5 Tips for Finding the Best Shopping Deals

There's nothing like hunting down a good bargain. From online comparison sites to end of financial year sales, we list our top price monitoring hacks to help you find the best deals instore and online.

1. EOFY Sales: Get in before June 30

Winter blues? The end of financial year sales arrive at a good time if you're one for retail therapy, whether it's your online shopping or braving the department stores. Financial comparison website Finder has done the hard work for you and created a fantastic list of all the EOFY deals going on for 2019. Some of the top sites and sales include the Iconic, Princess Polly, ASOS, Under Armour, David Jones and Vista Print (photo calendar anyone?), with discounts up to 70% off. Have a browse of what some of your favourite brands are offering here.

2. The price we pay for fashion

Speaking of clearance sales, do you ever wait for end of season deals to update your wardrobe? This is a great time to find some key pieces to elevate your look, however, buying winter clothes as the warmer months approach isn't always the best option. You'd have to wait a whole year of seasons in order to reap the benefits of a chic new outfit. Instead, you could buy your wardrobe pieces during the season with our Latitude Low Rate Mastercard, and if the price drops within 30 days, you could claim back the price difference on eligible items^. That's a handy insurance feature we include called Price Protection.

3. Online bargain hunter

If you're a keen bargain hunter, keep an eye on online shopping forums like OzBargain to hear from the community about trending product features and deals. Other sites to check out include Booko, which identifies the lowest prices for books and DVDs, including international stores with no postage; Lasoo, which digitises catalogues for you to browse, before heading in-store to make your purchase (if you enjoy the store experience); and Price Hipster, which identifies the best products at the best price for users - as soon as you start typing, the products start appearing! With Price Hipster you can also set price alerts to be notified when your favourite products drop below your set value. Handy! Love Amazon? Camelcamelcamel is also a website tracking the prices across its site, helping you decide when to make your purchase.

4. Find the best flight deals with price alerts

Skyscanner has a great tool that lets you set price alerts and will send you an email if the price moves up or down. This is a handy feature when you're starting your holiday research but aren't ready to book yet. You simply search for your flight choice, then select the bell icon to create an alert for this route. If there's a specific flight and airline you're set on, click on your selection, then scroll to find and tap the 'Watch this flight' star. Fingers crossed you'll get a price drop alert, then can nab a bargain online.

5. There's an app for that

As with many modern tech tools, there are a range of apps that have been developed to help you check prices on the products you're interested in. This includes a bunch of barcode scanning apps like this one on Google Play that do the shopping around for you by comparing prices across websites like Amazon and eBay. There's also 'Fluctuate' that lets you track the price of products across multiple online stores and you'll receive notifications when your favoured items go on sale. There are a bunch of barcode scanning apps so find one that works for you on your device and start looking for deals.

All that bargain hunting can be exhausting! If hunting for deals online isn't your thing then you could save yourself the hassle and do your shopping now with a Latitude Low Rate Mastercard. That way, if the price drops within 30 days, you could claim back the difference for eligible purchases^.

^Available on purchases made in-store at a different retailer within 30 days of original purchase. Coverage limits, terms and conditions apply. Read the full complimentary Terms and Conditions here.

The Purchase Protection, Price Protection and Extended Warranty are accessible to Latitude Low Rate Mastercard cardholders as third-party beneficiaries under a group insurance policy issued to Mastercard Asia/Pacific Pty. Ltd. (the 'Policyholder') by AIG Australia Limited ('AIG') ABN 93 004 727 753 AFSL 381686. In arranging the group insurance policy, the Policyholder acts as a Group Purchasing Body. The Policyholder is neither a licensed insurer nor a licensed insurance intermediary, and does not sell, solicit, nor provide advice on insurance products in your jurisdiction. The Policyholder is not authorised to provide any financial advice in respect to the coverage under the Policy. Any claim filed pursuant to insurance available in connection with the Policyholder will be evaluated by the applicable Insurer and, if accepted, will be settled by that insurer directly to you and not via the Policy holder. Latitude Finance Australia (ABN 42 008 583 588) is not an authorised representative of AIG, does not guarantee any of the benefits under the policy and does not provide any financial advice in respect to coverage under the policy.