A big line of credit and a summer vacation can be an expensive combination. If you're not careful, you could wind up with credit card bills that take months, if not years, to pay off. Don't let this happen to you. If you're going to use plastic on your summer vacation and many Americans are, be sure to stay within your vacation budget.
Smart vacationers develop a vacation budget ahead of time and limit their charges to allotted items.
Here are 10 credit card tips from Consumer Credit Counseling Service of the Gulf Coast Area, a division of Money Management International, for vacationers who will be taking their credit cards along for the ride this summer. Check your credit first. Credit cards aren't an option if you are overextended, and you are if your non-mortgage debt exceeds 20 percent of your annual income. If this is the case, scale back your vacation plans and focus on debt reduction. Use one or two cards.