Don’t let a one-week holiday trip become six months of credit card payments. Here are 3 tips for keeping travel costs down.

A brand new NerdWallet survey discovered that 44% of Individuals plan to spend cash on flights or motels throughout the 2022 vacation season. Of these vacation vacationers, about two-thirds (66%) plan to place some or the entire payments on their bank cards.

Should you plan to hitch the ranks of vacation vacationers, listed below are some tricks to get you thru the season with as little monetary stress as potential.

Key takeaways

• Evaluate the fee and problem of journey strategies, because the approach you’ve at all times finished it may not nonetheless be the perfect.

• Have a look at methods to chop down on how a lot you spend in your bank card or methods to pay your steadiness off quicker in 2023.

• The most effective time to take a look at playing cards with higher charges and perks is earlier than you begin shopping for aircraft tickets and reserving motels.

1. Evaluate journey choices

The best way you’ve at all times traveled doesn’t must be the way in which you at all times journey. As creatures of behavior, we regularly take the identical acquainted paths to get from level A to level B, even when different routes is perhaps quicker, cheaper or extra environment friendly.

In keeping with the U.S. Vitality Data Administration, the worth of fuel rose 16.7% from September 2021 to September 2022. Should you used to save lots of $100 on journey prices to grandma’s home by driving, you would possibly now be saving a lot much less, if something in any respect. Our survey discovered that 20% of vacation vacationers are planning to fly fairly than drive as a result of gas costs.

Conversely, possibly you’ve at all times flown. As airports start to refill with vacationers, more flights are being delayed or canceled. By means of July this 12 months, 21% of flights had been delayed by quarter-hour or extra, and three% had been canceled, based on the Division of Transportation. The survey discovered that 29% of vacation vacationers are actually planning to drive as a result of present points with the airways.

Whether or not it’s to lower prices or keep away from complications, rethinking your regular flying versus driving calculation could be a useful first step towards low-stress vacation journey.

Learn: More ways to save on gas, and you may not like some of them

2. Begin saving, and plan for repayments

Regardless of the way you get there, touring for the vacations is an costly proposition for a lot of Individuals. Whereas 66% of vacation vacationers plan to place some or all of their vacation journey prices on a bank card, many are additionally hoping to save lots of to pay for his or her plans, based on our survey. Amongst vacation vacationers, simply over a 3rd (36%) say they’re lowering on a regular basis spending as a way to get monetary savings to pay for that journey.

With rates of interest forecast to proceed rising via 2023 — based on a survey by the Federal Reserve — the price of borrowing with bank cards is prone to proceed rising as nicely. By setting cash apart to make purchases in money, you may keep away from including to your post-holiday debt obligations.

Learn: 8 signs you need a new credit card

If you’re going to pull out the plastic on your vacation journey, although, it’s best to at the very least have a plan in place for the way a lot you’ll spend and the way you’re going to pay that debt off in 2023. Of those that put a few of their vacation journey on a bank card in 2021, 7% reported in our survey that they nonetheless haven’t paid off these bills, and one other 14% advised us it took them 5 to 12 months to repay their debt.

To keep away from having your flights or fuel payments looming over your Fourth of July subsequent 12 months, arrange a compensation plan for your self. You can begin with NerdWallet’s credit card repayment calculator to determine what you’ll have to repay. Then, work that cost right into a month-to-month plan so you may clear your debt and begin saving for the 2023 holidays.

Learn extra: You work hard to pay off debt. Here’s the surprising secret that keeps you from backsliding as the economy slows

3. Study your bank card choices

In keeping with our survey, vacation vacationers who say they’ll use their bank cards to pay for vacation travel-related bills plan to spend $1,417, on common, on these playing cards.

Spending that a lot in a brief time frame would possibly offer you new choices in terms of card rewards or gives. Many bank card firms provide bonus rewards should you spend a certain quantity throughout the first few months of proudly owning a card. Should you’re already planning to shell out, you might as nicely get a profit the place you may.

You may additionally get advantages that lower down in your journey complications. Many journey playing cards provide additional factors if you e book journey, annual assertion credit for journey purchases, or reimbursement for the price of packages that help you get via airport safety quicker or simpler (like International Entry or TSA PreCheck).

See: The best and worst days to fly for Thanksgiving

You may also discover that your present card has an APR that’s much less enticing when it’s holding onto a $1,400 steadiness from the vacations. In that case, it could be price contemplating a brand new steadiness switch card to shift your journey spend into the brand new 12 months. These playing cards provide a 0% APR for steadiness transfers, supplying you with extra time to repay your debt with out having to pay curiosity.

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Andrew Marder writes for NerdWallet. E mail: amarder@nerdwallet.com.