Tag: vacation

Are you planning a vacation this year?  Going to the mountains?  The beach?   Driving?  Flying?  Staying in a vacation rental?  Hotel?  Camping?  How are you planning to pay for things while you’re on vacation?

While it is really tempting to pay for everything in cash when you go on vacation, in reality, it’s just not a good idea.  Not only do you run the risk of losing you money if you use actual cash, but you also risk a lot more.  What happens if your cash is lost or, even worse, stolen?  What happens if you run out of money?  What happens if you’re cheated?  Maybe you check in to your rental, pay your bill up front like they all want you to, then find out that you’ve been had?  What happens if the rental is not what you paid for?  What happens if you have to leave early?  The list can go on and on and on.

And truthfully, using your debit card is possibly even worse than paying with cash.  Why?  Because your debit card is connected directly to your bank account.  And there is no place on earth where your debit or credit card information is more likely to be stolen than in an area that caters to tourism.  It’s a prime location for dishonest retail and restaurant employees to lift your information, it’s a prime location for pickpockets and scammers, and YOU are more likely to misplace or even lose your card when you’re in a strange place.  Even though you have a certain amount of protection against fraud, it can take as much as ten days to sort it out if you are a victim of fraud!  What would you do for ten days without any money?  The answer?  It’s pretty obvious.

Use a credit card to pay for everything that you possibly can while you are on vacation!  Not only are you better protected against fraud, theft, or loss, but you can even take advantage of some awards cards and get money back for all your purchases!   Not sure which card to use?

Take a look at these offers –

 

Saving for your summer vacation?  If you’re like most people, when you start saving for your summer vacation, you try to put away a certain amount of money every payday, either by transferring it to your savings account or taking the actual cash out of the bank and squirreling it away somewhere.  But, usually something comes up once or twice a month that keeps you from putting that money away and when vacation time rolls around, you’re short on cash.

Sound familiar?  We’ve got a better way!

Instead, why not get yourself a prepaid visa card and have your payroll department transfer a set amount directly to the card every time you get paid!

Do this and you’ll have TWO reasons to be happy:

1. 1. Your vacation fund will automatically be transferred to your prepaid card, so you won’t be tempted not to make the transfer to your savings account (or withdraw the cash).
   2. You can use the prepaid card like a credit card while you’re on vacation!  This will give you the benefit of identity theft protection, lower fees when you need to take cash out while you’re away from home, and lots of other benefits.

Still not convinced?  Check out ALL the benefits of the AccountNow® Gold Visa® Prepaid Card

Looking for a way to get a fresh start on your credit?

Here’s a great way to use this year’s tax refund to get a fresh start on your credit and still have a way to take that beach vacation you’ve been dreaming about all winter.  The year, instead of spending your entire refund on a trip to the beach (or the mountains, or wherever you want to go), use the money to make a deposit on a secured credit card, like the OpenSky Secured Visa Card.

When you open the account and make your security deposit, you’ll give your credit a boost two different ways:

1. Your new secured credit card will have available credit up to the amount of the security deposit that you put on the card, and credit utilization is an important part of your credit score. Increase your available credit and you’ll raise your credit score.
2. When you use your new secured credit card, you’ll make payments on it just like a regular credit card, and those regular payments will be reported to the credit bureaus. Establishing a regular payment history will also help you to improve your credit score.

Best of all, you can still take that annual vacation you’ve been dreaming of, instead of using cash, you’ll simply use your new OpenSky Secured Visa Card, and then pay the balance off over time!  (And your entire tax refund will still be intact as the security deposit on the card!)

What better way to get a fresh start on your credit AND still get to go to the beach?