How do you pay for holidays?

[gingergingerginger]

Just wanted a bit of a straw poll, really. Being nosey. I'm not asking how do people afford holidays (obviously everyone's circumstances are different). I was just wondering how do you normally go about paying for them.

Do you have a savings pot? Put them on a credit card? Pay Tui (eg) in installments? Pay on arrival? And how does it work for those of you who are organised enough to have trips planned for 2025 and beyond? Or even just multiple trips for this year. Would be really interested to know if you are willing to share.

A combination of credit and debit card. Our holidays are usually diy so made up of several parts paid for at different times.

I have always put it on the credit card, then paid off gradually, but in the last couple of years I have opened a savings account that siphons off £300 a month from the current account. I get a set amount of interest at the end of 12 months ( I can't access the money till then) and then I put the lot in another slightly higher interest account which I can access (I use Kroo). I still pay for holiday stuff on the cc, but now I can pay it off immediately and without the juggling that I used to do finding 0% interest cards and so on.

Last couple of holidays with Jet 2 I’ve paid in instalments.

For a recent flight I put it on my credit card and that gave me 2 wages to pay it off due to the timing (and I have a Tesco credit card so get points).

Putting money away each month would be my ideal scenario but something else to spend it on always seems to come up.

I book the flights directly as soon as the airlines release the following years tickets. That's all paid up for up front. I'll book the accommodation separately, and pay for that much closer the time. It works out way cheaper than a package holiday, but still make sure my moneys safeguarded by paying by credit card and paying off in full.

Pay deposit using Amex, pay off in full when bill comes in from current account.

Pay remainder on Amex and pay off in full from current account being mindful that it needs paying for so keep the current account topped up.

We book each element separately eg flights and hotels using a Halifax Clarity Credit Card then clear the bill each month. Flights are obviously paid for up front, some hotels are paid either in advance or on arrival so the money is paid in dribs and drabs.

I have savings.
I look at flights. Contact my family.. say oh there's some good flights going to Cyprus/ Portugal/ Greece/ canaries... shall we book.
They say yes let's go.. l look for a villa on booking . Com.
See if it will suit us.
Book flights.. book villa.
Book car hire... book airport parking..
This is for 6 days ( 5 nights) about 6 times a year.
We can go any time.
Flights on average per person £100 ret.
Villa to share between. £300 and £500 ( two bed) car hire £20 to 30 per day .
We SC and mainly.. salads,/ cheese/ meats/ sea food/ crusty bread.Have a few meals out.
Petrol is cheaper and we love our drives out..
We love the beach and sea and pool swimming.
We have done the AI but we don't drink and hotel buffets are unhygienic.
I think holidays can be as cheap or as expensive as you want.
Our 6 days in Canaries are cheaper than our 6 days in a North Wales cottage.

Very much depends on the type and value of the holiday. We have a holiday budget, and however we pay, it has to be covered by that.
Last years 'big holiday', we booked 18 months before and paid monthly DD with Jet2. The smaller holiday, we paid for flights upfront on booking and used some free hotel nights on hotels.com for the accommodation.
The year, we have booked an expensive cruise, we are paying this off monthly with the money that normally goes into the pot.
We also have a smaller holiday booked later in the year, again flights paid in full upfront and accommodation done on hotels.com.
We have also booked a special type of accommodation in Thailand next year, this would have sold out if we didnt book now. We intend to use my bonus in March to pay for flights as we dont have the funds in the holiday pot due to the cruise and this is a special occasion trip. If we wait until the pots rebuilt, the flights will be a lot more expensive (once we have paid off the cruise, we will top up the savings where the bonus would have gone).

Always booked last minute (month or two before) used various things like Airmiles and clubcard points in the past (we had a lot) always had great bargains and travelled long haul. Always paid by credit card and paid off the year following. Never saved in advance.

Now the kids are adults, we've bought a "place in the Sun" and book cheap flights.

