Travel loans

A travel loan is a form of unsecured personal loan that you can use to finance a holiday. It may be used to pay for flights, accommodation, insurance, tours, and other costs associated with your trip.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, more than 10 million Australians travelled abroad in 2017, with New Zealand, Indonesia, and the United States ranking as the most popular holiday destinations. Compared with credit cards, bank overdraft or mortgage redraw, A holiday loan can be a convenient and cost-effective way to finance such trips, so you can play your honeymoon, overseas vacation, or domestic flight without needing to pay for it all upfront.

A holiday loan works just like a personal loan. That is, you borrow a specific amount of money and then pay it back with interest over an agreed term. To qualify for a personal loan, you must submit an application and agree to a credit check that takes into account your borrowing history, employment status, credit score, and other factors.

Personal loans, including holiday loans, can allow you to enjoy a lower interest rate than you would receive with a credit card and also offer a consistent repayment schedule. RateSetter personal loans also give you the flexibility to make early repayments, allowing you to reduce the length of your loan helping minimise the amount you pay in interest.

You can use a holiday loan for a number of different purposes, including:

• Flight costs
• Hotel / accommodation costs
• Travel insurance
• Spending money
• Sightseeing / Tours
• Visas / New passports
• Vaccinations

If you are approved for a loan and you accept your loan contract, we’ll pay funds into your nominated bank account on the next business day. This gives you the flexibility to manage and pay for your travel costs any way you like

There are three key features that make up the cost of a holiday loan. They are the:

• Interest rate (e.g. fixed or variable rate)
• Upfront fees (e.g. establishment fee)
• Ongoing fees (e.g. monthly fees, late payment fees, and other charges)

These costs can be combined to create a measure called a comparison rate. This blended rate represents the total cost of your holiday loan over a standard term (e.g. $10,000 over 3 years). This makes it a useful tool for comparing travel and holiday loans on a like-for-like basis.

For an accurate estimate of the costs of your travel loan, we recommend completing a RateEstimate. We’ll provide you with a summary of your repayment amount and options across different loan terms. This makes it easy for you to compare personal loans and choose the right option for you.

At RateSetter, we use risk-based pricing to set the overall cost of your holiday loan. This means we look at a range of factors, including your credit history, to provide you with a personalised interest rate. The better your credit history, the better the rate we are able to offer. We also don’t charge any fees for early repayments. As a result, if you are able to pay back your holiday loan with additional repayments, you’ll benefit by paying lower interest over the life of the loan.

To be eligible for a RateSetter travel loan you must be:

• Aged 21 or over
• An Australian citizen or permanent resident
• Be earning over $25,000 p.a. from a regular source of income
• Have a good credit history

Applying for a personal loan to fund your holiday is easy with RateSetter. To get started you’ll need to complete a RateEstimate and we’ll provide you with a summary of your personalised rate, loan options and borrowing power. From there you will be able to select your preferred loan term and start your application online.

As part of your application, we will need you to verify your identity. To complete this step you will need to make sure you have your Australian driver’s license handy. If you do not have a driver’s license you will need to provide us with a copy of your passport and documents verifying your current address.

During your application, we will also need to verify your income, expenses and liabilities (e.g. credit cards, loans etc). We will need to connect to your bank account and share your last 3 months of transaction data with us. To do this, you’ll need your bank login details handy. Based on the details you provide at this step we may require you to share further information or documents (e.g.loan statements). A member of our customer service team will let you know if we require anything further from you.

Finally, we will need you to provide us with your bank account details for your loan funds to be deposited. This account will be the same account we use to set up your direct debit payment schedule. You will also have the flexibility to make extra repayments on your holiday loan at any time.

In completing our assessment of your application, we will look for evidence of how suitable a travel loan is to your situation. This includes reviewing: