General Holiday Enquiries, Hints and Tips

General Holiday Enquiries? Got General Hints & Tips? Post Them Here.
Reply
There is normally a surcharge of around 2.5% for paying by credit card. However you can pay as little as £1 as long as the holiday is between £100 and £30,000 to have Section 75 on your credit card.

Another thing is that you need to pay the tour operator directly to have a direct link. Paying a travel agent won't protect you if the tour operator goes bust.

luci :wave
Reply
Debit card was used for the deposits as it is a diy holiday,booked on the spur of the moment ,really.
Reply
I would always use a credit card but Yes there is a surcharge Tina. you can pay the bill with cash at the bank and that money can be paid any time you like .. Only problem is if paying it at the bank rather than online you will need a bank giro slip from the bottom of a bill .. any bill will do even from a previous month as long as it shows your account details.

Other option if you have your credit card account set up on line would be to pay the money into your bank account and transfer/pay it via your online CC account .
Reply
We always pay cash or by debit card- But................

We have saved enough money to pay our holiday off (Remaining deposit not due until April)- but this time I am paying off the balance by credit card-(and pay it back within the month- so no interest is added ) just to be on the safe side!- We have booked with Thomas Cook- and to be totally honest- we are covering our backs- and will be doing in the near future- as there are so many companies going bust- (as we have read about on here). - at least if the worst came to the worst we could claim back from the credit card company!

belly
Reply
Never used a credit card to pay for a holiday always visa.
Reply
I always use a debit card, as I don't possess a credit card have never seen the need for one. I do know there is more protection by paying for things including holidays by credit card so there is an advantage in that respect.
Reply
I use my debit card, I would be very worried if BA went bust :yikes
Reply
There is Visa Chargeback available if you use a Visa debit card, not a Maestro or similar. You have to claim within 120 days of discovering the loss and it isn't as robust as Section 75 and the purchase doesn't have to be over £100.

luci :wave
Reply
I always pay by credit card, I know that I usually end up paying a small fee but some travel companies are better than others on this...
I usually book with Direct Holidays and their credit card fee is a flat £5.95 per payment for payments made online (2.5% for phone payments), so if you pay the whole lot when you book you only pay £5.95 which on a £1,500 holiday is about 0.4%..... of course I pay using a cashback credit card which earns me 1% cashback, so paying by credit card actually makes me £9.05 in this case (£15 cashback less £5.95 fee)

:cheers :cheers
Reply
If I were you I'd pay £100 on your credit card and then the rest cash/ debit card . You'll be charged about 3% max for the £100!
Reply
Thanks,just paid it on the credit card,we were charged £14,so not bad .
Reply
You don't even need to pay £100 on the card, it can be as little as £1 as long as the purchase price is between £100 and £30000.

luci :wave
Reply
Recently paid a deposit to James Villas by debit card, I was about to pay by credit card and noticed how much extra I was going to be charged to do so, sort of maoned to the girl and she said well there is no need to use a CC for protection as we are ABTA and ATOL bonded, so I payed by debit card and am now worried about it. Think I will ring back and pay 100 off the balance on my credit card.

Doe :sun2
Reply
Normally pay about £100 by credit card and the balance by debit card
Reply
Like Phildo I use a credit card that gives me another benefit , I make all my purchases on this card and pay off each month from my bank account online , I gain points that will be useful but because of the amount I spend through the card I have gold status that gives me a free upgrade on most occasions and free wi fi when I stay in their hotels , I have enough points already to book a package for 5 nights in UAE for £190 where the normal cost would be £750 , so the odd surcharge when booking airline tickets is easily offset .
Reply
am puzzled....I always pay by credit card....dont mind paying the fee as see it as an insurance incase things go wrong....but now I'm not so confident.

If its as Luci says ....Another thing is that you need to pay the tour operator directly to have a direct link. Paying a travel agent won't protect you if the tour operator goes bust.....

Its either Siesta a coach holiday firm I use which I believe is the tour operatour and so am covered.....

.or Thomascook or Thompsons who are travel agents whose shops Ive gone into to book ....they have booked me holidays with other tour operators in thier group.....does this mean paying them for my hols with a credit card is not protecting me incase they or the tour operator they book me with goes bust .. :que
tweetie
Reply
Holiday Truths Forum

Post a Reply

Please sign in or register an account to reply to this post.

Sign in / Register

Holiday Truths Forum Ship image

Get the best deals!

from our cruise, ski and holiday partners

You can change your email preferences at any time.

Yes, I want to save money by receiving personalised travel emails with awesome deals from Holiday Truths group companies which are hotholidays.co.uk,getrcuising.co.uk and getskiing.co.uk. By subscribing I agree to the Privacy Policy

No, thank you.