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Thankyou for your loyalty during 2024. We look forward to getting you away on some wonderful holidays in 2025. We reopen on Monday December 30, 2024 and close for new year's day only. Merry Christmas and a very happy new year from the team at Australian Escapes.
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All packages are "travel templates" to use as a great starting point...
We specialise in discounted custom travel plans and holiday packages...
Save up to 40% off Australian and overseas travel... Join free today
If you have any additional questions please use the Contact Us link below or simply phone 1800 669 579.
As a member of Australian Escapes Holiday & Travel Club and Global Escapes Travel, you...
See "What types of travel qualify?" below.
Please take the time to read these FAQ's carefully as they explain your entitlements and define the terms & conditions of your Australian Escapes Holiday & Travel club membership. By joining you agree to be bound by these terms and conditions as they relate to the membership and use of company services.
To take advantage of your memberhip: Enquire about promoted packages or simply tell us where you would like to travel to. We'll put together a travel plan for you that will maximize your value for money and your holiday experience.
When we go to work for you, you will receive a range of travel consulting and agency services. Those services will save you time and inconvenience, and ensure that you have trouble-free, stress-free holidays. Our time and professional services are not free. All services involve considerable staff time and therefore have significant value. Traditional travel agents do not charge a membership, they charge large service fees.
The Australian Escapes membership system enables us to provide exceptional overall value to all members. We do charge service fees as part of each travel plan or package, but they are much lower than traditional agents. Getaway Cash travel credits (see "What is Getaway Cash?" below) measure savings value and also cover the majority of our services and time commitment.
Our time commitment starts when we first call you to discuss a trip you have in mind. We then take time to carefully custom-plan and price every aspect of your trip, and submit your travel plan. On average, that process takes at least a day, sometimes several days, with no guarantee that you will proceed.
When you agree to proceed, we place all bookings for you and deal with the confirmation process and financial administration involved to ensure that everything is booked and paid before you leave.
We process documentation into a usable form and provide that to you along with a day-to-day itinerary. Then if/when there are issues or changes to any aspect of your trip, which are very common, we deal with those as well on your behalf. Our obligation does not end until you return from your trip, delighted with how smoothly everything went and how much you enjoyed your holiday.
Check out our featured packages list. You can also run a search here or from the main menu. Our focus is on finding you the best possible value. That could be from a promoted package, or from a customised travel package based on one of those templates, or we can start from scratch.
It is not financially viable for us to maintain a large list of accommodation options like Booking.com. Instead, you tell us where you want to travel to and we do the research with our suppliers to find you the best deal, using Getaway Cash travel credits towards the price.
We use it to keep track of the value of financial benefits you receive as a member.
Your travel credits are applied towards the full retail value of your Australian or overseas holiday. They reduce the price you pay from full retail down to travel industry wholesale. Plus, they pay for the professional travel services you receive as a member. Normally, if you booked through a traditional travel agency you would pay a 20 to 40% premium for those services.
When you join you receive $750 or more in Getaway Cash (GCash) travel credits. The amount of travel credits in your account represents the maximum amount of discounts you can receive as a member. So when you make a booking or proceed with a travel plan, we apply some of those credits to the package price and you pay the difference.
Example travel package:
Full retail value (includes professional agency services): $3,900
Less Getaway Cash travel credits: $975
Amount you pay (industry wholesale): $2,925
Maximum GCash usage: Up to 40% of full retail value. The average is around 25%.
"Full retail value" (aka. "normal retail price") is the price of either (a) a competing travel quote or (b) what we estimate you would pay for your customised travel plan through another travel company offering similar inclusions and services, or (c) the non-member price of a pre-packaged itinerary. The amount of Getaway Cash that can be used is entirely at our discretion. Standard price and full retail value comparisons are with similar packages offered elsewhere or what we estimate would be payable by a non-member for the same or similar package and may include a value we define for specialty travel agency services.
You can use your GCash travel credits towards the following types of bookings:
The following booking types do not qualify:
* It is important to understand that we have access to member rates at hundreds of properties in Australia and thousands world-wide. But we do not have access to member rates at every property. See "Can I find a resort/hotel and you will discount it with GCash" below.
There is always an amount that you will be required to pay from your own money. Getaway Cash is a discount credits system for part payment of bookings up to the limit set by us.
Getaway Cash generally cannot be used for a flight-only booking discount. The flights must be part of a package that includes at least 3 nights' accommodation. However, for international travel if you supply us with your best flight-only quote in an email, we will investigate to see if there are alternatives that could save you money.
We have access to member rates with thousands of hotels and resorts in Australia and world-wide, but not every property.
We guarantee a minimum of 15% off the lowest advertised rate offered elsewhere for accommodation that we can access and book through our normal supplier channels. There are many websites that advertise hotel and resort accommodation that we do not monitor, so please let us know if you see a lower rate. We also provide a 15% price-beat guarantee in relation to tour and travel packages. Read more about this.
If we cannot find a suitable alternative at a lower price, we will price-beat. However, there is more to what we offer than just the lowest prices. We have access to accommodation and other travel products that you might not have heard of, and ways of doing things non-travel-consultants would usually never consider. These ideas can save you significant amounts of money.
