There are few things more stressful than booking a flight. One minute you find a fare that feels doable, the next it’s hundreds of dollars higher, and suddenly you’re stuck deciding between draining your savings, putting it on a credit card, or just…not going.
That’s where Paylater Travel comes in. The booking platform, founded in Australia and now operating in the US, UK, and Canada, lets you freeze any airfare with a deposit (sometimes as low as 10%) and pay off the rest in installments before departure. The best part? There’s no interest, no late fees, and no credit checks involved.
It’s essentially layaway for flights — a concept that feels almost retro, but with a modern twist. Instead of banks profiting off our desperation to travel (hello, overdraft fees and sky-high interest rates), this setup makes booking a trip a little less financially terrifying.
Paylater Travel has already helped over 150,000 people take trips they might have otherwise missed, and it boasts a 4.7-star Trustpilot rating to prove it.
“I paid $1,526 for three tickets from Philadelphia to Anchorage [Alaska] over the last 10 weeks with no hidden fees. Those same tickets today would have cost me over $2,400. I highly recommend this service and will definitely be using them again,” said one reviewer from TrustPilot.
“I loved this service. I was able to pay additionally when I wanted and was still able to keep the weekly payments, which made booking these tickets a breeze,” shared another customer.
“I used [Paylater Travel] to book flights for my family and [me] to Bali, something we never would’ve been able to afford if it wasn’t for the service these guys provide. Then our circumstances changed, and unfortunately, my husband was no longer able to travel with us,” said another reviewer from TrustPilot. I contacted PLT and spoke with [a customer service agent] who was able to organise a refund for just my husband’s tickets easily. She was a delight and made the whole process so simple. I will use Paylater Travel for all my family holiday flights; they are amazing.”
How it works
- Search flights: Browse millions of routes and airlines just like you normally would.
- Choose a deposit: Reserve your seat with as little as 10% of the total fare.
- Pay in installments: Spread the remaining cost over weekly or bi-weekly payments — up to 26 installments.
- Lock in your fare: Your ticket price won’t change while you’re paying it off, even if fares rise for everyone else.
- Get your ticket: Once your balance is fully paid, your e-ticket arrives in your inbox.
No interest. No hidden fees. No impact on your credit score. Just a simple way to book flights without paying the full amount upfront.
Of course, there are plenty of ways to book travel these days, and Paylater Travel won’t be for everyone — especially if you’d rather rack up credit card points or prefer to pay in full upfront. But for families or travelers who find airfare to be one of the biggest budget hurdles for traveling, the flexibility could be a game-changer.
At the very least, it’s proof that the travel industry is finally starting to catch up to the way many of us actually budget for trips: one paycheck at a time.
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