Travelers can book now, pay later with Uplift

If you’re planning a trip for the holidays or beyond, flights, hotel stays, rental cars, and other travel expenses can add up quickly. If you can’t afford to pay for everything at once, Uplift partners with dozens of airlines, cruise lines, travel agencies and more with a buy now, pay later (BNPL).

Before using Uplift, however, it’s important to consider the potential costs and their impact on your budget.

How Uplift Works

Travel can be expensive, especially if you need to travel last minute or in an emergency. With select travel providers, you can select Uplift at checkout instead of using a debit or credit card. The BNPL service will ask you to provide some basic information about yourself, including the last four digits of your social security number.

With a soft credit check, which will not hurt your credit score, the company will make you an offer including repayment term, interest rate, monthly payment and down payment. If you accept the offer, Uplift will pay the travel supplier in full. Then you will repay the loan over 3 to 24 months, depending on the situation. Loans range from $150 to $25,000.

Depending on your credit history, you may qualify for an annual percentage rate (APR) as low as 0%. However, borrowers with less than stellar can be offered an APR as high as 36%.

If you need to cancel your trip, you must do so with the supplier first. If its cancellation policy provides for a refund, Uplift will credit your account with the refund amount and pay you the difference, if any.

Unlike other BNPL services, Uplift reports your monthly payments to all three credit bureaus. However, late payments will also be reported.

Should you use an BNPL program to travel?

Uplift offers travelers an easy way to pay for their trips over time without needing to apply for a personal loan or use a high-interest credit card.

But unless your credit is in good shape, you could end up with a much higher rate than most credit cards charge. Even if you get a relatively low rate, you’ll need to make sure the monthly payment fits comfortably within your budget. Otherwise, you risk late payment and damage to your credit score.

In general, it’s best to avoid borrowing money to pay for travel, but it might be a good idea to use a service like Uplift if you need to travel in an emergency or want to take a long vacation. and that you cannot afford the total initial expenses. In these types of scenarios, spreading out payments can make travel more affordable.