Holiday payment

Prodigy19

1) We have booked a holiday, through an agent, to Singapore at the end of the year and wanted to know that, if there were to be any problems before and during the holiday, what should I have in place to protect myself.  I have travel insurance which covers the holiday period booked.  

2) What is best way for paying for a holiday which is over £10,000 ? credit card or bank transfer or whatever?  

3) If the company does not accept AMEX what is the best way to pay for the holiday?

Best,

Ayr_Rage

1. Does your insurance cover the whole £10,000+ ? Many have lower limits.
As you have booked through an agent find make sure you have their contact details, any issues will have to go through them if problems cannot be resolved locally.

2. Credit or Debit Card

3. Visa or MasterCard (as in answer 2)

retiredbanker1

Did the agent not indicate what forms of payment that they accept in payment?

For your own safety I suggest payment by credit card or AMEX to get some protection.

DullGreyGuy

Ayr_Rage said:

1. Does your insurance cover the whole £10,000+ ? Many have lower limits.

Remember limits are typically per person so £5k+ per person (assuming its a couple going) is a significant spend but well within the bounds of most insurers

2) You are booking with an agent which makes S75 fairly irrelevant but a card is still the easier route and if they accept credit cards it makes sense to get the cash back or airmiles or whatever benefit your card gives you 

3) Visa, Mastercard, AmEx, Discovery, JCB or whatever network your card happens to be... for UK issued cards the network will make no difference at all

NoodleDoodleMan

"I have travel insurance which covers the holiday period booked."

May I ask the date your travel cover starts ?

Should (God forbid) any of your party have an accident or medical issue before you travel - will your insurance provide cover for any loss ?

In this respect, the key date is when the policy starts  - not the date of the first day of travel.

As for credit card payment - Amex is not the only cashback/reward card.

If your credit limit does not extend to the full cost you expect to have to pay - it might be worth asking the travel agent if they will accept two part payments in quick succession.

I had to do this with a holiday a couple or so years ago - pay half (or whatever % is appropriate and agreed) online - then (as quickly as can be actioned) transfer that amount back to your credit card account so that the reduced working credit limit is restored sufficiently to allow a swift second payment to fully settle the sum due.

Hopefully I've explained that clearly !!!

The travel agent should (?) agree to this workaround, they get full payment - as long as it's mutually agreed in advance (confirmed in email) and settled before full final payment is due under Ts&Cs.

CliveOfIndia

Prodigy19 said:

1) We have booked a holiday, through an agent, to Singapore at the end of the year and wanted to know that, if there were to be any problems before and during the holiday, what should I have in place to protect myself.  I have travel insurance which covers the holiday period booked.

Make sure that the insurance covers everything you need (things like "dangerous sports", for instance, you usually have to pay extra for).  Check the coverage limits (will the standard "personal belongings" cover give you what you need?  Are you taking an expensive phone that may be worth more than the standard policy covers?).  But overall, a decent, purpose-made travel insurance policy is worth its weight in gold, and costs peanuts in comparison to the cost of the holiday.

You say the insurance covers the holiday period?  It needs to be active from today until the day you return.  If you fall ill, break your leg, a family emergency occurs, whatever, and you can't go on the holiday, you need to be able to claim for cancellation.

Prodigy19 said:

2) What is best way for paying for a holiday which is over £10,000 ? credit card or bank transfer or whatever?

It makes little difference to be honest.  If you pay even a portion of the cost on credit card, you'll get S75 protection.  It's a useful extra, though is no substitute for a proper insurance policy - which it sounds like you (very sensibly!) have in place.  If the travel agent will accept full payment by card, and if your card has a high enough limit, and if it gives some kind of reward (airmiles, cashback, points of some description) then you may as well pay by card and grab the rewards - assuming you can repay it in full when the statement arrives.  If you can't, then the interest costs would far outweigh any rewards you might get.

Prodigy19 said:

3) If the company does not accept AMEX what is the best way to pay for the holiday?

Makes no difference from your point of view, it's just down to what the company will accept.  Visa or Mastercard are the most obvious choices - although, if that puts you in the position of having to apply for a new card just for the holiday, you may find you're not able to secure a new card with a high enough limit.

Not directly related to your original question, but do you have a card that you'll use for spending whilst abroad?  It's well worth getting one of the "travel" cards that doesn't charge foreign-exchange fees.  Halifax Clarity is one of the original ones, and still going strong, but these days there are several that are worth considering.  Take a look at the main MSE article on the "Cards & loans" section of the site.

Prodigy19

Thanks for all the advice.  Our holiday starts on the 22 December 2023.  Insurance policy expires end of Jan 2024.  We return before the insurance expires.
Agent has just confirmed they do not accept AMEX.  They have agreed to instalments by BACS.  I guess I could pay by credit card instalments which means I am still covered by the credit card? Does this sound OK?

MorningcoffeeIV

Do they accept credit cards? 

You only need to make one payment by card - it doesn't have to be all the installments.

NoodleDoodleMan

"Thanks for all the advice.  Our holiday starts on the 22 December 2023.  Insurance policy expires end of Jan 2024.  We return before the insurance expires."

Sorry to labour this. I suspect there is no problem, however better to be safe than sorry - it is a key point.

Is the policy valid between now and 22nd Dec. - you are covered for the duration from that date - but what about beforehand ?

retiredbanker1

Prodigy19 said:

Thanks for all the advice.  Our holiday starts on the 22 December 2023.  Insurance policy expires end of Jan 2024.  We return before the insurance expires.
Agent has just confirmed they do not accept AMEX.  They have agreed to instalments by BACS.  I guess I could pay by credit card instalments which means I am still covered by the credit card? Does this sound OK?

Paying by BACS  or Faster Payments is fine BUT should the travel agent close down or do a runner then your chance of getting any monies back is zero - pay by whatever credit card you have.

born_again

Prodigy19 said:

Thanks for all the advice.  Our holiday starts on the 22 December 2023.  Insurance policy expires end of Jan 2024.  We return before the insurance expires.
Agent has just confirmed they do not accept AMEX.  They have agreed to instalments by BACS.  I guess I could pay by credit card instalments which means I am still covered by the credit card? Does this sound OK?

You only have to pay 1p to get s75 cover on the full amount, but that is not insurance or 100% protection. Travel insurance is better for that.

You could pay on your debit card & will get the same chargeback protection as a credit card.