Pay Off Cruise in Full Now Or Wait?

[HollandAvery]

Okay, so I'm considering either paying off my cruise in full now (credit card), paying a little each month until it's paid off in March or saving it all up and waiting until the day before the due date.

 

Is there any benefits of waiting? What reason would I have to wait? Maybe I was misunderstanding...but if I wait until the due date I might get better perks with my ES rate.

 

Someone please explain and guide me in what I should most likely do!:eek:

I have a 6K so I'm not really expecting a PD (although I wouldn't mind one)

[pauleydm]

With early saver you have a couple of choices. Before, the cruise is paid in full, if there are price reductions and you are approved for the reduction, Carnival will lower the cost of your total due, and you will pay less. If the cruise is paid in full, Carnival will apply the reduction in price as an OBC. IMHO, I would pay the deposit and then make monthly payments. That way you will not be paying credit card interest on the full cruise fare.

[HollandAvery]

With early saver you have a couple of choices. Before, the cruise is paid in full, if there are price reductions and you are approved for the reduction, Carnival will lower the cost of your total due, and you will pay less. If the cruise is paid in full, Carnival will apply the reduction in price as an OBC. IMHO, I would pay the deposit and then make monthly payments. That way you will not be paying credit card interest on the full cruise fare.

 

Thank you so much for your response! You said pretty much exactly what I was hoping. I figured monthly payments would be the best bet, as I would be pretty happy with getting some OBC...I was planning to spend money on the ship anyway, so why not! (:

[satxdiver]

My money has always looked better in my account than in theirs so I pay all bills on the day due and not before. With the ability to schedule payments electronically on a specific day, it is very easy. I just have to remember and put in my ledger when the money will be leaving my account.

 

Paying early and then getting an OBC for overpayment due to price decreases is your money which again looks very nice in your account and not theirs. If you have to set up a separate bank account to hold the money so it will not get spent, then do it as it still looks better in your account.

[SNJCruisers]

Also remember to purchase the Carnival egift card if you have Verizon as your cell phone provider since you'll save 10% on your cruise fare as well as 10% on anything that goes on your sail n sign. It's going to save us 140.00 because of 1400 worth of ecard purchases.

[RuthlessBoss]

I'd pay in increments with no cc involved. I'd also rather get my fare lowered than onboard credit.

[Out to sea!]

Thank you so much for your response! You said pretty much exactly what I was hoping. I figured monthly payments would be the best bet, as I would be pretty happy with getting some OBC...I was planning to spend money on the ship anyway, so why not! (:

 

Instead of paying a bit each month, why not wait until final payment date (or a few days before) and just pay in full then?

[snc_cam]

If you are going to do monthly payments, why not pay yourself (setup a separate account or sub-account at your bank) and then when final payment, you can withdraw the money (or transfer to your main account) and pay then. You then get the (miniscule) interest :)

 

I used to pay just before due-date. Not worth the headache if something messes up. A 20-day float is not going to make or break my finances.