The simple airport trick that will save you £20 every time you fly
TRAVELLING to the airport is a combination of both stressful and fun.
But I find it can also be expensive, especially when you have hours to kill before your flight.
Research has found that travellers spend as much as £26.30 each when shopping in the airport terminal.
There are lots of ways to avoid this - using the free water fountains to fill up your bottle, bringing your own snacks - but there are also some expensive freebies many people may not be aware of.
One common item to buy at the airport is magazines and newspapers, especially when you have to kill time.
However, this can quickly rack up in price when many of the glossy mags cost as much as £4.99.
Read more on travel hacks
But did you know that many airports have free magazine stands?
They can often be found in the corridors when you are travelling to your gate, or even after you have gone through the gate agent and are waiting to board.
They vary depending on which ones they have so you can't always be fussy.
On a recent flight from London Gatwick, I managed to pick up Wallpaper* magazine, as well as Escapism, Conde Nast Traveller and Stylist.
Most read in News Travel
But other times I've managed to pick up lifestyle mags such as Red, Harper's Bazaar and Vogue, as well as newspapers like The Sun.
It isn't always guaranteed as the stands may not have the exact magazines you want.
And if you fly later in the day, you can expect some of the stands to be empty.
But if you aren't fussy on your reading material and you have an early flight, it is a great money-saver.
This clever trick has saved me as much as £20 each time I travel, as I swerve the WH Smiths and head straight for the stands.
Some flight crew even like to keep the magazines when you finish with them so check when you leave the plane.
There are lots of other free things to get at the airport as well.
Here are some of the meals you can get for free at Heathrow Airport.
