Investec Investec Focus Radio SA

Everything Counts | Ep 29: Smart travel planning: how to get the most out of your holiday budget

Loading player...
Planning a dream trip but feeling overwhelmed by flights, hotels and travel budgets?

This episode of Everything Counts is your essential guide to smart travel planning. It covers how to get the best value, avoid common pitfalls, and create authentic experiences without breaking the bank.

702’s Motheo Khoaripe is joined by Paolo Giuricich (Head of Investec Travel) and Liezl Gericke (Head of International - Africa, Middle East, and Asia Pacific) at Virgin Atlantic to share how industry insiders get more value when they travel: from when to book flights, how loyalty programmes can boost your journey, to using technology and trusted advisors to maximise every rand spent.

Whether you’re a first-time traveller or a seasoned explorer, this conversation will help you plan smarter, travel better and make every trip truly count.

00:00 Introduction
02:00 Investment in travel: How expectations have changed
03:00 How a travel advisor can help you get the most out of your holiday budget
04:30 Out-of-season holidays and affordable family vacations
06:00 When to best book flights
07:45 Don’t bank on last-minute holiday deals
08:50 Avoid peak season travel if possible
10:00 Travel is part of the holiday
12:45 Are airline loyalty programmes worth it?
13:15 Virgin Atlantic loyalty programme
14:50 How bank and airline rewards work together
15:30 Investec Travel benefits
19:45 How to avoid going over your holiday budget
20:00 Best travel apps
20:30 Using AI for travel planning
21:30 Conclusion
24 Aug 2025 English South Africa Business · Investing

Other recent episodes

Investec Minds Ep 5 | Nick Holland on decisions that reshaped Gold Fields

Some of Nick Holland’s biggest decisions took years to prove their worth. The former Gold Fields CEO joins Investec’s Nkateko Mathonsi to discuss the unbundling that created Sibanye Gold, and his backing of the Chilean mine Salares Norte long before production began. He explains why safety meant stopping production, and…
10 Nov 43 min

Macro Monday Ep139: The three major effects of the US midterms

Democratic Party control of the US House of Representatives and Senate has had three broad market implications: data centre buildouts are unpopular with voters; Congress will likely limit military escalation in the Middle East (which could bring down energy prices); and slower artificial intelligence-linked investment could be good for US…
9 Nov 6 min

No Ordinary Wednesday | Has the AI boom got ahead of itself?

AI agents have entered the workplace, robots are edging closer to our homes and billions continue to flow into the infrastructure powering artificial intelligence. But as technology advances, are the returns keeping pace with expectations? In this episode of No Ordinary Wednesday, Investec Global Equity analysts David Smith and Zane…
3 Nov 31 min

Macro Monday Ep138: The beats go on for US equities

Global equities continue to advance, while US corporate earnings continue to beat expectations. Taking into account these ongoing beats, notes Global Chief Investment Officer Chris Holdsworth, the overall US market now trades at just under 20 times earnings, which is not excessive by historical standards.
2 Nov 8 min

Macro Monday Ep137: Mortgage market an orange light for the US economy

The US economy continues to grow, thanks to ongoing investment into AI, and despite federal government indebtedness and higher inflation because of rising fuel prices. One area where the strain is showing though, says Global Chief Investment Officer Chris Holdsworth, is in the housing market, where mortgage rates are climbing…
26 Oct 8 min
All episodes