As the busy summer time starts, we book our flights and look forward to enjoying our delicious and fruity cocktails by the beach or travel and see beautiful architecture in cities all around the world. The summer time is the best time for traveling and it’s the peak travel season. However, when the vacation ends, some of us end up paying more for what we had initially budgeted for and end up in more credit card debt that we would like to be in and have the potential to damage our credit card scores that can have dire consequences on our credit payment history causing us unimaginable problems in the future.
The experts at www.freecreditscore.com have solutions to make our travel plans and budget easier if we prepare our trips beforehand:
Save early
Each month, put away a small amount toward a vacation to avoid charging all travel expenses on a credit card. Charging all travel expenses to a credit card can take a long time to pay off, accruing interest and raising your credit utilization ratio (which isn’t good for your credit score).
Know credit card payment dates
Missing payments hurts your credit score. Traveling when a credit card payment is due? Set up a payment ahead of time using mobile banking. That way, even when lounging on the beach, you can rest assured that your credit card payment is made on time. Paying off credit card balances on time will help you establish a good payment history.
Select a card with travel benefits
Planning to do a lot of traveling? Do some research and consider switching to a credit card that offers better travel-related rewards that can save money on airfare, hotels and car rentals. Don’t run up a credit balance just for points, however; that could raise your credit utilization ratio.
Go old school
Bring traveler’s checks. Use traveler’s checks to avoid relying on a credit card when vacationing abroad – and to protect against credit card theft. They’re replaceable, convenient and won’t impact your credit report if stolen.
Check your credit before and after travel
Approach credit proactively. Check your credit report before and after a trip. If your identity has been compromised while you were traveling, the sooner suspicious or fraudulent activity is detected, the sooner you can take action to resolve the problem.
Inform your company about travel plans
Prior to departing, contact your credit card company and inform them of your travel plans. They’ll ask how long you’ll be gone and which countries that you plan on visiting. By doing this, transactions in your planned destination will not be viewed as suspicious.Avoid large transactions in different locations. While it may be more convenient to use your credit card, making a large purchase in a foreign country always raises red flags for your card issuer. Notify banks that you will be travelling with your cards. Most credit card companies have alerts that enable a credit card lock when they detect strange activities. Telling them that you’re on your way to California for spring break will let them know that the insane gas and booze purchase was really made by you.
Bring more than one credit card
Most hotels and car rental agencies require that you have a card on file, and thus if your primary card gets frozen, you’re going to run into trouble. By taking more than one card, you can reserve one card for necessities such as checking into hotels, while you use your other card for purchases.
Travel with two useful cards. While most people would say that it’s best to travel with only one card, it’s always better to have another one stashed in your hotel rooms safe in case one gets lost or stolen. The rest should be kept hidden somewhere safe, like in some corner inside your closet or a non-conspicuous space in the room. Make sure to bring a reliable and secure credit card at all times. There’s no point bringing that local supermarket or gas station credit card if you’re traveling to, say, Thailand or Vietnam. Make sure you have at least a Visa and a MasterCard, if you can, as these are used and recognized by establishments worldwide.
Keep your numbers handy
Be sure you have your card number and your bank’s phone number handy. In the event that you lose your card or experience any card issues, you’ll want to be able to contact the bank to resolve them.
These tips are great not just for families but also for students who are on a budget and want to make the most of the summer time when they are away from their colleges and universities. While these tips are great for the summer, they can also be applied all year round for a future getaway plan or simply to avoid a credit card burnout!
What do you think of these tips? Let us know what you think of them.
Image & Source: Gretchen Pahia and Kristin Robinson/Pitch Public Relations
Feature Image: Telegraph
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