Is taking a second credit card for a holiday sensible?

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I may sound very naive but please here me out…

I have only ever had one credit card. My partner and I both got one each around ten years ago when we were attempting to get on the property ladder. Both have small limits (around £2k) and are used for every day spending. Both are paid off in full as soon as the statement drops.

My question is, is there any issue with having more than one credit card? I was thinking about taking another one out in my name with 0% interest rate to book a family holiday (circa £6-7k) We would then just pay X amount off it each month. In my head it makes more sense to pay the holiday in full, get the points/rewards from the credit card, than pay X amount monthly to Tui etc.

Hope this all makes some sort of sense!

to add - both my partner and I have never had any money troubles so to speak, racking up credit card debt etc

You can have as many cards as you like. Just keep the % of available balance spent low and it won't mess with your credit rating.

It’s worth doing if you can get rewards. Also a good idea when abroad to have a spare car for card just in case of emergency.

No if course not

I would never use credit for a holiday, save up or don't go.

That’s not what she’s doing. It’s much more sensible to use a credit card to pay for a holiday. You get more protection. I get points when I buy things and depending on how much I spend I get free flights as part of the deal.

The poster is using a 0% card. If the holiday is £10k and you have £10k in savings making 5%, much better to use the credit card and keep the savings earning interest.

I’m assuming you are taking it as a back up payment option. I would say definitely. You don’t want to be stranded with no other way of making payments. So I’d say it is sensible. No need to use it if everything is all fine. Yoi could even aim for one that charges zero per cent exchange fees for spending in a foreign currency.

Definitely. Also, always pay for your holiday using a credit card for the automatic protection.

Why are Mumsnetters so keen to show off about how badly they understand credit cards.

I have several credit cards and use them for a variety of purposes, none of which is spending money I don't have.

If you pay for a holiday on a 0% spending credit card, you could make quite a bit of money by offsetting the cost in a savings account.

You also buy yourself protection if anything goes wrong, eg the hotel doesn't supply what's agreed or goes bust. When Monarch went bust 2 days before we were due to fly with them, my credit card refunded both the cost of the lost flights and the extra cost of replacement flights, which was hundreds of pounds more than the original ones because thousands of people were in the same position so surge pricing.

OP you also want to make sure you have a means of payment (ie credit or debit card, but preferably both) that doesn't charge fees or loading when paying abroad. I think it's only really a handful of traditional banks that do this any more - there's several online banks and some of the main ones that do free currency conversion as long as you pay in the local currency so you just need to spend as normal.

I almost always use 0% credit cards for holidays, it makes no sense to pull interest earning cash out of savings when we can fund it monthly from our disposable income.

I think others have taken this to mean you have the cash waiting to pay off the card but you mentioned using it rather than paying Tui each month. Is the monthly payment to Tui to spread the cost because you don't actually have the lump sum? I that case it might not be a great idea.

If you were paying Tui and one of you lost your job, you might lose what you've already paid but could cancel the remainder of the cost (at a loss). If you have paid on a credit card you will have to find the full balance in the event of a loss of income, or keep the debt on the card and run the risk of then not being able to transfer to a lower rate when the 0% runs out. This is exactly how people rack up debts.

It's also very tempting to spend more than you can afford when making credit card purchases that you don't have the funds for.

Halifax clarity is one that has minimal fees for paying in foreign currency. I have one that I use just for non uk spending.

for an interest free in purchases one just read the small print carefully. Some
you get interest free on anything you buy until the end of the period (eg 12/18 months) some the purchases have to be within x time (eg 3 months) but then are interest free for 12/18 months.

Why wouldn’t you just use a package site that you pay off each month?

If you can get a 0% card that offers cashback and overseas fee free spending and are disciplined enough to save the money to pay off in full when the 0% ends then go ahead.

Set up a direct debit on all your cards to make sure you never miss a payment.

I’m not sure you’d immediately get a £10,000 limit on a credit card as a new customer. It took me ages to build up to that. But I haven’t had a new one for ages so I may be wrong.

We always take two credit cards on holiday just in case one won’t work/ be accepted/ gets stolen and has to be stopped. And we always pay for holidays ( well everything on line really) by credit card because the protections are so great.

But clearly don’t build up debt you can’t service and watch the expiry dates for the 0% offers. But if you tick those boxes, go for it.

There are all sorts of perfectly good reasons for a second card including fee free use outside the UK and having a spare if you lose one.

Accidentally left mine in a French pay/display machine after a fight to pay at all!!

It’s actually good for your credit rating, I have several spanning £10,000s, I don’t utilise even a fraction of the amount I have and it’s always paid in full, lenders like it because they see I have access to lots of credit and don’t use it. When we had smaller limits and hit 50% (for example paying for a holiday) even though we cleared the balance and didn’t pay interest our credit report took a knock temporarily.

I recommend a separate card just for holidays (we have Halifax clarity) we’ve just been hit by credit card fraud for the 3rd time having used it abroad, it’s useful having it segregated from the rest of our finances.

Depends on the lender and your income. It took me years to build Barclays up, Amex gave me £20,000 on my first card!!

I think it's sensible to have 2 credit cards with different banks, just in case, the other year one was unusable for a few days due to hackers, that could be a disaster on holiday. If you want to keep the cost of the holiday separate that is a good idea too, obviously you can pay it back as soon as you like and can afford even if it is at 0% that just gives you budget options.

This is another good reason to always have a credit card, so you're not at the stage where you're only offered a small limit when you actually need one. Get a credit card, use it wisely, earn a high limit and you can use it to your advantage, eg to pay for a holiday.

so you book a holiday for £6000 and then

if you paid off the credit card at £500 per month for 12 month it would cost you £813 in interest (at standard credit card interest rates) You will not even break even on your points or cash back

So the holiday costs you £6813

If you can get a credit card that doesn't charge interest for the first 3 months - there are a couple. And pay back £465-£565 depending on exact interest after the 3 free months. But you'd still not break even on the points or cash back

Marks and Spencers purchase plus has zero interest purchase card for 25 months. So you could pay £6000 for the holiday and pay it off over 12 months at £500 a month and pay back £6000

Llyods bank do a credit card with the 25 months zero interest on purchasing and also give cash back - but only on certain offers do you get the cash back, so it's limited. You might make £25

You'd probably save more money booking your holiday to start on a Tuesday or book the last week of august when prices are lower you could save £300