Paying off hol before balance due date?

[mikeishere]

First off all sorry for all my threads lately but first big holiday and all that even though I’m 30 so a bit unsure.

I’ve booked with Virgin holidays and my plan was to pay like £50 or £100 off the holiday each week on the Virgin app but was speaking with my parents today (who go on lots of holidays) who don’t think that’s a good idea and have never paid off a holiday till the due date. My father doesn’t think it’s a good idea to pay anything also until I get travel insurance and he would never pay off a holiday and let the money gain interest in the travel companies bank account. So my question is does anyone else pay off their holiday in monthly or weekly instalments as I was going to do or are my parents who have booked lots of holidays in the past right and just save up your cash in your bank account and pay it off when the holiday company (Virgin holidays in my case) asks for it when the final balance is due? Is general rule to pay your holiday when the balance is due, sorry I don’t know these things never done this before?

[legallyblonde]

I think that’s up to you but for me, it’s the risk I would spend the money if I had it! If I pay it off the holiday, then it’s done and I don’t need to worry. They are right however, in that you should get travel insurance ASAP. If you’ve booked the holiday, get your insurance now.

[scoobydooby]

Hello. This is a personal question and I think also one linked to both your personal circumstances and your willpower. I’m with your parents. I never pay more than the deposit for anything until two weeks before the final payment date so long as that’s not accruing interest. I give it two weeks to account for IT failures. However. If I didn’t have the cash sitting there to know I could pay it off at this late stage or couldn’t trust myself not to spend saved cash I’d pay it in instalments. If you need to save an amount each week/month to budget but have trust with yourself issues re dipping into this, paying it off in instalments involves less risk. The logic is this though. If you’d been a Thomas Cook customer with a pending holiday before they collapsed who’d paid off monthly you might have lost the lost. Deposit only with a plan not to pay the balance off until the last minute then your cash remains yours. I hope that helps.

[scoobydooby]

Ps. Always get your passport, insurance and ESTA before you’ve spent a load on the full holiday.

[Elodie]

I agree with Scoobydooby and your parents. We booked our holiday in April 2019, but it doesn’t need paying off until June 2020. We’ve paid the deposit and nothing more. For us, it just makes sense to leave the money in savings until we have to pay it off - why should it be earning extra money for the company if it could be earning interest for us? (As above, we will pay it off a couple of weeks early just to be sure it gets done in time.)

We very rarely touch our savings though, so I can understand that if someone would be tempted to take it out of their savings, and not leave enough for the holiday payment, then it’s safer to send it to the company. I guess you could see the loss of interest as a fee you’re paying them to keep your money safe!

[NewtoOrlando]

I pay the deposits on everything and pay the rest when it’s due. Goes into my husbands spare account which neither of us touch. Do what you feel comfortable with, its your holdiay!

[Eeyore rocks]

Firstly, get insurance.
It is totally a personal thing, but I like to pay it off bit by bit. I like to see the balance get lower each time... there again, I hate owing money. 😊

[BevS97]

I pay it in chunks so that I know it’s paid off.
But definitely agree get your insurance sorted now.

[munmun]

I would wait till the due date then pay on a credit card to get extra free time and the Avios ready for the next holiday.

[Disney Ash]

Paid the deposit when I booked, waited till the exchange rate was decent then paid in full.