American Express makes BNPL feature available to book flights

By Pavithra R

American Express has announced that it’s U.S. Consumer Card Members can now book flights at AmexTravel.com and pay later using Plan It at checkout.

American Express first introduced Plan It in 2017 and expanded it to most U.S. Consumer Cards in 2020. Plan It gives Card Members a simple and transparent way to pay for purchases of $100 or more in monthly installments, with a fixed monthly fee.  Integrating Plan It directly into the checkout experience will provide Card Members with payment flexibility for flight purchases of $100 or more, giving them the option to pay in monthly installments.

“Plan It has become a popular tool for many of our Card Members – particularly among Millennials and Gen Z – who want to easily manage their purchases in a simple and transparent way, from a brand they know and trust. With travel bookings on American Express Travel up 50 percent sequentially in the first quarter, and vaccinations accelerating, it’s a great time to make this feature available for booking travel on AmexTravel.com,” said Shikha Narula, VP of U.S. Consumer Lending.

At AmexTravel.com, Card Members can select Plan It at checkout as a payment option when they purchase flights to better manage the overall costs of their trip by choosing to pay in monthly installments. Additionally, Card Members can use Plan It after they make a qualifying purchase of $100 or more wherever they shop both online and in-store. Plan It is built right into American Express U.S. Consumer Cards and managed directly from the American Express App or their online account. No additional applications or lines of credit are required when using Plan It.

American Express has plans to add Plan It to the checkout experience for prepaid hotel bookings later this year.