We buy our flights up front at the beginning of the year when they're cheaper, so if we plan to fly in June we buy our flights in Jan, we book accommodation through booking.com and pay on arrival.
We usually go to Greece so we contact the apartment owner and ask if they want cash, then we cancel the booking on booking.com (free cancellation)and pay the owner directly then they don't have to pay booking.com fees.
Yep, it's a thing!

Savings pot, but paid on credit card.

If it's a cruise I tend to book when the dates are released and then pay a deposit and a monthly DD to pay it off over a year or so, that makes it somehow feel more affordable for me to do. Not handing over a big wedge all in one go and "missing" the savings. If it's a a foreign holiday I always self book and go self catering so I will use PayPal pay in 3 to spread flights over 4 payments and I book the hotel on a free cancellation on booking.com.

We’ve just booked for May. Booked hotel direct with nothing to pay but secured with credit card. When they take the instalments I’ll transfer over from savings.

Booked flights direct and all up front so again booked on credit card and will transfer over before payment is due at the end of the month.

We usually pay for it with one of our bonuses (other bonus goes into savings) so while we do have the cash upfront we don’t book until fairly close to the time so that we know what budget we have to play with. If no bonus that year it’s no/very cheap holiday. But always pay on credit card and transfer over for the protection.

We booked via Jet2, pay thr deposit and insurance

Then save in my bank account for the remainder. We booked last October. Will pay May and travel in July. We've almost saved enough now but will keep adding the so we have rollover for next year

We have a savings pot for stuff like this.
sometimes pay when booking (esp flights), or deposit then full amount or sometimes hotels are ok with pay on arrival. Regardless we put it all in on a credit card (for extra protection and also for points) and pay it off the following month.

We have a 'fun' account for things like holidays and theatre tickets etc

Separate from household spending, savings etc.

I have a savings pot, but all aspects of the trip are paid for with a CC for the convenience and also the points and insurance.

The credit card is paid off in full when the bill is due.

We’ve had loads of free transatlantic flights the past 10 years due to accumulating Cc points.

Set amount on payday into a 'Holiday' account.
Pay deposit well in advance.
Insure holiday straight away, or at least when paying the larger deposit.

Pay rest when needed from the account.

Rinse and repeat.

Depends really. But in general we have a savings pot.

Hotels we book often via Booking.com and pay when we check out as that often gives cancellation until the day before arrival. Costs slightly more but it's worth it for us, especially if it is short breaks we drive to but we also did it for a 2 week US holiday.

Self-catering - we have everything from full payment upon booking to installments, to a deposit and the rest just before arrival.

Package holiday - often only the deposit and the the remainder when the company asks for it.

Pay for flights on a credit card, but that gets paid in full when we get the bill. So it's for payment protection more than a source of credit. Then book hotels with the same card but usually pay on arrival and pay in local currency, I have a Halifax clarity card and husband has Monza and Starling, and with these cards local currency is always cheaper than the rate offered in pounds. It depends on your card though, some cards charge foreign transaction fees. Meals and sightseeing all put on the card but paid in full as soon as the bill comes. I favour travel over almost everything else, so happily scrimp on other luxuries.

We save regular amounts every month throughout the year to an agreed total for our main summer holiday. Extra weekends away we take money from other savings or pay from income if we can.

We just pay, I only book once I have the money. No separate pot, I'm pretty good at saving

for my main holiday We’ve paid for flights when booked in November (for September this year) as they were only going to go up in price. Accommodation we’ve paid a deposit (£200 from memory ) and balance will be due 2 months before we go. That’ll just come out of my current account or move some out of savings if need be. Everything paid for on credit card for protection but paid off monthly.

Credit card for the protection.
Deposit and then the balance when if falls due. Credit card is paid off in full each month as usual from the current account.

We have a set amount we put into a holiday pot every month. If we get bonuses etc we usually add them to it. Sometimes the pot isn't as full as it needs to be that month for the holiday so we borrow the money from another savings pot and then replenish it with the holiday savings for a few months.