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Spring has sprung, and that means Summer's not too far away. So now's the time to start thinking about destinations for your summer holiday. Will it be a sun-baked family holiday with sea and sangria, a luxurious couple-cruise drifting through exclusive resorts, or something else entirely?

The world's getting smaller and holidays are no longer limited to a week away on a bracing sea front with the world and his wife. There's a whole host of options to suit every budget and every age, from activity, or cruise holidays, to city breaks, beach resorts, or if you really want it, a staycation here in the UK.

Different strokes for different folks

Maybe it's a special occasion, a memorable birthday, or an all-out family get together in the sun. It might be to escape the pressures of work, kids or just life itself. Whatever your reasons for going on holiday, we all need a good, relaxing break from time to time. And anything from a long weekend to a couple of weeks away from it all can work wonders.

But everyone's opinion of what makes a good holiday is as different as chalk and cheese. Lying on a sun-drenched beach with nothing but a book for company may suit some, while an active cycling holiday covering 100 miles a day could be another's dream come true. But neither of them would suit a city-loving culture vulture. None of them are wrong - they're just different.

So what's hot and what's not in the world of holidays? In 2017, the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) conducted a leisure and tourism consumer trends survey to find out. The results gave a representative sample of some 2,000 consumers across the country, relating to holiday habits in the 12 months leading up to August 2017.

According to the report, city breaks are our favourite type of getaway. 53% of the 2,000 people involved had taken one or planned to take one in the next 12 months. The good old beach holiday abroad came in second, with 41% opting for a sunny break. Coming in third were UK countryside breaks with 25%.

So even with people going for the cultural city break option in the number one spot, there's still a huge appetite for a relaxing holiday, either at home or abroad. Other holiday options that fared less well included all-inclusive holidays (17%), activity holidays (7%), and cruises (7%). Even the humble coach trip has increased in popularity and creeps into the top 10 by just 6%.

City break, beach date, or country landscape
Sticking with the same ABTA research, it shows that city breaks, beach holidays, and countryside retreats look set to keep their positions at the top of the pile of 2018's most preferred holidays. And despite the complete uncertainty and instability of Brexit, the economy, and what it could all mean for holidaymakers, 63% of all respondents are committed to holidaying in Europe in 2018.

And people are generally planning on spending more on their holidays too. 31% of people said as much, compared to just 24% when asked the same question in 2016. Just 14% intend to spend less than before, while 47% of respondents suggested they'd spend 'about the same'. So where are the most likely destinations? We've seen that 63% of people will visit Europe this year, but 66% of people will be taking advantage of what the UK has to offer by staying on these shores for a staycation.

So could your 2018 summer holiday(s) include anything on the ABTA research results table? A fast-paced cultural city break? A relaxing, sun-soaked beach holiday? Or a calming countryside break in some of the UK's amazing landscapes?

City Breaks

For the culture vulture, a city break to Europe feels like the best of both worlds. You get to fly abroad and take advantage of some much-needed sun, but without the boredom of a beach holiday. And even though the UK can't guarantee the sun, there are still amazing city break destinations to explore.

Typically 3 or 4 days long, the other benefit to a city break is that you might be able to squeeze two or three in across the year by having some long weekends. And the choice is vast. All major European cities, and some of the smaller ones too, are totally geared up for short stay visitors, with dozens of hotels to choose from and easy to use public transport to get about.

Perfect for any couples looking for a romantic anniversary escape, or just to explore the art, museums, and culture, discovering the best of Europe along the way. When a quick getaway is on the cards without too much planning, then a city break could be for you. Top destinations for 2018 include London, Rome, Venice, Barcelona, and Amsterdam - but will you have time to fit everything in?

Beach dates

One of the all time favourite types of holiday. Jetting off for one or two weeks in the sun is what many of us Brits need after six months of hard work and very little sun. The package holiday has been popular since the 1960s, with Spain being the top destination for sun worshippers. In that respect, not much has changed, and the Med is serving some of the best beach holiday destinations around.

Whether you opt for one week, 10 days, or a full fortnight away, the Mediterranean has plenty of sun and choice on offer. From the all-inclusive, entertainment-heavy, resort holiday magnets dotted along the Spanish southern coast in Benidorm, Alicante, and Marbella, to the islands of Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, and Tenerife further south in the Canaries.

But there's plenty of beach holiday choice in quieter areas too, with many coming under the 'holidaymaker' radar. So whatever purpose your beach holiday is for, a couple's break, a family resort stay, or a full, multi-generation, family get together to celebrate a special anniversary, you can't go wrong with the guaranteed sun of a beach holiday.

Country landscape

With the £GBP coming off worse against both the €Euro and the $USD the UK staycation is a real contender for people this year. More and more of us are choosing to stay home instead of flying off abroad, and the trend for UK staycations is set to grow. And though UK city breaks are taking a large slice of the staycation pie, the rural escape is becoming more and more popular.

With so many destinations to choose from, the chance to recharge your batteries and connect with nature in some of the UK's most stunning countryside scenery is overwhelming. From the wilds of Dartmoor in Devon, to the Cotswolds, the Peak District, the Lake District, and beyond up into the Scottish Highlands, and everything in between.

So if exhilarating country walks, the attraction of rural accommodation with hearty food and a pint, and relaxing evenings in front of an open fire appeal to you, then the UK has a lot to offer. Some of the most popular destinations for a countryside break in 2018 include Pembrokeshire, Guernsey, the Isle of Skye, Dorset, and Cornwall.

