Payment upfront
With my lawyer hat on, I'd like to clarify the situation regarding upfront payments by credit card: one advantage of paying for services with a credit card is that if there's a problem the credit card company is liable to the same extent as the supplier (s.75 Consumer Credit Act 1974).
In essence that means that in the event of the insolvency of your training provider during your PPL training, you can bring a claim against your credit card company for the outstanding balance to be credited to you. In turn, by subrogation the credit card provider steps into your shoes and claims against the training provider as an unsecured creditor. They rank pretty much at the bottom of the payment waterfall, but you have your money back and it's not your concern.
That being said, the discount offered for upfront payment may well be offset by a surcharge for credit card payments (I don't believe FAB does this, though), and the benefit of paying upfront assumes you clear the balance before it starts to accrue interest.
I did my IMCR with FAB at the end of last year and really enjoyed it - the Archer III is a dream to fly on long distances. The ILS, NDB, Warton MATZ and nearby Manchester and Liverpool zones will give you confidence to undertake ambitious x-country flights after you get your ticket.