Several hotels near the airport offer free parking when a customer books a night's stay.
Those with an early-morning departure could get free parking this week, and a night in a hotel, for less than some of the carparks charge to park.
Aucklander Michelle Jones has discovered that booking her airport parking saves a lot of money.
She and her family were overseas for a week in March and paid $48 for uncovered parking at one of the airport's own uncovered Carpark E.
They booked the parks online in December.
This week, Carpark E was charging $79 for a week if the booking was made online.
People who did not book online would pay more than $120 for the same period.
Auckland Airport says travellers can save up to 50 per cent on the cost of their parking if they book.
"The earlier you book it the cheaper it can be," Jones said. "It makes it so convenient and it's only a five-minute walk to the terminal."
Jones and her family live north of Auckland at Red Beach, so it made sense to take the car to the airport.
"Whenever we go we quite often have surfboards with us and it gets a bit hard to find a taxi big enough to fit them. And a taxi from Red Beach would cost a fortune."
Diia Bourke travels about 15 times a year for work and to see family in Australia.
She said the most expensive parking was usually during peak periods, such as school holidays, when all the cheap options were full.
"If you don't check you can get caught out and the only option is short-term, then they slug you high. And Park & Ride parks are always busy."
Short-term parking at the international terminal is $69 for two days, then $25 for every subsequent day. People picking up and dropping off passengers pay $18 for 90 to 120 minutes.
Bourke said she tried to book to avoid being stung with short-term rates but had been caught out three times in the past year. She had started to use Aeroparks instead, which offers a shuttle service to the airport.
Air New Zealand runs its own parking service at the airport, which a spokeswoman said was recording growing numbers of customers.
She said 1200 customers used Air New Zealand parking in Auckland each week, and another 1400 used the valet parking service.
Booked online, uncovered parking for a week would cost $79-$95 with Air New Zealand.
An airline spokeswoman said the price of long-term parking had been adjusted to make it more affordable. "This week we have also introduced air points earning on parking and other Air New Zealand parking services.
"Our staff are also able to check customers in for Air New Zealand flights, allowing them more time to relax prior to departure, and we offer a door-to-door shuttle service."
Bill Butler, of Aeroparks, said customers needed to be careful which operators they choose.
He said it was important that carparks offered good security and that the cars were not moved from the day they were dropped off until they were picked up.
But he said for a lot of customers the only way to establish which carparks were reliable was through trial and error.
Butler said his lot can take 800 cars and he estimated he dealt with 80,000 customers a year. Most customers chose services such as his for the price, he said.
"The price structure warms most people's hearts — not my pockets, but their hearts."