Log in to your account to see the amount of Value Guarantee credits and Bonus credits that you have available.
Our guarantee of value is that we will save you at least three times your membership investment in savings and service values measured as travel credits used. This is called the "Value Guarantee Level" of travel credits usage. The rest of your GCash credits above the Value Guarantee Level are called "Bonus credits".
If you don't use the membership or you don't use at least the Value Guarantee Level of credits during your membership then we will renew your membership, and roll-over 100% of your credits balance, for up to another 2 years for free. If your membership was a free conversion to a GCash Membership then no Value Guarantee applies. After 2 years, your bonus GCash credits are only retained if you choose a paid renewal option.
If your membership includes Australian Escapes Free Flights vouchers you will see details on your membership account page. Log in for details. Free Flights Vouchers are valid for use on advertised Australian Escapes travel packages and approved general travel that includes at least 5 nights' accommodation. They cannot be used on flight-only bookings. If you have been issued with Free Flights Vouchers we will endeavour to use them towards your travel pricing. More information...
Free Flights Vouchers are valid for use during the current membership period only. Currently we are not mailing printed vouchers. Instead we record the issued vouchers on your membership record.
We're confident about the value you will receive and back that up with our 15% World-wide Savings Guarantee. If you are a new member and first-time traveler, we take that a step further and guarantee at least double your membership investment in genuine, provable savings off your first international trip.
We professionally organise travel for members both within Australia and overseas and guarantee exceptional value. You can take advantage of a customisable travel package offered on the website. These are already offered at travel industry wholesale prices, or we can custom-tailor a travel plan to suit exactly what you want and give you the benefit of the lowest member pricing.
Trip-a-Deal, HolidayMax, Discover Australia, Flight Centre, Escape Travel, Helloworld, MTA, Travel Counselors, Travel Managers and other traditional travel agents have massive overheads. Who do you think pays for all that? We don't operate retail outlets or freelance travel agents on big commission arrangements. Instead we operate from low-cost facilities to provide you with great service and the best travel experiences at the lowest possible prices. We are travel club and because of membership support we can focus on maximizing your travel savings not our service fees.
Got a travel quote from one of these companies? Upload it here and let us see if we can beat it for you. 90-day Free Trial membership registration is included for non-members. If you are already a member, please access the quote upload section after you log in.
From 1 January 2023, only the member (you) and your immediate family can use your membership. He or she can submit a booking enquiry via the website as normal and enter your membership number. In the message section they should simply state that they are using your membership with your permission. It can be just as easy for them to register as a free trial member initially.
You can transfer your membership at any time. Log in to the member area and simply change the details there. You will then receive a verification email. Follow the instructions to confirm the change.
Your Getaway Cash account is available to you for the duration of your membership and any renewal period.
Generally a membership renewal team member will do their best to contact you prior to the due date. However we cannot always get in touch so do call us prior to the due date to discuss renewal options including any special offers going at the time. IMPORTANT: To retain your Bonus GCash travel credits it is essential that you renew within 180 days (6 months' grace period) of the current expiry date. About Bonus credits.
If you have an active trial membership you will receive a free, one-time, 12-month, Silver level membership when you book travel, plus enough Getaway Cash travel credits to get the maximum discount for your trip.
If you have a full membership that is expired at the time of making a booking enquiry, renewal is required before your enquiry will be handled.
There are two main issues that have prevented us producing new catalogues: Firstly, catalogues are very expensive to produce and secondly, owing to dynamic flight and accommodation prices, the package prices go out of date too quickly. We are considering a catalogue edition that contains just the most heavily discounted resort deals.
Formation of Terms & Conditions
These Frequently Asked Questions describe and form the terms and conditions of membership with Travel Directions Pty. Ltd. ("the company") trading as Australian Escapes Holiday & Travel Club. Upon joining or renewing as a member you agree to be bound by these terms and conditions and any reasonable amendments. Terms and conditions of Getaway Cash travel credits usage are more specifically described on this page. If there is any conflict between these conditions and anything published elsewhere including but not limited to websites, advertising and promotional materials, or statements made by employees of the company, or a condition is open to multiple interpretations or is unclear, a final interpretation of the applicable condition or substitution of a new condition will be made by the director of the company.
Service Level & Reviews
We endeavour to provide efficient, professional service through timely communication and delivering as closely as possible, the service level you expect. Occasional mistakes and delays do occur and circumstances such as high demand periods might cause delays in communication, however we do everything possible to rectify mistakes when they occur and to meet or exceed expectations. If you experience a significant deficiency in our service you agree as a member to attempt to resolve the matter directly with the company by submitting your complaint to the email address below. You agree that you will not to post disparaging remarks including without limitation, comments or statements, on any website including any social media site or via email about the company, its staff or services, where any part of such review is untrue, unfair, is in conflict with agreed terms, or relates in any way to a supplier's service or product deficiency. You indemnify the company against all losses from such actions by yourself and/or by any other person or persons acting on your behalf, in relation to your dealings with the company, with or without your consent.
Email address: admin@australianescapes.com.au
Attention: Company director
