do the trip on a credit card? help please

[Misty89]

Hello-
do any of you pay for the trip to WDW on a credit card and then pay the trip off when you get back?
as oppsed to our plans to go to WDW in january of 2005 - after saving the cash to go throughout the next year, the thought keeps crossing my mind to just go on teh credit card, and the pay it off with the money i was going to save...so insted of putting cash into a bank acct, i would instead pay the credit card each month>??
We still want to go when the parks are fairly comfortable to move in ( no big crowds) and when the weahter is below 85.
i know i cannot possibly plan to go in jan 2004- cause i dont have enough time to plan this and take care of the schedule i have already set- or do i? i know i have asked this a gazillion times but how are the parks after march 1st? the weather?

is this a smart ide? i would still do everything i plan, going through priceline and staying off property, etc- i already know that i would not " blow the budget" just because i went on my card- i would love to stay on property etc- but i know we can't.


thanks so much
the only reason i am considering this because the idea of waiting a full yet kinda drives me bonkers LOL

THANKS

 

[suevee]

Be careful to include any interest charges as part of your costs. Also shop for the lowest interest card possible. Good Luck!

 

[tink2dw]

Life Happens!!

As much as you promise to pay the CREDIT CARD off when you get home,Other stuff will get in your way!! Then you have this bill hanging over you!!

SAVE THE MONEY TO GO!! You will enjoy it more,your spouce will enjoy it more,and you will have taught your kids a great lesson in saving for what they really want!!

 

[disneysteve]

I vote a big NO! You should never use a credit card to make a purchase if you can't afford to pay the bill IN FULL when it comes.

Even on a relatively low interest card, the expense is significant. Save your money and when you have enough, then take your trip. You can still pay for everything with the credit card while you're there. That way you earn whatever type of rewards your card offers. But when you come home you can just write a check and pay it off all at once and not have the bill (and extra charges) hanging over your head.

In general, I think the only things in life worth going into debt for are a car, a house and an education. I don't think its ever a good idea to go into debt for a vacation.

Steve

 

[claudia]

If you want to do this..... apply for a credit card that will offer 0% interest (maybe for 6 months or more) on any balance that you transfer. If you are approved and do receive this type of card, then charge your trip to a credit card you already have. Then transfer the charges to your 0% interest card...this way you can still pay it off without incurring any additional charges for interest. How you decide to pay for your trip is your business, so if you and your spouse are comfortable with charging it, then you should go for it.
As far as the weather goes....I am stictly a November 1 to March 30 traveler to Florida....before or after that is just too warm for me.

 

[Misty89]

thank you for the sound advice.


this trip if becomes one, is a surprize for my children....and i guess the excitment is starting to wear down my thought processes LOL
i am going to think about it, and proply jsut save the cash

 

[DMRick]

Wow Claudia..I'm glad I scrolled down, before I went through all the work of typing my reply. That would be my way of doing it, if I was going to charge it anyway. I personally wouldn't charge a vacation, unless I had the money to pay it off in full unless there was a good reason (someone sick and getting worse, and need to go now, hubby being deployed, etc)..but if I needed to for some reason, zero interest is the way to do it.
I'm sure lots of people charge their way through a vacation, so believe me, this is just my own opinion.

 

[dandave]

I'm one of those people who just can't enjoy myself at WDW unless everything is paid for or else I know that I can pay for it as soon as I get the bill (the thought of paying CC interest rates drives me nuts!).

That said, I like Claudia's advice. I just recently joined upromise. I then applied for the upromise Citi credit card, because it earns me 1% of my purchases into a college savings account for my boys. It came yesterday. That card has a 6 month, no interest rate on transferred balances. It might be the way to go if you're really considering this.

Also, I would give my kids this trip as the major part of their holiday gifts. You may actually come out cheaper going this Jan or early Feb than you would going in 2005. Right now there are the kids stay free Visa promotion and the great codes for value resorts. Who knows what discounts will be available in 2005.

Only you know what is best for you and yours. Have a wonderful vacation, whenever it may occur.

 

[dansyr]

With the Disney card you have 6 mos to pay with no interest. That might help if you wanted to go soon and just the pay if off when you get back.

 

[DocRafiki]

Figure out how much extra it would cost you in interest. If it's worth it to you to go now, then go. I charged a lot of my last vacation, but the whole point of it was that it was my 30th b-day trip, so I couldn't exactly postpone it. It was worth the little extra that I paid in interest, without a doubt!!!

However, if you're going to charge to the max of your credit cards and not have enough left over to take care of any emergencies that might arise, then don't do it no matter what. I felt ok charging to my cards because I knew I would still have $10K available in credit when I got back home, in case my car died or my pets got really sick, etc.

That is just a pet peeve of mine since I'm a vet and people are constantly wanting us to work for free because they just spent all their money on a house/vacation/pool/car/etc. Always have something available for emergencies. It's not the rest of the world's job to take care of you. (Not a message specifically intended for you, BTW, just to people who "manage" their finances that way)

 

[Padre Disney]

Dh & I don't disagree with what others have said BUT
we would say GOOOOOO any time you want!!!!!! the sooner the better.

Things might happen and you might not be able to go later.

If we would have waited to take our vacations only after we would saved the whole amount we would have NEVER took a vacation. We try our best to save as much as possible before we take a trip but have never had the whole amount and have ALWAYS ended up charging some of our trip on our credit card. We try to pay things off as soon as we can. The memories we have from vacations with our children is well worth any interest that we get charged on our credit card.

carpe diem

 

[catherines_mama]

Save the cash!

