To use a credit card for a holiday?

[WindowGazers]

I've never had a credit card before, and don't have any debt other than for a product I bought which costs me £30 a month. I can never afford the lump sum to go on holiday, and all my savings are in a fixed rate account which I can't access. This is mortgage money as I'd like to buy a house and don't want to dip into it. I was thinking of a 0% credit card instead and just using this to go on holiday, paying it off over a year, then doing the same a year later. I'm good with money so I'd have a plan in place of monthly payments to pay it off. Is this a wise thing to do?

YANBU.

Prices are going up. If you have the opportunity to borrow at 0% interest, and you are sure you can and will pay it back, then that is the savvy thing to do.

And as you mentioned, you know your circumstances are going to change in a way that will make it harder and more expensive to holiday - child starting school.

I would urge prudence. Buy the holiday you can actually afford, not the holiday you want but honestly can't pay for. Don't underestimate the need for spending money.

@Frabbits

OP isn't using house savings for a holiday. That's literally the point of the thread.

I know. I was talking about the vast amount of comments citing it as 'back up'

I think a holiday should always be payed for with a credit card because it gives you a lot more protection.

In your shoes I don’t think I would have a holiday though, because I don’t think it’s sensible to spend all that money on something that’s not a necessity if you are struggling to get by. I’m biased by the fact that I really hate holidays and resent the money we’ve spent on them in the past. I appreciate that other people enjoy them and look forward to them!

Safest way to do it is to save the money in a separate pot then put the holiday on the credit card so you can pay it off immediately and just rebolster that bank account for further holidays. I'd probably try to save even part of it depending on the cost of the holiday.

Normally I'd be loathe to recommend people put holidays on their credit card, but based on the fact that a) you could pay it off in an emergency from other savings and b) the reason you want to go sooner rather than later is because the price will rise significant if you wait until he is in school, then on this occasion I say go for it.

People on here are always anti debt and Cc. If you're confident of your ability to pay it off within the 0% time frame, do it. You've already said you have back up savings if you need to.
Buying on a cc is sensible as it offers you protection. Having a cc and paying it off regularly is GREAT for your credit rating, which you will need when applying for a mortgage. Assuming you aren't planning g to drop £20k on a luxury yacht, buying a holiday when you haven't had one for years is hardly completely unrestrained and irrational.

I would book it. Life is short.

We did a similar thing last year - we had relatives fly from Australia to meet our daughter. Money is really tight while we are paying nursery fees, so we spent the holiday money on a 0% credit card to be with them.

When our free hours kick in, we will be able to repay it in full within a few months.

I know things can change (job loss etc) but life is all about risk and reward. We risked it for the chance to spend time with loved ones.

We also have my husbands visa renewal this year which we have been trying to squirrel money away for, but we will still need to use a credit card. Sometimes in life, they are needed.

I think Covid restrictions have made me more relaxed about money - I was always too scared to do anything for years in case I needed the money for something else. We are still sensible, we still budget but I also wouldn't hesitate to say YES to something I really wanted to do with my family.

Having read your DS will start school next year definitely do it.

Once he is 5 you’ll get fined for taking him out term time, plus it’ll use up your own annual leave that you’ll want to save for the school holidays.

life’s too short and you have a plan and a backup.