How do you pay for cruises

[navybankerteacher]

Just now, clo said:

I so appreciate your honesty.  And your wisdom.  Going into debt for an 'unnecessary' expenditure is just plain stupid. IMO. And anecdote.  In 2008 we lost 40% of our IRA.  We stopped spending.  We sold our motorhome.  We didn't travel for a year and half.  So we never had to sell anything.  And it came all the way back.  Good for you. Cath

Off the point, but what do you think might happen to your IRA when the securities markets “adjust” from today’s all-time highs?

[clo]

2 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Off the point, but what do you think might happen to your IRA when the securities markets “adjust” from today’s all-time highs?

It's gone down again and is now back to where we were in the beginning.  We did "reallocate" pre-2008.  Really, REALLY OT, we're prepared for assisted living at easily $100k/yr.  And if one isn't, then one shouldn't be travelling.

[SailorMan20]

It don't matter how or wheather it be a Credit or Debit card as long as the cruise get's paid for,

[crystalspin]

7 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

I've liked the Costco Card since Citi provided travel insurance up to $3,000 PP as a perk.  Citi has just announced that perk will no longer be offered after September.  I'm looking seriously for a new Credit Card.  The Chase Sapphire Reserve looks enticing.

Ya, we thought the same about the Costco/Citi card -- maybe they cover their own travel, but they did not cover $9K for four people due to tour operator insolvency. Painful lesson. You will like the Chase Reserve.

[kelship]

Overtime baby!! 

 

I rarely turn down overtime, have a travel rewards credit card (paid off weekly), and hubs doesn't travel (I have travel buddies) so I just have to pay for me. 

Edited July 4, 2019 by kelship

[DirtyDawg]

6 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Off the point, but what do you think might happen to your IRA when the securities markets “adjust” from today’s all-time highs?

 

That can't happen - look who's in charge.😉

 

BTW, Happy 4th of July to our American friends and cousins.

Edited July 4, 2019 by DirtyDawg

[MicCanberra]

8 minutes ago, DirtyDawg said:

 

That can't happen - look who's in charge.😉

 

 

[yorkshirephil]

12 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Truly cannot figure this one out.  If you are talking about insurance granted by the card company on purchases, I don't believe it would apply unless the whole trip was paid on that card.  You might want to check.

 

Then, since you are paying off the CC balance automatically, you are losing out on valuable points or cashback by not using the CC to pay off the remainder of the cruise payment.

 

But to each their own....

In the UK as long as the deposit is £100 or more the credit card will insure the whole holiday regardless of how you pay the balance. 

 

Paying the balance by debit card takes the cash from my account at time of use not 1 to 2 months later. I am not loosing any cashback as my account doesn't pay cashback, I benefit from the interest on the account up to a certain balance, if my balance drops below the min to yield interest I would pay by the balance by CC. Rest assured I use my money in a way which is the best option for me.

[ontheweb]

12 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

I can’t speak for how things are done on the bottom half of the world, but ordinarily the credit card fees are discounted from the amount the credit card company credits to the selling merchant. 

 

The business does not really “pass onto the consumer” anything.   What you can sometimes work out on a large purchase is a small discount from list price if you agree to pay in cash rather than by card.

Merchants don't charge extra for using a credit card and I am not sure if they are allowed to, but it seems at least in NY state, the government is allowed to on at least the state and county level. I don't know if this applies to other states.

 

Though I have seen where with pay at the pump, the stations that do charge more for using a credit card now have debit card the same as cash price. 

[DirtyDawg]

26 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Merchants don't charge extra for using a credit card and I am not sure if they are allowed to,....

 

When a vast majority of an industry has the same cost structure, those costs are passed on the consumer if demand and supply warrant it. In North America, the percentage of retailers who accept CC's must be in the high 90's percent range so the fees paid by the retailers to the CC companies are being passed on the consumer. 

 

The sad part about CC usage is that, for the 50% or so of consumers who do not pay their CC bill's on time and pay those very high interest rates, they are doing so even after paying the CC merchant fees which are embedded into the regular prices we see on the selves. At least I get the perks and the convenience of CC usage for the extra couple of percent that I pay on my purchases.

Edited July 4, 2019 by DirtyDawg

[ontheweb]

4 minutes ago, DirtyDawg said:

 

When a vast majority of an industry has the same cost structure, those costs are passed on the consumer if demand and supply warrant it. In North America, the percentage of retailers who accept CC's must be in the high 90's percent range so the fees paid by the retailers to the CC companies are being passed on the consumer. 

