT Cruises
    Viking Cruises
    Virgin Airlines
    Centara Resorts
    Air Asia
    Marriott Hotels
    Jetstar
    Marriott Hotels
    Emirates
    MSC Cruises
    Radisson Hotels
    Scenic Tours