That is what I am doing/done. Save up cash and purchase in advance what you can (park tickets etc). You can hold the room on your CC put pay in cash / travelers cheques. Or you can write a check before your trip and mail it in to CRO so its paid for in advance. I think if you cancel you get it back.

Also. You can place that cash in your checking acct right before leaving and use your Check/Visa Debit Card.

I have to admit. I only have 75% saved up. My trip is 2/04. By the time my CC bill comes ( I just got a 0% APR til 11/04) my annual bonus will be in the bank acct to pay off the rest. The bonus is a sure thing. I already have the confirmation.. just need the check. I know.. that is bad to bank on that.. but oh well! I only live once and I cannot take it with me! LOL

If you budget really well and use the tips learned here, you'll save tons of $ anyway.

Good luck!
Deedee B.

 

[jkovick]

In March the crowds are going to start picking up. If crowds are a concern too, I would wait until January 05----no crowds and the trip all paid for with no debt hanging over your head.

 

[tinaluis]

There is something to be said for seizing the day. We go to WDW 2x a year and we always find a 0% interest rate credit card to use to finance our trip. We try to save as much $$$ as possible before we go, we drive and use Priceline for our hotels, but we don't let the fact that the trip is not completely paid in full before we go stop us. In fact, it takes us about 6 months to pay off each trip but we always stick to our repayment schedule when we get back and we always finance our trips. We also have the $$ available in savings to pay off the card just in case. If we had to pay any % interest we wouldn't use the card, but with a 0% card it's a no-brainer for us. However, if you can't trust yourself to stick to a repayment schedule and end up paying interest, it's not worth in IMO. Just my $.02. Have fun whatever you decide.

 

[Mom2Ben02]

I am a BIG penny pincher and saver. We are not using a credit card for this trip, but if you have to do that, it is really ok!

My godfather recently passed away at age 46 of brain cancer. He has (had?) three kids, one 6th grader and two in college. At his funeral, there were so many pictures of his family together - WDW, Vegas, etc - that I decided then and there that life is meant for living, and booked our Jan trip! While I agree it is not always a good idea to go into debt for a vacation, if you are a disciplined person it is ok! You never know what can happen tomorrow!

My suggestion: if you do go now, and charge it, set up an automatic payment for that credit card, for the amount needed to pay it off in 6 mos, 12 mos, etc, so you are not tempted to just send in the minimum.

My .02!
Karen

 

[mcgrawfan]

I personally would NEVER put a vacation on a credit card. I work really hard to save the money for our vacations. Granted there are just 2 of us so that is less than people with children. However I am a HUGE believer in seizing the day and enjoy what life has to offer. So if you have to put it on a credit card make sure to stay on target and get it payed off. Also I think Disney Visa offers 6 months no interest on Disney Vacations booked with them. Good Luck and what ever you do it is your business.

 

[EthansMom]

DH and I have a policy of never buying anything we can't pay cash for (or pay off credit card when it comes). We save in advance for every large purchase. This policy has helped give us a lot of financial stability and helped us to sleep better at night.

I understand the desire to satisfy the Gotta-Have-Its, but what will happen when you go to WDW now on the credit cards and are still paying for your trip in 2005 and then in 2005 you decide you really want to go on another trip? Also, there's no telling what could happen between now and 2005 -- god forbid you have some kind of major disaster befall your family and either can't pay your bill or could really have used that credit for a true emergency.

I vote for some hard-core saving and real penny pinching, which could get you to WDW faster without compromising your financial situation.

Having said that, how each person/family spends and/or saves their money is their own business and whatever you decide should be a decision that you can live with.

EthansMom

 

[tinaluis]

I feel compelled to add something more here. My father saved and saved for his retirement, even to the point of going without things he would really have enjoyed if he would have let himself (like family vacations, a house, a decent running automobile), and he died at 51. My mom died 2 years later at 50. If this trip is truly something that would make you happy and give you fulfilment, I say go for it now. Don't throw caution to the wind and overspend like crazy, but definitely go.

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

This is the way I do it. I save the amount I need for my trip in the bank. Put the trip on the credit card because it pays a cash back bonus or in my case money toward a new car. Pay ofF the card as soon as you get home and you end up the winner. When I purchased my new car (Ford) this past summer, I had 2000 extra to put on it by using my bonus points. This comes off as cash, and I never let the salesman know I have it until it is time to pay. Plus it is tax free!! If you use Discover or American Express, you can get cash back instead. Just a warning, do not do this if you do not have enough cash to back it up OR if you do not have reserve cash for a rainy day. However, if you do it works great. One more tip, have a couple of cards that pay back dividends. I have often reach my cash back limit ( usually around 200. per year or 750 in Citi Bank cash for your car). When I do I just switch to another card. KEEP IN MIND YOU NEED TO PAY OFF THE CARD EACH MONTH OR IT DOES NOT WORK. Credit card companies hate people like me!! They keep raising my limit on my cards in the hopes I think that I will over charge and they will finally get me. Not in this life time if I can help it!!

 

[FatCow]

IMHO, a vacation is a luxury, not a necessity. If you don't have the money to pay for it all, that means you can't afford it.

It took me about 3 years before I can have my upcoming WDW trip and no vacation for me at all during all those years.