Vacation Tips. You are planning a trip. You are thrilled to get away for a few days. It may involve the beach, some friends and plenty of good food. As you are sitting on the beach, relaxing, you may have no cares in the world. However lurking around that sand dune, and in the various other areas of most tourism heavy locations are people willing and wanting to grab your credit card information to use it for their own benefits or to take advantage of your finances in other ways. As a consumer, be aware of who is lurking around the corner.

1: The Timeshare Trap

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You are walking down the boardwalk and out jumps the person who is promising you free tickets to all of the area attractions you planned to visit while on vacation. Wow, you think, really. You find out you need to attend a presentation and then you get the free tickets. If that sounds great, do not buy it. The fact is, these timeshare setups are often very costly and, what is worse, the down payment fits nicely onto your credit card.

• Timeshares can be expensive in the long term.
• Most loans have long reaching, expensive interest rates if they come from these lenders.

Avoid charging the purchase fees, deposit or other fees to your credit card. It will cost you big time to do so.

2: Taking Too Many With You

The more credit cards you take with you on vacation, the more likely it is that you are going to have one of them stolen. Keep in mind that in some cases, a small, handheld device can scan your card without actually touching the card. In other words, a would-be thief can walk by your pocket, scan the device and grab your information.

To avoid this, use only a few credit cards during your vacation. Track the amount you have available on the credit card at the start of the vacation and throughout it, so you know what is available. Even better, leave your credit cards at home and use prepaid credit if you are concerned. Identity theft is a real concern, even when you are traveling.

3: Not Knowing Where You Can Save

Many travel credit cards offer massive rewards and discounts to their users. You probably use these cards for your everyday purchases and may even be getting big discounts on your accommodations and airline tickets. However, many of these cards also offer additional discounts when you travel (and you may have no idea that they do.)

• Find out if there are car rental discounts available.
• You may be able to save on hotel services.
• You may be able to get attraction tickets, concert tickets or event access through your credit card company. Some even offer VIP access for those who use the card enough.

Contact your credit card company to find out what travel rewards you currently get just for using your card. You may not realize how many affiliated discounts can make your trip that much more affordable – if you use your card, of course.