How do people pay for flights?

Looking at heading to Sydney in November or thereabouts.
Would, if I can afford it, like to fly UC so that's around £2879.60 at present.
Can manage that on one of my credit cards assuming I clear a little of the balance first.

None of my cards are those 0% interest ones and can't see myself getting paid £3k one moth in order to completely clear the balance.

Therefore, shoud I either end up paying for the flight months in advance and paying interest on the cost of the flight; try and get a 0% interest card which may not have that amount as the limit; wait until close to the time and by then I would have saved up enough to pay of a larger piece of the balance (yet there may be no seats left or the price could have gone by then)?

So how do people normally end up paying themselves for PE, UC etc flights especially if more than one person is flying?

It's a shame VA don't operate like travel agents where you can pay a deposit of 10% of whatever and then pay the remainder a 45 days or less before the time you fly out.

It's a difficult one because everyone's circumstances are different.
For me from the start of this year on I can afford to pay for UC upfront (or at least I stick it on my CC and pay the balance off every month, helps me earn some *A miles ) but that's because I've worked bloody hard at something that is now paying off I would only fly UC on one of the cheapest fares though, it aint worth top whack to me.
If you're really that desperate to go UC at the cheapest price obviously look for 0% cards, failing that go for some that fix the transfer for the life of balance at 3.9-4.9% however, I do not advocate getting in debt just to fly UC.
Personally, if I couldn't afford it I wouldn't do it.
If you already have debts (not entirely sure if you have so please don't take this the wrong way) is it worth putting yourself into further debt just to fly UC?

I do hope you get what you really want though

Have to agree with Daywalker, I don't buy anything I can't pay off the following month in full, I only have the card because I'm a miles tart:D[}:)] and for the additional purchase protection it gives. It is hard not knowing your circumstances, but you already have an uncleared balance on your CC. If this is a real once in a lifetime thing then I'd go for a personal loan, you have to make the payment each month and not be tempted by making a minimum payment. Once you realise how many months it will take to pay it back you might not be as interested! Otherwise I'd live within my means.

Waiting until nearer the time is more likely to see the cost go up, rather than down as all of the cheaper APEX fares sell out.

Regards

Pat

[Nottingham Nick]

Agree with previous posters. UC is very nice, but you don't get there much quicker (if at all), and it certainly isn't worth putting yourself in debt for, IMHO. [:I]

I was brought up with the maxim that if I can't afford something, I don't buy it. Credit card companies are very good at dangling the carrot of 0% interest etc. but, in general, it is often a very expensive way of borrowing money.

Best of luck with it, but I would think twice before you saddling myself with a big debt. [8D][8D]

[Scrooge]

Agree with Nick,take a look around this site,find way's to get miles and at some point take that UC flight.

Most of us started in Y and worked our way up to a W or J everynow and again,while flying in UC is great,it is only for a very short time,it's not worth going into debt for.

Try Trailfinders as they can book the tickets but don't need payment for tickets until only a couple of months before the flight ( I thought this was what was being alluded to in the original post? Why not use that? )

Trailfinders have a dedicated First / Business class desk on 0207 938 3444 - I've dealt with a guy called Carl there before who's been very helpful.

Hope this helps,

David.

Agree with Dave - we all stated in Y and then for whatever reason moved up through the classes - I guess there is a combination of factors amongst the people on this board as to why we/they choose to book a higher class:

- work damn hard and choose to spend the available cash on leisure time
- got better paid as the career developed and was able to afford it
- saved miles and then was able to use them as upgrades or Mile plus Money
- treat the experience of PE or UC as an integral part of the "holiday experence" and so spend money on this rather than on accommodation at the other end
- business travel and the firm pays for it

Ultimately the reasons will alwys be personal - I plane to fly out PE and back UC from the states/caribbean because I beleive I will feel better after the flight and therefore be able to do my job better - so I save and spend money on that - I also look for deals with VH and try to use their PE or UC deals as I think they offer value for money[y]

There have been posts here before similar to this topic and I think the V-flyer experience also gives people the desire to try the next class up - there is so much detail as to what makes it good.

But as Nick rightly says - all the passengers on the plane leave and arrive at the same time ( give or take some immigration queues!!)

IF you were looking at staying a few nights in Sydney then try virgin holidays. You only need to pay 120 each now and you can access your account whenever you want and pay weekly, monthly or lumps off the total.

xenole

You've heard the "sensible people", now here's my 2p worth
I say go for it, no matter what debt situation you're in, if you want to fly UC, and you have the cash/credit limit available - go for it! Don't put off til tomorrow what you can do today - life's too short

Cheers

Michael

I would try my luck at paying for a suitable PE seat and then upgrading with miles if that were possible - perhaps if they do bring in a second flight out that way, I may get lucky......

I'm not up to my ears in debt. I can afford to pay the full cost of the flight on my credit card (which I would do regardless for security and protection purposes) after I make this month's payment.
It's just that the card I have with the high limit isn't 0% so I could end up paying £40-60 a month in interest or whatever it would be on nearly £3k.
I suppose getting a 0% card is no worse than saving up all year, give or take the loss of a couple of £ in interest from a building society or wheverer.....

Dont know if this is an option but...

Im travelling to MIA in PE in November with Virgin Holidays. They let you pay by direct debit, so im paying for it monthly. If they didnt do that, it would be unlikely i would be able to afford to go PE!

Originally posted by hairy114
Dont know if this is an option but...

Im travelling to MIA in PE in November with Virgin Holidays. They let you pay by direct debit, so im paying for it monthly. If they didnt do that, it would be unlikely i would be able to afford to go PE!

There are some pros and cons to this.
Not 100% sure what the itinery is going to be yet - may just travel around the place depending on the length of stay. Also, the hotels you want aren't always the ones included in the brochure and sometimes you can get better deals by booking them separately - then again, not sure if you can book say 2 nights (must include one saturday?) in Hong Kong, fly on to Sydney and the do your own thing without any further accomodation with them.
Must admit, first flew with Virgin Holidays to Orlando back in 1999 and having inclusive transfers from the hotel to the airport was very useful - better than paying $90 from say JFK-Manhattan in a cab or whatever......

just be careful with credit cards... After working in the financial services industry all I can say is use credit cards to your advantage... do not let them use you!