Thomas Cook Holiday Savings Account: Save now, travel later

According to the scheme, a person can save for a future travel in form of monthly installments lasting twelve months. A person should open an recurring deposit (RD) account for this purpose in any of the bank that is partnering with Thomas Cook. This include ICICI Bank, IDFC, SBI and Andhra Bank among others.

When the deposit matures, the money along with full interest will be transferred directly to the Thomas Cook wallet of the person. In addition, a top-up from the company of around 5 percent too will be added to the wallet.

The person can use this money to book a trip given the condition that the trip is scheduled within 90 days of the payment of the last installment. One can also have the option of making changes in destination or number of travellers till the ninth month of the installment. One can also withdraw the amount with the interest if the plan is cancelled.

However, users will have to pay 50 percent of the total additional cost upfront when adding another passenger. Also, the money cannot be used for multiple trips.

While there is no question that such an option will make travelling much more affordable to many, the question exists about how practical it is to schedule and plan a trip more than one year in advance.