Younger travellers could make buy-now, pay-later options more popular
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However, is the rise in “buy now, pay later” options mostly due to Millennials and Gen Z travellers?
Younger travellers have a lot going for them right now, from making TikTok’s travel trend boom to the rise in solo travel this year. The only thing that might be going against them is that high fuel prices might be making airfare prices go up.
Recent research from GlobalData shows that people in the Millennial and Gen Z generations worry about their finances more than people in any other generation. This could be because of how young they are, but it’s probably also because of how much it costs to live.
Only 16 percent of Boomers said they were “extremely worried” about their finances, while 36 percent of Millennials and 34 percent of Gen Z said they were. Gen X, with 30 percent, came in as the third-highest group.
Because of this worry, more travel companies may be teaming up with companies like Uplift, which lets travellers set up payment plans for things like airfare, tours, and even cruises.
Some of the travel companies that work together with Uplift are Insight Vacations, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, and Carnival Cruise Line. When travellers use these partnerships, they can keep making payments even after they go on their trip. This gives them more time to pay, since Uplift already paid for the trip. Then, the traveller has to pay Uplift back, just like he or she would pay back a loan. This often includes interest, which adds to the total amount the traveller has to pay.
Even without these partnerships, other travel companies offer pay-as-you-go options. American Express cardholders can pay for their Delta Airlines flights over time for a small fee. Intrepid Travel and Contiki both offer payment plans that let travellers put down a small deposit and pay for their trips over time without interest.
Travelers won’t have to pay interest or have their credit checked, and if they book early enough, they could have a lot of time to pay off their trip. The downside is that it’s harder to do this if you wait until the last minute to book. With Intrepid, travellers can pay in as many instalments as they want up to 28 days before departure, but with Contiki, they have to pay in full 45 days before departure.
However, we warn travellers not to be too eager for these kinds of deals because they might cost more than they thought.
“There are a lot of apps like Hopper, SkipLagged, SkyScanner, etc. that help you save a lot of money. There are also people with a lot of followers on Instagram, Facebook, and Tiktok who can help you save money on travel.
I always tell people to be careful when using these apps or “hacks,” because even though they seem to save money at first, you have to know exactly what to do and how to do it, or else it could cost you more time, trouble, and even money. So, if you want to book a trip, you should always go through a trusted travel agent. We work in this field every day and know all the tips and tricks that really work for you. We are here to make sure your trip goes well.
Instead of doing these things, we suggest that young travellers book with a company or programme that lets them pay for their trip in instalments before the trip date.
Since many people in their 20s and 30s live paycheck to paycheck, this is a very helpful offer that can help someone lock in pricing and a reservation so they can plan their budget and still go on an amazing trip.
Buy now, pay later options may be growing because there are more young travellers and travellers who are more concerned with their budgets. However, these options aren’t always the best for travellers, but they can be good for people who want to take a more expensive vacation at the last minute.
