Which airlines and travel sites offer buy now, pay later? (2026 list)

As of November 2026, most large US airlines offer some way to pay later at their own checkout, but not the same one. American Airlines uses Affirm; United, Southwest and Alaska use Flex Pay by Upgrade (formerly Uplift); JetBlue offers ClarityPay; and Delta accepts PayPal, including PayPal Credit, on flights departing the US. Among online travel agencies, Affirm works with Expedia, Priceline and CheapOair, PayPal Pay Later works on Expedia and Booking.com, and Alternative Airlines offers the widest menu of providers. Skyscanner, Kayak and Google Flights don't sell flights themselves, so whether you can pay later depends on where you click through to.

We checked every pairing below against the airline's, travel site's or provider's own website, or a 2025 or 2026 announcement, in early November 2026. Where we couldn't confirm a pairing, the table says "check at checkout" rather than guessing. Payment options change often and can differ by country, by fare and by device, so use this as a map, then confirm on the payment page before you commit.

US airlines: which buy now, pay later options they offer

Here's what the biggest US airlines offer on their own websites.

One vacation-package arm is worth knowing about: JetBlue Vacations added Flex Pay for flight and hotel packages in April 2026, even though JetBlue's flight-only checkout uses ClarityPay. Package options can differ from an airline's flight-only checkout, so check whichever one you're booking.

International airlines that offer pay later

Outside the US, Flex Pay is common on Canadian airlines, and Klarna has a major European partner.

If your airline isn't on the list, an online travel agency may still let you pay later for its flights, as the next section shows.

Online travel agencies: Expedia, Priceline, Booking.com and more

Travel agencies sell flights on many airlines, so they're often the way to pay later on an airline that doesn't offer it directly.

When you book through an agency, the agency, not the airline, handles your payment plan, and usually your changes and refunds too. Read its change and cancellation policy before you pay, because it can be stricter than the airline's.

Does Skyscanner offer buy now, pay later?

Not directly. Skyscanner, Kayak and Google Flights are metasearch sites: they search airlines and travel agencies, show the fares side by side, and send you somewhere else to pay. Kayak says that, as a travel search engine, it doesn't sell or process reservations. Google says that when you select a flight on Google Flights, you'll usually be taken to the airline's website or an online travel agency to complete the purchase. Skyscanner is a comparison site in the same way, and its own guide to pay-later flights lists the options airline by airline.

So "Skyscanner pay later" really means "pay later on whichever site Skyscanner sends you to". Here's how to use a metasearch site if you want to split the cost:

1. Search as usual, and note which site is selling each fare. Most results show the airline or agency name next to the price.
2. Check that seller against the tables above. If it's American Airlines, you're looking at Affirm; if it's United or Southwest, Flex Pay; if it's an agency, look it up.
3. Compare more than the cheapest listing. The lowest price may come from an agency with no pay-later option, while the airline's own price, a little higher, may come with one. The total cost of a plan with interest matters more than a few dollars on the fare.
4. Check the price again after you click through. Fares can change between the search result and the seller's payment page.
5. Read the seller's change and refund rules, especially for agencies, before you apply for a plan.

Can you book flights with PayPal?

Yes, on many sites, and PayPal's Pay Later products can then let you split the cost. As of November 2026:

• American Airlines accepts PayPal on aa.com and in its app for all travel except award bookings.
• Delta accepts PayPal on delta.com for flights departing the US, and says PayPal Credit lets you pay for your flight over time, subject to credit approval.
• JetBlue accepts PayPal, PayPal Credit and Venmo online at jetblue.com for flight-only purchases.
• Expedia and Booking.com are named by PayPal as places to use Pay Later.

PayPal's Pay Later comes in two forms. Pay in 4 covers purchases from $10 to $2,000 in four interest-free payments, and isn't available to Missouri residents. Pay Monthly spreads larger purchases over months, can carry interest, and isn't available to residents of Alaska, Connecticut, Hawaii or Washington. Whether you see either option is decided inside PayPal when you check out, based on the purchase and your eligibility.

PayPal Credit, which Delta and JetBlue also mention, is a separate PayPal credit product with its own terms and credit approval.

Who are the main fly now, pay later providers?

