Six top destinations

Sydney: £602

Asiana Airlines from Heathrow via Seoul. Must be booked by August 31. Valid for departures September 1-October 3. Minimum stay four days, maximum one year. Trailfinders (020-7937 3939, trailfinders.com).

New York: £234

Air India from Heathrow. Valid for departures November 1-December 15. No book by date. No minimum stay, maximum one year. Travelbag (0870 8901456, travelbag.co.uk).

Hong Kong: £428

Finnair from Heathrow via Helsinki. Valid for departures until October 31. Full payment required when booking. Minimum stay one Saturday night, maximum one month. Airline Network (0870 2349912, airlinenetwork.co.uk).

Los Angeles: £313

Continental Airlines from Manchester via Newark. Valid for departures November 1-December 11. Minimum stay one Saturday night, maximum six months. Thomas Cook Flights Direct (0870 7520066, thomascook.com).

Paris: £57.40

bmi British Midland from Heathrow. Must be booked online (£5 extra if booked by phone 0870 6070555). Valid for departures indefinitely. No minimum stay, maximum one year. bmi British Midland (flybmi.com).

Amsterdam: £69

British Airways from Manchester. Must be booked online (£10 extra if booked by phone 0845 7733377) and at least 30 days before travel. Valid for depar tures indefinitely. British Airways (ba.com).

The pick of the rest

Cagliari: £169

British Airways charter from Manchester. Departs August 10 or August 17 for seven nights. Sardatur Holidays (020-7242 2455, sardinia-holidays.co.uk).

Bombay: £372

Alitalia from Heathrow via Milan. Valid for departures until August 15. Minimum stay one Saturday night, maximum one month. Airline Warehouse (0870 7707339, airlinewarehouse.com).

Malaga: £154

Monarch Airlines charter from Gatwick. Departs August 13 for seven nights. Avro (0870 4582847, avro.co.uk).

Lima: £583

KLM from Heathrow, London City , Manchester or Birmingham via Amsterdam. Valid for departures September 1-December 9. Minimum stay six days, maximum three months. Journey Latin America (020-8747 3108, journeylatinamerica.co.uk).

And the rail alternative

Paris/Brussels: £59. Lille: £55

Eurostar from Waterloo or Ashford (no advance purchase required but may not be available at last minute). Minimum stay one Saturday night. Eurostar (08705 186186, eurostar.com).

ܨ NB Fares can change rapidly. These were available in reasonable quantities at the time of writing, but they can sell out in a sudden rush.