 

The sad part about CC usage is that, for the 50% or so of consumers who do not pay their CC bill's on time and pay those very high interest rates, they are doing so even after paying the CC merchant fees which are embedded into the regular prices we see on the selves. At least I get the perks and the convenience of CC usage for the extra couple of percent that I pay on my purchases.

Yes, the cost is passed on, but the cost is also there if you pay by check or cash.

[DirtyDawg]

9 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Yes, the cost is passed on, but the cost is also there if you pay by check or cash.

Absolutely! That's why if you pay by cash (I haven't written a cheque in for a retail purchase in years), you should ask for a discount. I like the idea of a cash discount at those gas stations you mentioned. We don't have that in Ontario yet. Mrs. Dawg likes the 4 cents per litre discount via redeemable store purchase credits she gets using her CC for gas purchases, so the discount for cash would have to be in the 6 - 10 cents per litre range for us to use cash. 

Edited July 4, 2019 by DirtyDawg

[Velvetwater]

 

We are lucky to have small mortgage repayments (bought after the 2008 crash) and decent jobs. When we have kids the money situation will change I think.

 

I just book it when I see it as I will have put some of my spare income aside each month. I never pay on credit and only use what I have in my accounts.

 

I once went into my overdraft by £80 for my 30th birthday holiday a few years back. Never did it again. It felt odd.

Edited July 4, 2019 by Velvetwater

[navybankerteacher]

55 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Merchants don't charge extra for using a credit card and I am not sure if they are allowed to, but it seems at least in NY state, the government is allowed to on at least the state and county level. I don't know if this applies to other states.

 

Though I have seen where with pay at the pump, the stations that do charge more for using a credit card now have debit card the same as cash price. 

While you might truthfully say that “merchants don’t charge EXTRA for using a credit card”,  doesn’t the fact that some “charge MORE for using a credit card “ at the pump kind of cloud the issue?

[DirtyDawg]

14 minutes ago, Velvetwater said:

 

We are lucky to have small mortgage repayments (bought after the 2008 crash) and decent jobs. When we have kids the money situation will change I think.

 

 

As someone who raised three boys from birth to their mid-late twenties as of today, I GUARANTEE that your money situation will change when you have kids!  

 

The good news is when they finally finish university, get jobs and move out, you'll think that you just won the lottery! 😀

Edited July 4, 2019 by DirtyDawg

[navybankerteacher]

23 minutes ago, DirtyDawg said:

Absolutely! That's why if you pay by cash (I haven't written a cheque in for a retail purchase in years), you should ask for a discount. I like the idea of a cash discount at those gas stations you mentioned. We don't have that in Ontario yet. Mrs. Dawg likes the 4 cents per litre discount via redeemable store purchase credits she gets using her CC for gas purchases, so the discount for cash would have to be in the 6 - 10 cents per litre range for us to use cash. 

Of course there is a difference between paying with cash and paying by check:  it takes a day or so for a check to clear and give the merchant available funds - but, at least in some cases, cash transactions leave less of a trail, so a merchant who might not want to report revenue prefers cash for that reason as well.

 

If cruise lines gave a discount for paying with cash, I imagine some of us would show up at their offices with a brief case.  Because they do not, most of us prefer to pay by credit card, taking advantage of the close-to thirty days we have before actually having to part with cash — while making certain to not expose ourselves to 20+% carrying charges.

[DirtyDawg]

21 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

If cruise lines gave a discount for paying with cash, I imagine some of us would show up at their offices with a brief case.  

 

I worked in the retail jewellery business years ago at the chain's flagship store which was right downtown in a major city.  I can't even recall the number of times people, mostly younger men, paid for their purchases, usually gold chains, diamond rings and gold watches, by whipping out their briefcases filled with cash. They usually didn't want to haggle much on the price and they sure made up their minds pretty quickly. I really liked to see potential customers carrying briefcases into the store! 😀

 

(Sorry Mods, my post above is way off topic but I did manage to weave in a nautical theme 'flagship'. 😉)

Edited July 4, 2019 by DirtyDawg

[navybankerteacher]

24 minutes ago, DirtyDawg said:

 

As someone who raised three boys from birth to their mid-late twenties as of today, I GUARANTEE that your money situation will change when you have kids!  

