Help for your holiday hangover

Almost a quarter of people going on holiday this year will spend more than they planned, according to research for Nationwide Building Society.

The survey reveals that 23% said they will spend more than they have budgeted for their holiday.  Of these, nearly half (48%) will pay for their extra spending with their credit card.  In total, 60% of those surveyed will use their credit card in some way for their holidays, either to fund their holiday, to purchase items while away or to pay for additional spending.
 
Paul Carvell, Nationwide's head of credit cards, said: "There's no surprise that August is our busiest time of year for credit card usage in Europe - both for the amount of money that is spent but also for withdrawing from cash machines.
 
"Treating yourself on holiday can be great fun, however, once you return you have to deal with the expenditure.  To help holiday makers who've used their credit card in some shape or form, we've improved our balance transfer offer for new customers."
 
Anyone opening a Nationwide Credit Card or Select Credit Card online, in branch or via telephone, will be able to take advantage of an interest free balance transfer offer of 26 months with a reduced balance transfer fee of 2.4% (minimum £5).  The Nationwide Credit Card has a 17.9% APR representative (variable) and the Select Credit Card (available to Nationwide main current account customers), has a 15.9% APR representative (variable).
 
With the Nationwide Credit Card, customers are also rewarded with a commission-free allowance whenever purchases are made in pounds sterling. For example, if £100 is spent on shopping in a month (UK, Sterling), £20 worth of commission-free allowances to use on purchases abroad is automatically rewarded to the customer.  With Nationwide's Select Credit Card, customers are able to make commission-free purchases abroad and earn 0.5% cashback on all Sterling purchases.