Holiday and travel savings for NHS staff mostly come through Blue Light Card, with TUI’s Holidays for Heroes the one long-running scheme tied to NHS employment itself. The real differences between brands are whether a saving is a fixed amount, a percentage or a member-only rate, and on a holiday costing over £1,000 that difference can be worth more than the headline figure suggests.
Package Holidays
Through Holidays for Heroes, TUI knocks £100 off any package of £1,200 or more, or £30 off cheaper trips, for anyone booking with an NHS email, and stacks that on top of its other offers. loveholidays has an exclusive member discount on Blue Light Card, and Jet2 holidays also appear among Blue Light Card’s partners. Blue Light Card’s holiday listings have also included money off with Virgin Atlantic Holidays and lastminute.com, and a gift card with British Airways Holidays bookings over £1,000.
Hotels
The member rate at Travelodge is 5%, and Hilton and Best Western have member codes for room bookings. Premier Inn is the exception among the big names: the Premier Inn listing on Blue Light Card is for the Premier Inn At Home bedding shop rather than rooms, so the saving there comes from booking early on a cheaper rate.
UK Breaks and Holiday Parks
Hoseasons and Away Resorts both appear among Blue Light Card’s UK holiday partners, with member codes for lodges, holiday parks and short breaks shown in the member account. For family breaks in the school holidays, when park prices peak, a member code combined with booking early is the most dependable way to cut the cost.
Trains and Eurostar
Eurostar gives Blue Light Card members 3% off, although booking early matters more, since its fares rise as the cheaper seats sell. Domestic rail has its own member deals, through booking sites such as Trip.com and TrainPal and the operator Avanti West Coast, and a Railcard cuts fares on most routes.
Discounts outside travel, from food to mobile networks, are listed on the NHS Discounts hub.