Several lenders come up again and again on airline and travel sites. Here's what each one is, in brief:

• Affirm offers four interest-free payments (Pay in 4) and longer monthly plans, which can carry interest. It's the partner at American Airlines and at Expedia, Priceline and CheapOair.
• Flex Pay by Upgrade (formerly Uplift) focuses on travel. It offers monthly plans, some interest-free and some with interest, and is the partner at United, Southwest, Alaska and several Canadian airlines.
• Klarna offers Pay in 4, Pay in 30 days and longer financing. Its airline partners include the Lufthansa Group and, under a partnership announced in July 2026, Southwest.
• PayPal offers Pay in 4 and Pay Monthly anywhere PayPal is accepted and you're approved.
• Afterpay, Zip and Sezzle mainly offer four-payment plans. In our checks, they showed up at agencies such as Alternative Airlines rather than on airline websites.
• ClarityPay is JetBlue's pay-over-time partner on jetblue.com.

All of these are lenders, so approval depends on their own checks, and terms vary by person and purchase. For each provider's rates, fees and credit checks, see Defera vs Affirm, Klarna and Uplift and does buy now, pay later affect your credit score?

How to find the pay-later option at checkout

Airlines rarely advertise pay-later on their home page, so it helps to know where to look:

1. Pick your flight and continue to payment. Pay-later options usually appear on the final payment page, next to cards and wallets, sometimes under a heading like "Additional payment options" or "Pay monthly".
2. Check the minimum. Some plans have one. Southwest's Flex Pay, for example, requires a purchase of at least $150.
3. Check your eligibility before you commit. Most providers let you see the plans you qualify for first. Flex Pay asks for your mobile number and date of birth, plus your Social Security number if you're a US resident.
4. Compare the total, not the payment. A lower monthly payment over a longer term can mean more interest. Look at the APR and the total you'll repay.
5. Check what the plan covers. At American Airlines, Affirm covers flights and seats but not extras like bags, which you'd pay for separately.
6. Read the refund terms. If the fare is nonrefundable and you cancel for an airline credit, the loan usually stays in place. How to book flights without Klarna or Affirm explains how refunds work when a lender sits in the middle.

Before you pay later on a flight: eligibility and limits

A few rules catch people out at the last step:

• Where you live matters. Southwest says residents of Iowa, West Virginia and Washington, D.C. can't use Flex Pay. PayPal Pay in 4 isn't available in Missouri, and Pay Monthly isn't available in Alaska, Connecticut, Hawaii or Washington.
• Age and identity checks. Flex Pay applicants must be at least 18.
• Country of purchase. International airlines often offer different payment options on each country's version of their site. Lufthansa Group's Klarna rollout, for example, started with customers in four European countries.
• Agencies vs airlines. A plan offered by an agency applies only to bookings made with that agency.
• Credit reporting. Some providers report your plan and your payments to the credit bureaus. Flex Pay, for example, reports to all three. If that matters to you, check before you apply.

Where Defera fits

Defera works differently from everything else in these tables: it isn't a lender, and there's no third-party loan. Defera runs its own layaway-style payment plan. You book through Defera, pay a deposit, then pay the rest in automatic weekly or bi-weekly payments, and you finish paying before you fly.

• Which airlines: search covers major airlines worldwide, including United, American, Delta, British Airways, Emirates, Lufthansa, Air France, Southwest, JetBlue and Virgin Atlantic, one-way or round trip, from Economy to First. Which airlines can I book? has the details.
• Semi-private flights, too. Defera is the world's first pay-over-time travel service to offer semi-private flights: JSX, the semi-private jet service, appears in Defera's search on the routes it flies and is paid over time like any other trip. Semi-private flights on a payment plan explains how it works.
• No credit check and no interest. The trip total at checkout already includes a service fee and a hold fee, and nothing is added later.
• Deposits start as low as 5% for trips 90 or more days out, rising to 20% at 60 to 89 days, 40% at 30 to 59 days and 60% at 22 to 29 days. Defera Zero has nothing due at booking on refundable fares on American, United, Southwest, JetBlue and Virgin Atlantic.
• Your price is secured once the booking is approved, while you stay in good standing on the plan.
• Your airline confirmation number appears in Trips once the plan is paid in full, and paying off early gets it to you sooner.

The trade-offs are real. Every Defera trip must depart at least 22 days after booking, so it's no help for a last-minute flight, and you don't get your airline confirmation number until you've paid in full. If you'd rather borrow and fly sooner, the airline and agency options above are the place to start. If you'd rather not borrow at all, you can search flights on Defera and see the plan before you book.