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The expansion of buy now, pay later payment options in the travel industry continued with the announcement Thursday that Uplift has signed Sun Country Airlines. Through Uplift, passengers on Sun Country flights can split payments for their tickets with three, six, or 11 monthly installments as an alternative to paying the full amount upfront.
The latest development adds to a busy time for Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Uplift, which over the past year has signed the airline company Breeze and Vail Resorts, and expanded a tie-in with Southwest Airlines.
The arrangement with Minneapolis-based Sun Country lets fliers see upfront the total cost of their trip, along with the monthly installments should they elect that option, the companies say. The airline says the deal is part of an effort to make air travel more affordable. “We believe you shouldn’t have to pass up the chance to travel because it costs too much or is too big of a pain,” Brian Davis, Sun Country’s senior vice president and chief marketing officer, said in a statement.
Uplift says it now works with more than 200 airlines, cruise companies, and resorts.
The move by BNPL players into specialty, high-ticket markets like travel comes against a backdrop of higher interest rates and rising inflation. Both trends are raising costs for consumers and leading BNPL payments companies to consider financing higher-ticket purchases. Also, these companies are seeking out new financing tie-ups, particularly to cover consumers who may not be candidates for immediate credit.
As an example of the trend, the BNPL player ChargeAfter on Thursday said it is extending a 4-year-old arrangement with Fortiva Retail Credit to cover ChargeAfter’s full network of merchants. Fortiva relies on technology from Atlanticus Services Corp. to extend offers to consumers who may not qualify for prime credit.
