If you think that vacation is out of your reach, think again. Financing companies and airlines have launched services that will allow you to book your once-in-a-lifetime vacation now and pay for it over time.
Affirm, PayPal, and Uplift are among the payment services offered by travel companies and airlines that let you book now and pay your trip off over time (with or without interest, depending on which service you use). We've broken down the basics of these financing services so you can book your next vacation and begin to budget for your trip. Some airlines offer their own options for book now, pay later flights and vacation packages, and others offer ways to lock in a rate for a fee.
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How Affirm, PayPal Credit, and Uplift Work
Affirm allows customers to pay a set amount over a period of time (up to 36 months) based on a set interest rate which is displayed at the time of sign-up. To use Affirm, you will need a phone number (this will be your account number), and this option is only available in Australia, Canada, and the U.S., except for those living in Iowa and West Virginia. Once you've created your account, you can set up auto-pay or pay each month via the app or website. You can find a full list of Affirm's travel partners, including airlines and accommodations, on its website.
PayPal Credit is another payment option permitted by some travel companies. Simply choose PayPal Credit as one of the payment options once you sign into your PayPal account. Plus, PayPal Credit offers no interest if you pay in full within six months. See the website for details and terms.
Uplift also offers financing so you can book your trip now and pay over time. Once you have selected a product, like your flight, you are shown a per month rate based on the price of the items in your shopping cart. Once you get to the payment page and choose monthly payment as your option, you will be asked for some personal details, and once you click "check rate," you will be told if you're approved or not. Note: Not every fare is eligible for this payment option.
The Top 10 International Airlines
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Airlines Offering Book Now Pay Later Flights
Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines uses Uplift to offer financing for flights. Book your flights as normal — as soon as you add them to your cart, you will see a note saying something similar to: "Total price $598.10 USD or from $54/month". If you click on the link, you'll see the details from Uplift. Once you get to the payment page, click on "pay monthly," and you will then be asked for the personal information Uplift needs to process the loan.
Allegiant
Allegiant Air also uses Uplift to provide a monthly payment option. Just book your flight and choose "pay monthly" when given the option on the payment page. You can find more details on the Allegiant website.
American Airlines
American Airlines accepts PayPal to pay for your ticket if your billing address is in the U.S., including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as Canada and the U.K. Choose PayPal on the payment page, then sign into your PayPal account and choose PayPal Credit. You can also use Affirm to pay for American Airlines flights.
American Airlines Vacations allows you to use Uplift to pay monthly. Choose "pay monthly" on the payment page to activate it, then follow the instructions.
Azul
Azul Airlines is a low-cost Brazilian airline that accepts payments through Uplift or PayPal.
Delta Air Lines
Delta offers PayPal Credit as a payment option, and if you book your trip through Delta Vacations, you can pay using Affirm.
Frontier Airlines
Budget carrier Frontier Airlines uses Uplift, too, but itineraries must be over $100 to be eligible for this payment option. If eligible, you will be offered the option when checking out.
KLM
KLM offers customers the option of holding a fare for 72 hours for a non-refundable fee. This is great if you find a fare that you want to book but need a day to think about it.
In addition, they offer Bill Me Later, via PayPal. This service is shown on the payment page along with credit and debit card choices. Once you choose this option, you are asked to sign into your PayPal account. Note: their website says "Bill Me Later," but it's called PayPal Credit on the PayPal website.
Lufthansa
Lufthansa has a long list of payment options listed on the website. Some options are based on the country in which you are buying your ticket (called the "point of sale"). They also offer Uplift and PayPal as payment options.
The Top 5 Domestic U.S. Airlines
Porter Airlines
Porter, a Canadian airline, offers flights to Canada, the U.S., Mexico, and the Caribbean, and it also allows customers to use Uplift and PayPal to purchase tickets.
Qatar Airways
Depending on where you are located, you can hold your Qatar Airways booking for up to 72 hours for a fee. You will see this option on the payment page. The fee is non-refundable and is in addition to the ticket price. You can also use PayPal to purchase your ticket.
Southwest Vacations
Southwest Vacations allows you to book any combination of flight, car, and hotel. Book what you need, and you will see options to pay in full or with monthly payments using Uplift.
Spirit Airlines
Spirit Airlines offers monthly payments using Uplift. This option appears when the total price of your flights are shown; it will update as you add more items to your cart. You can also pay using Affirm.
Sunwing
Sunwing is a Canadian-based charter and scheduled service airline that has flights to Caribbean destinations, among other places. They use Uplift to offer monthly payments — just choose "pay monthly" on the payment page.
United Airlines
United Airlines uses Uplift and PayPal Credit as payment options, but some fares are not eligible for Uplift payments.
