Can I pay for my yacht charter with a credit card?

Chris de Kock
Yacht charter broker, DMA Yachting

Short answer: sometimes for the first installment, but we almost never recommend it. The card company’s exchange rate plus processing surcharges, direct or hidden, usually cost more than any points are worth on amounts this size.

There is also a reason the whole industry runs on bank transfers: chargebacks. Card payments can be reversed months later, so owners and managers price that risk in or refuse cards outright. A transfer clears cleanly, which is also why it gets you the better terms.

Our advice: send a bank transfer, and put the card points toward the flights instead.