How will you use your credit cards this holiday season? Will you use them to buy gifts online or as a way to borrow money for gifts you want to pay off over time? Will you use them to buy holiday decorations? Will you use them to book a trip to visit family?

Credit cards have many uses over the holiday season. Here are four of them.

1. Provide Financing for Holiday Gifts

Whether you didn’t budget enough for holiday shopping this year or you just prefer to pay off those purchases over time, your credit cards can be a great tool. You can finance gifts and pay them off over the following several weeks or months, giving you a bit of a break in your year-end budget.

2. Offer Purchase Protection and Other Perks

When you purchase something, it’s always a good idea to have purchase protection. That’s especially true with gifts. Credit cards sometimes offer this insurance, which could make gift replacement easier if something is lost or stolen during transport. Credit cards can offer other great perks for the holidays too, from travel insurance to cash back (which can help you save on gifts or trips).

3. Finance Family Travel to Visit Loved Ones

Maybe you always travel far to visit family over the holidays. Or perhaps it was a last minute decision this year. Either way, holiday travel can get expensive. Credit cards let you finance those costs over time if that’s easier for you (and can even let you earn frequent flyer points for future trips if you have a card like the ANZ Frequent Flyer credit card).

4. Track Spending and Budgets

End of the year holidays also come at a time when you might be thinking more about your budget and how you want to improve things as a New Year’s resolution. Because you can review your holiday expenses easily through your credit card statements, you’ll have a good idea about where your budget stands (and how you might want to handle holiday spending differently next year).

So how will you use your credit cards this holiday season? Will you use them to spend more, save more, or earn rewards? Will you use them for convenience or as a way to track your spending? No matter how you use your credit cards over the holidays, the point is that you should use them to take advantage of these benefits and more.