Christmas is a popular time holiday trips. Many students go home to their families during the school break and for many families this is the perfect time to travel abroad. Do you have plans to go on a grand tour this year? If yes, have you made all the necessary preparations to make your trip hassle-free?
When it comes to matters of finances, have you set a definite budget for your travel expenses? How do you plan to manage your expenses while on your trip? Will you use cash, check, a credit card, or a prepaid credit card? What are the advantages of using a prepaid credit card for travel expenses compared to a regular credit card? Consider the following pointers:
Spend safely. Bringing a large bulk of cash with you on your travelers can be risky. With a prepaid credit card, the risk of losing your hard-earned money to theft or loss is greatly minimized because you can easily call up the card issuer to block the account. Your funds will be safely restored as soon as your card has been replaced.
Better exchange rate. If you plan to go in a country that uses a different currency, exchanging your money to the local currency can be hassle. Hotels and forex locations may offer poor exchange rates. Meanwhile, prepaid credit cards generally offer better rates so you can get the best value for your money.
Don’t Go into Debt. It’s so easy to go into uncontrolled debt when you’re on a trip. Expenses can pile up quickly and unexpected bills may come up. If you will use a credit card, you can simply charge everything to credit and think about repayment later. After all, shouldn’t you be enjoying the holidays?
However, the real problem may come when your credit card bills start to arrive. How will you be able to pay off all the charges you incurred while on your trip? For many people, paying off credit card debt after the holidays is the most difficult thing. The interest rates associated with credit cards can be steep and if you fail to pay your monthly balance in full, the additional interest rate and late fees can quickly lead to debt build-up.
On the other hand, using a prepaid credit card or debit card prevents debt-related problems. With a prepaid card, you are not allowed to charge expenses to your credit. And because you can only spend the money available in your account, you can keep track and exercise more control over your spending.
Granted, nobody will be stopping you from reloading your prepaid debit card once the balance runs out. Nevertheless, you will be more conscious with your purchases if you are using a prepaid card since you are aware that funds are limited. When you get home from your holiday trip, you can have the peace of mind that you do not have credit card debts to pay by the month’s end.
About the Author:
Tara Tiemann is the credit specialist for http://go-prepaid.com. Which is a resource site for people who want to live debt free! If you are on a budget, using a secured credit cards and prepaid debit cards can save you big money!