A Car Cash Point logbook loan

With so much choice for any kind of holiday, part of the fun is choosing where to go. But one of the headaches can be how you're going to afford it. And with a family, things can start to get a bit pricey. Everyone deserves some kind of holiday at least once a year, but when you're on a tight budget, even the cheapest of holiday deals can seem out of reach.

One way to get a cash boost and a head start on your holiday savings fund is to withdraw the cash from your car with a logbook loan from Car Cash Point. Using any car you own as security against the loan, you could borrow any amount from £500 up to £100,000 - all you need to get you started is your V5 logbook.

With no hidden charges or fees, and a really fair rate of interest on each loan (often less than half that of some other logbook loan lenders) Car Cash Point can offer you a reasonable, low cost loan - even if you have a poor credit rating. That's because we're the only national logbook loan lender who doesn't do any credit checks, so you should still be able to get a loan to help you.

There are no penalties for wanting to end your loan early if you want to, and no penalties for making overpayments, and the interest is reduced on your remaining balance every time you do. There's even a range of flexible repayment terms that will fit the way you receive your own income too.

Money might be right now, but a low-cost logbook loan from Car Cash Point could give you the helping hand you need to make 2018 the year of the holiday of a lifetime - wherever you want to go. Call our expert advisors today on 0370 218 6892.

Even though borrowing money with logbook loans online is becoming a more popular way for car owners to receive a lump sum of cash, they still come in for more than their fair share of criticism. But as with most things, it's best not to believe everything you read.

Over recent years, bad press, bad publicity, and negative connotations associated with so-called 'fast loans', including online logbook loans, resulted in a crackdown by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Now, there are specific guidelines, with tighter rules and restrictions for lenders, including a price cap to limit the amount of fees and charges a borrower would be liable to pay.

But even though the industry has dramatically upped its game, Here, Car Cash Point look at just a few of the more common falsehoods and put the record straight.

Continue reading "Logbook Loans Online And How To Tell Fact From Fiction" →

If you already know your credit score is low, being approved for any loan you apply for is almost impossible. But as Car Cash Point don't need to check your credit score to help you with a loan, it makes the process much easier. And once you're approved for a Car Cash Point logbook loan, there are still plenty of ways to help you improve your credit score overall.

When your credit score is at an all-time low, or even non-existent, the obvious way to improve it is to get credit. But, as with a lot of financial dealings, that's easier said than done. A low credit score keeps you caught in a vicious circle - you can't get credit to improve your score, and you can't improve your score without credit. So what do you do?

Continue reading "How to Improve Your Credit Score with a Logbook Loan" →

Whatever line of credit you apply for, whether it's a logbook loan, a mobile phone contract, even a mail order catalogue, there's often pages of small print attached to the paperwork that you probably won't read. But that small print is often the place where most of the information about hidden fees is kept. Before we start and just to be completely clear, Car Cash Point has no hidden fee's, we've worked really hard to become one of the only Logbook loan lenders in the UK to offer the highest quality service that's as fair as possible to our clients.

No one reads the small print. It's just a fact of everyday life. It doesn't really matter what we're signing up for, we gloss over it, or blindly accept it - usually, both, ignoring it all and signing anyway. But those tiny Ts and Cs are there for a reason. And that's to tell us about any legal or financial obligations that we, or the lender, are liable for.

All the relevant info will be listed, but because it's written in 'legal speak', it can be full of jargon, making it difficult to read and understand. But that's what some lenders rely on. And as lenders might not be legally obliged to tell you about fees and charges beforehand, this is where many borrowers can get into difficulties.

Continue reading "How to avoid a log book loan's hidden fees" →

When it comes to borrowing money, you can be overwhelmed by the choice available. But it's the influx of 'fast' loans that have received some bad press in recent years, with logbook loans coming under the spotlight. So why have logbook loans had such a hard time and do they deserve it?

A flooded market

There was a time when if you needed to borrow money, you had to visit your bank or building society and apply in person. Application forms and all kinds of background checks were part and parcel of borrowing, and you almost certainly needed to declare what the money you wanted to borrow was for.

That method of borrowing is still very much alive and well in High Streets all over the country. And though those same High Street names all offer online loans as well, the same amount of checks and confirmations are still required. Although these big names are trusted and well known to us, not everyone who needed to borrow actually could, because of their financial background or current financial situation.

To counteract this rather limiting way of allowing people to borrow money, the online market became flooded with faster, quicker, and easier loans being made available. Aimed purely at people who were hard up or strapped for cash, these loans became an easy way for money lenders to prey on those that needed money quickly.

Continue reading "The rise and rise of logbook loans" →

Over time, getting a bad or low credit rating can seriously limit your ability to borrow money. Many financial lenders insist on an excellent, or at least good, credit score before they'll even look at your application for a loan, mortgage or credit card. But having a bad credit score doesn't have to mean no credit at all.

Once you get credit and providing you don't run up vast amounts of unsecured debt, credit will always be available to you. And, the more you borrow (and pay back successfully), the more your credit score will build, showing lenders you're a trusted and creditworthy customer. It all makes it much easier to borrow money for years to come.

But, if you come unstuck and run into financial difficulties for any reason, your credit score will quickly decrease, leaving you with few options to borrow. And once you get a bad credit rating, all lenders will quickly know about it, making it increasingly difficult to get credit or finance anywhere.

Continue reading "Does my bad credit have to mean no credit at all?" →