United also has a program called FareLock. This allows you to pay a fee to hold a particular fare for three, seven, or 14 days without paying for it in full. If you decide not to buy the ticket, you forfeit the FareLock amount you've already paid.
FareLock is only offered on itineraries wholly operated by United Airlines and/or United Express. It is available for both award tickets and tickets bought using money.
Volaris
Volaris, a Mexico-based airline, uses Uplift to offer monthly payment plans. You can see what your monthly payment would be once you select the flights, then when you get to the "Passengers & Payment" page, choose the "pay monthly" option and follow the instructions.
You may also use PayPal — log into your account and choose PayPal Credit for payment options. Flights must be more than 36 hours away in order to use this option.
Online Travel Agencies Offering Monthly Payment Options
CheapOair.com
CheapOair uses Affirm to offer customers a monthly payment option.
Funjet Vacations
Funjet Vacations uses Uplift for monthly payments for its flights and vacation packages. You can find more details on the website.
Priceline
Priceline uses Affirm to handle monthly payments. Choose the "monthly payments" option on the secure billing step of the booking process and follow the directions. Choose from three, six, or 12 month options.
Kerwin McKenzie is a former airline employee, who has flown 180 airlines and visited 125 countries and territories. He runs Passrider.com for airline employees, Cruisinaltitude.com for information on airline travel, UnfamiliarDestinations.com, which focuses on 365 under-visited destinations, and DiscoveringHouston.net, which provides travel details for Houston, Texas.
FAQs
Can i purchase airline tickets and pay later? ›
Yes, you can easily pay for airline tickets in installments through book now pay later plan. You can pay in monthly installment payment plans for flights.
Does any airline offer payment plan? ›Airline tickets you can take a payment plan out include Delta, American Airlines and even Frontier Airlines, on over 650 airlines.
Can I reserve a flight without paying for it? ›How Can I Reserve a Flight Without Paying the Full Price for the Airline Ticket? There are 3 simple steps you must follow to reserve a flight without making the full payment for the flight ticket: Call your preferred travel agent or visit the Visa Reservation website. Submit your travel flight details.
Where can I buy tickets by installments? ›Flymble is an online booking platform for flights which are paid for in monthly instalments. Flymble was founded in 2016 by two friends, and slowly grew to UKs #1 pay per month travel brand.
How can I travel and pay later? ›Affirm, PayPal, Uplift, and Klarna are among the payment services offered by travel companies and airlines that let you book now and pay your trip off over time (with or without interest, depending on which service you use).
Is it hard to get approved for uplift? ›While Uplift accepts borrowers with bad credit, you're unlikely to qualify for a competitive rate. If you have good to excellent credit, you may be able to score an APR close to its minimum of 0%, making it a much less expensive than most credit cards.
Does uplift do a credit check? ›With the Uplift option, you'll fill out a short application. If approved, you'll be shown what APR and repayment term you're eligible for. This process includes a soft credit check, which doesn't hurt your credit score.
Does Kayak offer payment plans? ›“With the addition of interest-free installments, KAYAK customers can feel even more confident about their decision to book now and pay over time.”
Can you lock in a flight price? ›FareLock allows you to hold your itinerary and price for either three, seven or 14 days for a service charge. This allows time to finalize your travel plans without worrying about flights selling out or the price of your ticket increasing.
What is dummy ticket? ›A dummy flight ticket is a flight ticket that carries the actual details of the flight's journey, which is confirmed but not issued to the customer. Unlike a fake ticket, a dummy flight ticket carries a valid PNR that is verified directly on the airline websites for which you have a booking.
What is block ticket? ›
"Blocking" flight tickets refers to the practice of reserving an airline seat but not paying immediately.
Can dummy ticket be verified? ›A dummy ticket looks like a regular airline ticket with valid PNR/ booking code or booking reference number. They can be verified on the airlines websites if checked using the "Manage my booking" tool or "My trips" section found on many airline websites.
Which travel agents let you pay in installments? ›Expedia has partnered with online lender, Affirm, to allow you to easily pay for your vacation in instalments. To set up a trip payment plan you simply select monthly payments during the checkout process and will then be prompted to sign in or sign up with Affirm.
Do travel agents let you make payments? ›If you plan to finance your trip on a credit card, booking with a travel agent can offer you huge savings. The ability to pay in installments (deposit and final payment) is available to anyone, regardless of credit history. And even more exciting? It has comes with a 0% interest price tag!
Is CheapOair legitimate? ›Is CheapOair trustworthy? CheapOair is a legitimate travel company that works with more than 400 carriers, including reputable brands like American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and JetBlue.
