Travel costs
 

Advice from Confucious.
To those of you that travel looking for the lowest airline fare, hotel room cost and best train fare; do you carry balances on any of your credit cards ever? If so, you are defeating the purpose of always looking for the lowest prices.

We never carry a balance. But those who do shop for the lowest price are not defeating the purpose of looking for lowest prices--it's better to pay interest on a $500 airfare than on an $800 airfare.

I take it you were not a math whiz in school, xnyxny.

Using credit card carry over debt is very seductive. Some folks think "I can do this" because I am saving so much money on my trip.

They are always giving me these 0 % credit cards. I still haven't paid off a trip from a few years ago - though I do have the money and it's not like the bank is paying me much more than 0% interest, but somehow the discipline of making payments to a credit card works better than putting in the savings, which is what it amounts to. So when the time limit is up, I transfer the balance to a new 0% account and cancel the card. When they ask me why I'm canceling I'm very honest "Because I was just using you for your interest rate" I've done this for a couple of years now.

xnyxny--and maybe they can because of the money they are saving on air, hotel, etc.

Rufus, My thoughts exactly.

Keith

Just ask any money manager: Anytime anyone carries an unpaid balance on their credit card for travel is making a big mistake and they are only fooling and hurting themself.

They may be "hurting" themselves in the sense that they're going to pay interest but why are they necessarily "fooling" themselves as long as they realize they're paying interest and consider that along with their actual travel expenses?

Consider this....maybe using a credit card and paying off over time is the only way some people can travel.

Some of us would be fertilizer if we waited until we had every dollar before we traveled.

Money managers would tell you to save the money first and then travel. Are you saying that you have no discipline to save, and that you are willing to pay pay more to travel because you are unable to save?

Look, why not take financial advice from our President, the Spender-in-Chief. Spend what you want right now and run up your debt. Then, when you leave office (or die, or run away to another country) you can leave the payment of that debt for others to worry about.

It appears that saving is a "Quaint Concept".

I swear these "advice" questions always seem to cause more angst than any of us were meant to suffer...but when the board is "slow".......

I tried to resist, but just couldn't...

First, let's say you're going to put the trip on credit card anyway (one that is not 0% interest). So, you don't shop around for the best deal. Then, not only are you getting ripped on interest, but you are also paying more than necessary for travel expenses. Not smart. Lower cost for travel means less money on the credit card means less interest paid. This is not calculus.

Second, since when is it the President's job to save OUR money for someone else? I would like to have as much of my OWN money as possible. Too many people are too stupid to realize that that "surplus" of money that our government holds is OURS!!! I can save my money myself, thank you very much.

And, as a side note, I DO save for my trips.

RE: CAPO

Your example is a false choice. Our beloved President, the Spender-in-Chief is allowing the congress to run up a debt to assist the economy recover. Once it has, and it always does sooner or later, the government will collect more taxes in the stronger economy and the debt can be retired. When GWB leaves office in 2008, he will not be leaving a huge debt for Jeb to take on as the new Spender-in-Chief.

Yeah, Degas!! (Love your post name, too!)

Degas, dreams can be mysterious and laden with symbolism. Your dream is a very interesting one and I've asked a psychologist friend of mine if he can possibly interpret it. :)

Will it take a Clinton to get the budget deficit under control? Again.

Capo: Why bring Bush into this? Or were you responding to another comment that I missed?

I think to take xnyxny's comments another step: If you carry a balance on your credit card, perhaps you shouldn't travel until that balance is paid off (assuming the balance subject to the high interest rates typically charged by cards).

Unless it's an emergency I don't carry the balance over. However I try to make reservations to put air on one bill, and hotel on another - making reservations before and after cut-off date, so I can pay off in 2 months without paying interest.

xnyxny,

I may be wrong, but what I think I'm understanding you to say is - why take a trip, which is pretty easily classified as a luxury in most cases, and end up in debt. Having savings to fall back in is something most people would agree with you on, including me.

My question is - is you stance against credit card carryover a general position against debt, or is this specifically about travel costs, as the title states? I'd understand if you used that example as this is of course, a travel board.

My point is, debt is debt. Pay cash for your plane tickets and charge the new couch, or vice versa. Makes no difference, it's still principal and interest. Don't travel but buy a new car, you're still in debt.

So, are you saying that the only good purchase is a cash purchase, or is that just applied to travel?

Clifton:

Credit card debt makes anything you buy much more costly than paying off the debt each month. I mentioned travel costs here because this is a travel forum and there is much emphasis on trying to get the best bargain you can.

Some people do carry debt over from month to month without much thought. Those charges are so high that whatever you buy costs so much more than if they were paid for without incurring the extra costs.

Sometimes it is necessary to carry over debt, but as you state .... travel can be considered a luxury.

I may be missing something, but we have 0% cards with no transfer fees, etc. that are not due until July '04. We use these CCs for travel, save our cash and then pay the CC's off when the time comes.

PCircles:

Sounds like you found a good forumula. Many CC carry hefty interest rates and fees. Maybe others would like to know about your CC.

Actually the one we have just put our balances from trips on is Chevy Chase - 0% until July 2004.

Hope this helps...

I figured you were being specific to the travel topic. In principle, I agree that it's far too easy to incur high interest debt. Also agree that travel, of the type usually discussed here, is a luxury.

I'd even go several steps further and say that most purchases are luxury items, if you get right down to it. You need food, shelter and a means to continue providing those things ("income" in the modern world, a good solid club in more primitive times) and that's about it. Born into a cinder block house with no central heat, no a/c, no phone, no tv I can attest that much of material things are a luxury.

But - I think people need to be given a bit of credit (no pun intended.. or was there?) for the ability to take responsibility for their own decisions, don't you? We don't generally carry debt, outside of the house and a car. You have to have shelter and you have to get to the job that supplies the income. So, satisfying necessities, but certainly more that bare essentials. For those who DO carry a bit of revolving debt, I think it's possible that they are able to make an informed decision that they can afford $5K for a vacation, or $100 per month @ 12% interest, as long as they understand that.

I think I understand that the need for a luxury might come before the cash for one does. And people really do need a luxury every now and then, something to make it all worth it. :)

Now look at PCircles, that's the way to do it
She gotta card from the Chase Chevy
That ain't scrimpin', that's the way you do it
Money for nothin' (and your airfare for free)

Gotta go, before Dire Straits (or someone) kills me... : - )

You're good Sue! perhaps you have another calling in life...maybe you should get in touch with Weird Al?

Nice, Sue!

Good one, Sue! "Money for Nothing" most certainly IS a travel song.

"That little ------'s got his own jet airplane...."

Sue - that was awesome - I'm gonna send it to my husband!