Since I first faced up to my debts I've been adament that I would never have a credit card again. However, the collapse of XL this week has made me think again. A lot of people who paid for their holidays on debit cards will lose their money, whereas if they had paid with a credit card they would get it back.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not thinking along the lines of booking a holiday or buying something and paying later, but that I would save the money, pay by card and then clear the balance. I would never carry the card with me all the time as that would be far too tempting, but I can see that credit cards do have a place as they offer more protection for expensive items.
That thought had crossed my mind as well. It's bad enough finding out that you no longer have a holiday, but to not be able to get the money back must be even worse.
I think I would save up the money, pay it on a credit card, then immediately go to the bank and pay that money across. The card would then be locked back in my safe (only a little wall thingy, nothing extravagent behind a picture!), out of temptations way.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
if i ever raise the money to have a holiday i would try and find an insurance policy that does cover for companys that do go bust.
ps
theres a bookmaker who is offering odds on tour operators going bust
i think thomas cook where 200/1
they claim if you put 10 pound on this and the did go it would cover a fair chunk of any holiday paid for
Yes, Skippy I was thinking the same after I heard about these people who paid their deposits for flights and if they paid with cash or debit cards they lose the money! Victims of airline companies bad debts and bankrubtcy. It must be awful for these people who have saved up for a holidy only to end up with no holiday an no money! [:(]
Some places won't accept pre paid cards. I know you cannot book a hotel with the Paypal one.
You would also have to see if that was classed as a debit or credit card for the purposes of booking a holiday.
If it's classed as a debit card or cash, you're stuffed.
A check would need to be made on the terms and condtions.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
But does it say anywhere that you would be covered in the event of a holiday company going bust?
I think I'd be inclined to ask them that question.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
A Maestro is a debit card, and most prepaid Mastercards don't have the protection of a credit card.
I would actually give my card to Dave if I ever got one so I would have to ask him for it. Not that I'd get one at the moment, and not that I can afford an expensive holiday!
A good point Skip. I know Andy has posted here before about the Vanquis card ... might be worth looking into, although I was amazed at how much even visiting the website and the mere mention of 'credit card' truly frightened me.
I understood that it was Mastercard or Visa that 'insured' the purchase rather than whether it was a prepaid or credit card. I wonder whether one of the experts might be able to shed some light on this?
Bye the way Skip, did you have a good evening at the FF meeting?
I'm sure it does make a difference if it's a prepaid card as when I looked on a comparison site it mentioned which prepaids had Mastercard protection, and I'm sure it was only Cashplus and Sterling that gave this.
We had a really good time tonight - congratulations to Ang for winning the champers, and thanks to Paul at Reviva for the Jack Daniels hip flasks!
Hi,
A few years back we bought our sofa and paid the deposit on our Barclaycard - unfortunately Allders then went bust and we were told that as we had paid by credit card we would get it back.
BUT...when I spoke to Barclaycard they told us that we had to have a specific cover that offered the money back...and surprise surpise we did not (not knowing that we had to pay extra for it, or not being told about it either!!!)....so basically even paying on credit card we still lost the money!
k.
