Price protection vs. your confirmation number
Price protection and your confirmation number are two different things, and they arrive at different times. Your trip price is protected as soon as your booking is approved. Your confirmation number comes later, once your trip is paid in full.
So if your trip has a payment schedule and no confirmation number yet, that's completely normal. Your price is already protected, and that protection doesn't wait for your confirmation number.
What price protection means
Price protection means the trip price you agreed to at checkout is the price you pay. Once your booking is approved, your agreed-upon trip price is secured with Defera, and it's protected from future airfare increases.
For example, if fares on your route go up a month after you book, your trip price doesn't go up with them, as long as you keep up with your payment plan. At checkout, you'll see "Price protected from today" above your total.
What your confirmation number is
Your confirmation number is the code the airline uses to find your reservation. You'll use it to check in, and to look up your trip on the airline's website or app. It's released to your trip page once your trip is paid in full.
It isn't the same as your Defera booking reference, which is the code at the top of your booking confirmation email.
How the two compare
Here's how they differ, side by side:
| Price protection | Confirmation number | |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | Protects your agreed-upon trip price from future airfare increases | Lets you check in and find your trip with the airline |
| When you get it | Once your booking is approved | Once your trip is paid in full |
| What it needs from you | Staying in good standing on your payment plan | Paying your trip in full |
In short, your price is protected from the start, and your confirmation number comes at the end of your payment plan. Releasing your confirmation number once your trip is paid in full is part of what lets us offer payment plans with no credit check.
When your price is secured
It depends on your plan:
- Defera Installments: your deposit secures your agreed-upon trip price.
- Defera Zero: your price is secured with nothing down.
Either way, your price protection starts once your booking is approved.
How do I keep my price protected?
Your price stays protected while you're in good standing on your payment plan. Being in good standing means keeping up with your payment plan. What "good standing" means explains it in more detail.
What if a payment is going to be hard?
If an upcoming payment worries you, you have options, and you can look at them before the payment is due. I can't make my next payment. What are my options? walks through what you can do.
Can I get my confirmation number sooner?
Yes. Because your confirmation number comes once your trip is paid in full, paying off your remaining balance early gets it to you sooner, and there's no penalty for paying early. Open your trip in Trips, tap Make a Payment, and choose Pay off. When do I get my confirmation number? explains the timing.
Where can I read the full terms?
For the full legal wording on both price protection and your confirmation number, see the Terms of Service.