<p>The vacation season is here. The newspapers are full of one-page advertisements on tours. Despite the global tensions, vacation travel is still on. While <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/international-travel">international vacations</a> are typically planned in much detail, months in advance, there are some easy ways to reduce expenses on these international trips.</p>.<p><strong>The Basics</strong></p>.<p>Firstly, set a budget and then build the trip around it. After all travel memories should last longer than the bills that follow! There is a tendency these days to use credit cards and convert expenses to EMIs, which means paying high interest rates, which basically translates to paying almost 1.5X of the actual expenses.</p>.<p>To budget for the vacation, consider keeping aside an amount every month into a vacation fund. Even if you are not planning a trip in the near future, keep allocating to this fund, to eventually build a good corpus. This fund can be invested in an ultra-short/low duration debt fund.</p>.2026 could be your year of travel: Turn long weekends into mini-vacations.<p><strong>The Specifics</strong></p>.<p>One can also consider using credit card reward points for hotels/ airline bookings. Credit card reward points can be redeemed for various things like shopping vouchers, statement credit as well as transfer to hotel/airline partners.</p>.<p>While statement credit may be the easiest to do, it gives the worst value as compared to the other options. While voucher redemptions offer better rates, airlines/hotel transfer give almost double the value. However, the airline/hotel transfer can be restrictive as one will need to align only with a particular hotel/airline.</p>.<p>Choosing a card with a tie- up with a global hotel chain/airline would be the best way to use credit card points and save on the <br>vacation expenses.</p>.<p>Another effective way to manage these expenses is by opting for cards that offer low or zero foreign exchange markup. In most cases, banks levy a 3–5% fee on international transactions to facilitate currency conversion, which can significantly increase the overall spend. There are a variety of preloaded travel cards available and one must check all the charges like currency markup to load the card, ATM withdrawal fees and other restrictions.</p>.<p><strong>The Must Have</strong></p>.<p>Travel insurance is an absolute must in any international vacation, where costs and complexity can escalate quickly.</p>.<p>Travel insurance offers comprehensive coverage across a wide range of unforeseen situations, including medical emergencies, baggage loss, flight disruptions and even fatal accidents.</p>.<p>Travellers should choose insurance that covers medical emergencies, hospitalisation, evacuation, trip cancellation/interruption and loss of baggage/passport.</p>.<p>While travel insurance premiums tend to be very low, one needs to check the coverage limits, claim process in the policy and how quickly assistance is available.</p>.<p>Do note that pre-existing conditions, adventure sports, substance abuse and war are excluded. Not disclosing all facts properly can lead to claim rejection.</p>.<p>Thus, utmost care must be taken to disclose all material facts to avoid being saddled with huge medical bills. A simple hospitalization can run into thousands of dollars. High covers are a must. A family of 4 should take at least $2,50,000 cover.</p>.<p>Financially well-planned trips ensure that the only thing one brings back is memories, not money worries.</p>.<p><em><strong>The author is a Financial Educator & Founder Director of Finsafe India Pvt Ltd</strong></em></p>
<p>The vacation season is here. The newspapers are full of one-page advertisements on tours. Despite the global tensions, vacation travel is still on. While <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/international-travel">international vacations</a> are typically planned in much detail, months in advance, there are some easy ways to reduce expenses on these international trips.</p>.<p><strong>The Basics</strong></p>.<p>Firstly, set a budget and then build the trip around it. After all travel memories should last longer than the bills that follow! There is a tendency these days to use credit cards and convert expenses to EMIs, which means paying high interest rates, which basically translates to paying almost 1.5X of the actual expenses.</p>.<p>To budget for the vacation, consider keeping aside an amount every month into a vacation fund. Even if you are not planning a trip in the near future, keep allocating to this fund, to eventually build a good corpus. This fund can be invested in an ultra-short/low duration debt fund.</p>.2026 could be your year of travel: Turn long weekends into mini-vacations.<p><strong>The Specifics</strong></p>.<p>One can also consider using credit card reward points for hotels/ airline bookings. Credit card reward points can be redeemed for various things like shopping vouchers, statement credit as well as transfer to hotel/airline partners.</p>.<p>While statement credit may be the easiest to do, it gives the worst value as compared to the other options. While voucher redemptions offer better rates, airlines/hotel transfer give almost double the value. However, the airline/hotel transfer can be restrictive as one will need to align only with a particular hotel/airline.</p>.<p>Choosing a card with a tie- up with a global hotel chain/airline would be the best way to use credit card points and save on the <br>vacation expenses.</p>.<p>Another effective way to manage these expenses is by opting for cards that offer low or zero foreign exchange markup. In most cases, banks levy a 3–5% fee on international transactions to facilitate currency conversion, which can significantly increase the overall spend. There are a variety of preloaded travel cards available and one must check all the charges like currency markup to load the card, ATM withdrawal fees and other restrictions.</p>.<p><strong>The Must Have</strong></p>.<p>Travel insurance is an absolute must in any international vacation, where costs and complexity can escalate quickly.</p>.<p>Travel insurance offers comprehensive coverage across a wide range of unforeseen situations, including medical emergencies, baggage loss, flight disruptions and even fatal accidents.</p>.<p>Travellers should choose insurance that covers medical emergencies, hospitalisation, evacuation, trip cancellation/interruption and loss of baggage/passport.</p>.<p>While travel insurance premiums tend to be very low, one needs to check the coverage limits, claim process in the policy and how quickly assistance is available.</p>.<p>Do note that pre-existing conditions, adventure sports, substance abuse and war are excluded. Not disclosing all facts properly can lead to claim rejection.</p>.<p>Thus, utmost care must be taken to disclose all material facts to avoid being saddled with huge medical bills. A simple hospitalization can run into thousands of dollars. High covers are a must. A family of 4 should take at least $2,50,000 cover.</p>.<p>Financially well-planned trips ensure that the only thing one brings back is memories, not money worries.</p>.<p><em><strong>The author is a Financial Educator & Founder Director of Finsafe India Pvt Ltd</strong></em></p>