To think it’s fairly normal to put a holiday on a credit card?

[isobelok]

And pay it off over the year?

I’m not talking maxing out the credit card and letting the interest build, more putting it on a 0% credit card and paying it off over the year, even if you’re still paying it a couple of months after your return from holiday

Talking to a friend who said they’d never go on a holiday that they couldn’t pay for outright and that they would save up first. We are in a different situation where holidays will be cheaper until baby turns 2 as they will travel free so it kind of makes sense to do it now rather than wait and save and inevitably pay hundreds and hundreds more when we do go. I also think it is easier to travel with a non-mobile baby so will probably make the most of going abroad in the first year, and then maybe just enjoy UK holidays whilst they are very little and reconsider going overseas when they’re slightly older

We wouldn't go if we couldn't afford it. We use the card to pay, for convenience, but our balance is paid off every month.

Nope, never done that.

Normal enough. There are arguments against it being a good idea, but I can see that ageing out of free baby or child places blurs the lines.

Fwiw, we pay the minimum deposit on a credit card for protection then pay the balance as late as possible. Because I enjoy receiving interest on my money.

I wouldn't if was going to take me a year to pay it off, I'd say that's living beyond my means and wouldn't feel comfortable with it.

With sensible money management it is savvy to use the 0% cards. So long as you're paying it off, you are better off doing this due to the time value of money

Eg a holiday taking place Jan 2025 costs £1000 for the holiday. You pay this off your 0% card in Jan 2026.
Your identical repeat holiday in Jan 2026 costs £1050 due to inflation. You pay this off in Jan 2027.

And so on.
You're £50 better off in the year than the person paying up front.

The trick is
a) to ensure you are very secure in being able to pay it off and
b) that you still have credit available to you for emergencies.

Normal practice does not equal smart financial decision.

Which do you use, if I may ask? Guessing it's points rather than a cashback.

Personally I'm with your friend, I would only go into debt for essentials or things that are an investment.

No inquest so that. If I didn’t have the £3k in the bank or whatever it cost and had to save up over the byway to pay it off then I couldn’t afford to go on holiday at all.

Thats also how people get into debt, put something non-essential like this on a credit card as they think it’ll be fine to pay throughout the next year, then get hit with some bad luck and end up in more debt then they can manage. It’s not a good idea.

No.
I always pay for it on a credit card, because you get better protection. Best to pay for anything big eg sofa on a credit card. But always pay our credit card monthly. Once or twice in 20 years over 2 months.

I do because it’s a virgin card and I want the miles. I do pay off immediately thoigh

Nope, if we can't afford something, we don't have it. We prefer to save up, knowing it will be spent on the holiday, or whatever it is we're wanting to do, the pay outright for it. That being said, we pay using the credit card, for the protection, but pay it off in full with said savings, the day the bill comes in.

I always book a year ahead, then pay it off in instalments. Which I guess is the same, but I'd feel anxious if being on a credit card. I'd definitely have to pay it off before we went though, as that would make me miserable.

I have done this for years, although I do have money in savings. I pay using 0% CC as it's good for my credit rating, extra protection, savings continue to gain interest, so for me it's the best way. It is always paid off before I go through as it would bother me having debt for something I've already had.

We only buy things we can afford outright, the only exception is our mortgaged house.

We haven’t holidayed abroad in 5 years due to the cost. Just because it’s cheaper before 2, doesn’t mean you should do it if you can’t actually afford it.

We’ve had some lovely breaks in the UK.

I don't, use credit card and pay it off first month but think it is fairly normal and you are using 0% so can't really see the issue

I’ve often heard it recommended as you can get credit card protection?

Ive done it a mix of ways - sometimes paid in instalments over the year by dd, but sometimes have put in a credit card in the way you suggest.

I’ve done it this way too

@Honeycrisp Not in the UK, but yes, it's a points one. When I did live in the UK I racked up a ton of points on my Virgin Atlantic card and used to get nice upgrades for myself.

Only spend what you have in cash. Circumstances can change and why have a debit.

I pay on cc for the protection / points.

I wouldn't pay for a luxury item eg holiday I couldn't cover put of savings. I have used 0% but I have cash collateral to back it up if I need. Would rather pay 0 and earn interest in savings. BUT I've done the maths etc

I'm mid 40's and have never put a holiday on a credit card! My credit card has a direct debit and gets paid off in full every month.

TBH, I'm not even sure how I'd arrange to pay of only parts of it over several months if I'd wanted to?

We put ours on a virgin credit card, purely for the points. We pay it off in full as soon as it’s due.

I do this too but you do what suits you.

You and your friend have different circumstances. As long as you know how you will pay it off, there's no problem. .

people who think they are the financially astute ones because they never use credit and look down on those who do annoy me.
As long as you can afford it, it's often more financially prudent to use credit, particularly when it's a 0% deal:

• It builds up your credit rating
• It can give you added protection if things go wrong
• It can even make you money (If you have £10,000 on a 24month 0% interest card and keep that £10k in a high interest savings account until the deal ends, you will earn £1000 in interest).