Book a flight or hotel room now, and pay it off later? It’s an increasingly common trend in travel spending. Companies like American Airlines, United Airlines and vacation rental website Vacasa now offer the option to make reservations now and pay it back incrementally over time with “buy now, pay later” services.
Between 2020 and 2021, travel and entertainment purchases were the fastest-growing segment of the buy now, pay later phenomenon, according to a September 2022 report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
Buy now, pay later is an alternative type of short-term credit for online purchases offered by companies including Affirm, Afterpay and Klarna. The shopper immediately gets their purchase and pays it back later, typically in four installments or monthly payments….