While many of the world’s most famous tourist locations are fascinating, getting there may be costly. Unless you have a large hoard of airline miles and points, you will almost certainly have to pay for airfare and lodging—even if you select a hostel or someplace inexpensive.
Even so, you’ll have to budget for meals, activities, and transit expenditures like taxis and trains. These and other costs make travel a luxury that few people can afford without assistance.
Unsurprisingly, many prospective travelers borrow the funds they require to explore the world. They usually do it through a personal loan or a credit card, but they may also borrow money from relatives and friends.
What Is a Vacation Loan?
A vacation loan is a personal loan that may be used to fund travel. Even though a lender does not promote a personal loan as a vacation loan, the profits of most personal loans can be used to pay for transportation, hotels, rental vehicles, and other travel-related expenditures.
Vacation loans are normally unsecured, so you will not be required to put up any security. However, this implies that interest rates may be higher, and conditions may be less attractive than alternatives such as 0% credit cards.
How Do Vacation Loans Work?
Even if the lender does not provide vacation-specific loans, most vacation loans operate similarly to other personal loans. Depending on the lender, loan amounts might range from $1,000 to $100,000. Terms are typically two to seven years long. However, lenders may provide shorter or longer payback durations.
Similarly, loan rates differ per lender but are heavily influenced by your creditworthiness, income, and other criteria. Rates typically vary between 5% to 36%, with the lowest rates reserved for the most creditworthy candidates.
This means that vacation loans may have lower interest rates than credit cards but higher interest rates than secured loans.
Who Vacation Loans Are Right For?
Vacation loans allow you to fund and pay for travels over time. This, however, entails paying interest throughout the life of the loan, raising the overall cost of the trip.
Taking out a holiday loan can also harm your credit score, making it more difficult to obtain a loan in the future if you fall behind on payments. For these reasons, it’s usually not worth going into debt for a vacation.
However, if you need money for a business trip or an emergency trip and need to pay for transportation, lodging, or other expenditures, a loan may be your only alternative. When offered the opportunity to take a trip of a lifetime, some people believe that a vacation loan is worthwhile.
You should carefully assess whether it is worthwhile to get into debt—and if you have the discipline and financial resources to make on-time payments.
How to Get a Vacation Loan
If you believe that vacation finance is your best option, proceed with the following steps to investigate and apply for a personal loan:
- Check your credit score: Begin by checking your credit score with an internet credit service or with your credit card company. Borrowers with a high FICO score of at least 720 are more likely to be able to obtain the most competitive interest rates, which can reduce the overall expenses of borrowing money for a trip. If your credit score is less than 690, consider making efforts to improve it before applying for a vacation loan.
- Investigate lenders: To discover a loan that matches your needs, examine the interest rates, lending conditions, and criteria of multiple lenders. Begin by contacting your present bank or credit union, and then look into internet lenders.
- Prequalify: Some lenders allow prospective borrowers to prequalify for a personal loan with only a mild credit check. This allows you to check what interest rate you could qualify for without affecting your credit score. Use this function while looking for a lender to see whether a trip is worth the expected interest payments.
- Submit an official application: Apply once you’ve chosen a lender and, hopefully, been prequalified. This procedure varies depending on the lender, but it often includes providing personal information as well as evidence such as proof of income. You may also be required to visit a branch or discuss your application over the phone, depending on the lender.
- Receive funds and make payments: After the vacation loan money has been issued, it is important to begin making regular, on-time installments. Ascertain that you are aware of your due date and that you have access to the online payment portal or alternative payment options.
Pros of Using a Vacation Loan
- Set monthly payments: Personal loans allow borrowers to obtain funds when they are needed and then make fixed payments over time. This means you won’t have to pay for your holiday expenditures in advance, but you will have to return the loan with interest.
- The possibility of a cheaper interest rate: On average, credit card members pay roughly 18% for new offers and 15% for existing accounts. A vacation loan may allow you to borrow cash at a cheaper interest rate depending on your credit score and other variables.
- Can help fund emergency travel: Ideally, you’ll be able to budget for travel expenditures ahead of time. However, if you have an emergency and need to arrange vacation lodgings at the last minute, a loan can help.
- Offers flexibility: By taking out a holiday loan, you can take advantage of the best travel deals even if you don’t have the cash on hand. However, for this to make financial sense, the savings on lower prices must be more than the interest and fees on your loan. Let’s assume you could save $500 by traveling at a lesser cost. Your interest and fees must be less than $500.
Cons of Using a Vacation Loan
- Interest increases the cost of the trip: Borrowers must return the loan amount plus interest. This raises the cost of a trip beyond what it would be if paid for in cash. According to the Forbes Advisor personal loan calculator, a $10,000 vacation loan with a 12% interest rate and 36-month would cost the borrower $1,957.15 in interest over the life of the loan.
- Fees can raise borrowing costs: In addition to interest, many lenders levy fees on personal loans. These expenses might include origination fees and even prepayment penalties, which raise the overall cost of borrowing.
- Monthly payments lead to added stress: Vacations are designed to ease tension and give a respite from the busy pace of everyday life. Unfortunately, because of the reality of loan payments, funding a vacation with a loan might generate additional stress.
- Might hurt your credit score: Applying for a personal loan can have a negative influence on your credit score since the hard inquiry appears on your credit record. Vacation finance might affect your credit score once the funds are issued if it increases your credit utilization rate or if you fail to make on-time payments.