What is uplift payment plan? ›With Uplift, you can make thoughtful purchases now and pay over time in bite-sized installments. Spread the cost of your purchase over fixed monthly payments. No Fees. Ever. Including late fees or pre-payment penalties.
Does Allegiant have AfterPay? ›We offer lots of popular payment plan options, including Affirm, Zip, and Afterpay. These payment options are available on any Allegiant Air flight.
Can you pay Expedia with Klarna? ›Falk Richter, SVP, Expedia Global Payments commented: “Flexibility in payment options is important for many of our customers as they want to book and travel in ways that suit them. By introducing Klarna as an option, Expedia Group aims to make the booking experience painless and easy for customers.”
What is Affirm minimum credit score? ›How To Get Approved For Affirm Financing. The good news is you can get approved by Affirm, as long as your credit score is 640 or above. Since they conduct a soft inquiry, applying for a loan with Affirm won't affect your score.
How many UpLift loans can you have? ›Guests may have up to two loans active through Uplift at any given time. You or your guests may learn more about Uplift by visiting www.uplift.com.
What credit bureau does Affirm use? ›
For other Affirm loans, the entire loan history is reported to Experian. This means that both positive and negative payment history will be reported to only Experian and not other credit bureaus.
Does uplift do a credit check? ›With the Uplift option, you'll fill out a short application. If approved, you'll be shown what APR and repayment term you're eligible for. This process includes a soft credit check, which doesn't hurt your credit score.
Does United accept Klarna? ›Does United accept Klarna? Did you know, when you book your United flights through Alternative Airlines, you can checkout using Klarna? That's right. Any United route, any date, simply choose the best flights for you then select 'Klarna' at checkout.
Can you pay Expedia with Klarna? ›Falk Richter, SVP, Expedia Global Payments commented: “Flexibility in payment options is important for many of our customers as they want to book and travel in ways that suit them. By introducing Klarna as an option, Expedia Group aims to make the booking experience painless and easy for customers.”
How do Klarna payments work? ›The first payment is made at point of purchase, with remaining instalments scheduled automatically every 30 days. With Pay in 30 days you have up to 30 days to pay for your goods after they are shipped, with no interest or fees.
What is Affirm minimum credit score? ›How To Get Approved For Affirm Financing. The good news is you can get approved by Affirm, as long as your credit score is 640 or above. Since they conduct a soft inquiry, applying for a loan with Affirm won't affect your score.
How do you get approved for Affirm? ›Affirm is for anyone who wants to take their online or offline purchase on credit. You'll need a good credit rating – probably a score of at least 550 – to apply for Affirm financing. However, if you meet the lending criteria, you get instant approval on your loan and flexible payment terms.
Does Kayak offer payment plans? ›“With the addition of interest-free installments, KAYAK customers can feel even more confident about their decision to book now and pay over time.”
Can you use Klarna on JetBlue? ›You can book any flight, with any airline (including JetBlue!) and spread the cost with Klarna. That's right! Any JetBlue route, any destination, any date. Simply select 'Klarna' at checkout.
What is uplift payment plan? ›With Uplift, you can make thoughtful purchases now and pay over time in bite-sized installments. Spread the cost of your purchase over fixed monthly payments. No Fees. Ever. Including late fees or pre-payment penalties.
What forms of payment does Delta accept? ›
- American Express.
- Diners Club.
- Discover® Network.
- JCB.
- UATP.
- MasterCard.
- Visa.
- UnionPay.
Expedia has partnered with online lender, Affirm, to allow you to easily pay for your vacation in instalments. To set up a trip payment plan you simply select monthly payments during the checkout process and will then be prompted to sign in or sign up with Affirm.
Do you have to pay upfront on Expedia? ›Reserve Your Hotel Now and Pay Later
With Expedia's Book Now Pay Later you don't pay for your rooms until you arrive at the property. Rooms booked in advance are guaranteed for your stay but are only paid for once you check in.
For a trip to qualify for Affirm financing, the following prerequisites must be met. Travel must be deemed as “leisure” and not “business.” The booking must be eligible for Expedia+. The total cost of travel must be at least $200.
What credit score do you need for Klarna? ›During the pay-in-four approval process, Klarna performs a soft credit check on your credit history. This does not affect your credit score and does not show up on your credit report. Klarna does not have a minimum credit score requirement for its pay-in-four credit product.
Does Klarna have a limit? ›There is no set limit for how many purchases you can place using Klarna. However, the approval decision when shopping with Klarna can depend on the following: Your credit history with Klarna. Your open debt and unpaid orders with Klarna.
Can Klarna build credit? ›But that's not necessarily a bad thing; assuming that you manage your account correctly, and keep up to date with your payments, Klarna can have a positive impact on your credit score. Ensuring that you have budgeted correctly and can afford any repayments is key.