Loan or 0% credit card

Andy_Roney

I want to go to Australia at Christmas. Estimated cost of trip £6500. Do I pay by credit card for the longest term and if necessary tart to another towards the end or do I get a loan ?

foxy-stoat

Yeah why not, if your gonna !!!! £6500 away just use 0% credit and do the shuffle for the next 3-6 years.

PRAISETHESUN

I wouldn't bother picking a interest-bearing option if a 0% option is on the table - I'd suggest that you probably ask yourself if you absolutely have to travel if you have to borrow extensively to do so, but otherwise the 0% option is probably the way to go - just shuffle it around over multiple cards if you need longer than the offer on your current card to pay it off.

Terry_Towelling

Using a credit card gives you Chargeback protection and possible S75 protection. NB these are not substitutes for travel insurance.

If these are your only two options, you should try for the 0% card (if you can get one with a high enough credit limit), then, if the debt is not cleared by the end of the promotional period, either try to BT it (as you suggest) or take a loan at that point to (hopefully) lessen the impact of interest.

If that doesn't work out, you can pay with a standard interest-bearing credit card (to get the protection) and clear that immediately with a lower-interest loan.

Does it have to be Christmas? Aren't there any cheaper times to fly?

Ebe_Scrooge

I'd echo the above - if you have to borrow in order to travel, that's a heck of an expensive luxury. It's a different matter if you have saved up for it, or if you can just afford to pay for it, but if you're looking at a loan, I'd question the wisdom of doing it.

That aside - if you're eligible for a 0% credit card then go for that - no point in paying interest on a loan if you don't have to. With one big caveat - you may be able to transfer any remaining balance to another card when the promotional rate expires ... but don't bank on being able to. If you discover that you're not eligible for another 0% card, for whatever reason, you're suddenly going to find yourself paying rather a lot of interest.

sazaccount

Andy_Roney wrote: »

I want to go to Australia at Christmas. Estimated cost of trip £6500. Do I pay by credit card for the longest term and if necessary tart to another towards the end or do I get a loan ?

A couple of questions... How many people are going? how long are you going to be in Aus for? where are you planning on travelling too? I ask as 6500 is a lot of money! (unless a whole family is going) do you need to put the cost of the trip onto a credit card? I understanding paying for flight pre paid accom and even stuff when you get there (if its a travel card I love my MBNA new horizons as I also get cash back as well as fee free spending) but why not start saving or paying bits month by month.

If everything is going straight onto the card because you can't afford it you have to ask is it worth while, can it wait a few months until you have the money Aus is still nice in March April and you wont have to pay the christmas premium