 

The good news is when they finally finish university, get jobs and move out, you'll think that you just won the lottery! 😀

Try two girls - with weddings, and twin sons being helped with law school expenses - after university - which is why I only discovered cruising fairly recently.

[DirtyDawg]

23 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Try two girls - with weddings, and twin sons being helped with law school expenses - after university - which is why I only discovered cruising fairly recently.

 

You WIN!!!

or is it the other one?

 

One of our boys is back doing his MBA at one of the most expensive schools in our country. Lucky for us he is paying the full freight, mostly from his savings no less! 

Edited July 4, 2019 by DirtyDawg

[ducklite]

We tend to alternate more expensive and less expensive trips so we can easily travel within our means and  just pay for things as they come due.  

 

We have started to save for a cruise to the Falklands, Republic of Georgia, and Antarctica cruise after we retire.  It's most likely the only trip that we'll ever had to do that for.  It's also going to be five times the cost of our next most expensive vacation.  😰

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, navybankerteacher said:

While you might truthfully say that “merchants don’t charge EXTRA for using a credit card”,  doesn’t the fact that some “charge MORE for using a credit card “ at the pump kind of cloud the issue?

Yes, it does to some extent, but I am talking about a great majority of merchants, such as grocery stores, department  stores, etc,

[LynnTTT]

After we went on our first cruise 25 years ago, I decided to secretly save up for the next. I started putting a few bucks away in my office drawer (hidden of course).  When I took out cash from the ATM for daily expenses, I just put away a few bucks. Got water for lunch instead of a soda. Never bought another magazine from the newsstand. Drank the Godawful office coffee and never order a tasty Starbucks again.

Before I knew it I had saved up $1,000!!! $ 20 bucks a week adds up.

We're now retired thanks to a basic savings plan. We spend 15% less for everything . If you can afford a $ 300,000 house, buy the $260,000 and save the rest. Same for cars (and keep them till they actually die), clothing, vacations, cruises etc. Put the extra cask in a 401K or a basic savings account.  

[ducklite]

15 minutes ago, LynnTTT said:

After we went on our first cruise 25 years ago, I decided to secretly save up for the next. I started putting a few bucks away in my office drawer (hidden of course).  When I took out cash from the ATM for daily expenses, I just put away a few bucks. Got water for lunch instead of a soda. Never bought another magazine from the newsstand. Drank the Godawful office coffee and never order a tasty Starbucks again.

Before I knew it I had saved up $1,000!!! $ 20 bucks a week adds up.

We're now retired thanks to a basic savings plan. We spend 15% less for everything . If you can afford a $ 300,000 house, buy the $260,000 and save the rest. Same for cars (and keep them till they actually die), clothing, vacations, cruises etc. Put the extra cask in a 401K or a basic savings account.  

I agree with everything except keeping all your money in a basic savings account.  They only pay 2% interest at the top end.  We have our short term savings in a regular savings account, but anything else is in investment accounts and CD's.  401K's are properly invested based on the risk level appropriate for our ages.  

[RocketMan275]

15 hours ago, clo said:

My husband and I each got one yesterday.  I'm struggling to understand it all 🙂  But 3x on all travel and 3x on all dining is very nice.  And Priority Pass lounge access to 1200 lounges around the world.  And on and on.  And a current 50k bonus currently.  

I was seriously thinking about getting Sapphire Reserve in May but decided that my Costco Card (3% on travel and $3K insurance and no annual fee) was a better deal.  Also my wife was not a fan of the annual fee.  Now, Citi has removed the insurance which tips the scale to the Reserve.  I just made final payment on my September cruise which would have covered the $4K to get the miles bonus.  

[clo]

10 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

I was seriously thinking about getting Sapphire Reserve in May but decided that my Costco Card (3% on travel and $3K insurance and no annual fee) was a better deal.  Also my wife was not a fan of the annual fee.  Now, Citi has removed the insurance which tips the scale to the Reserve.  I just made final payment on my September cruise which would have covered the $4K to get the miles bonus.  

The annual fee wasn't as painful for us as some because we already have the UA Club Card which IIRC is the same $.  We got it cause it gives us 1.5 points for every $ spent.  The Priority Pass will likely be better.  I understand that sometimes one isn't admitted due to crowds but with UA you had to be traveling that day on the airline of that specific lounge.