How Defera works, step by step
With Defera, you book your trip now and pay for it over time. You choose a flight, or a flight and hotel, pick how you'd like to pay, and book. Your payments are then charged automatically until your trip is paid in full, and that's when your airline confirmation number is released.
Your trip price is secured much earlier, once your booking is approved. Here's the whole journey, from your first search to takeoff.
From search to takeoff
- You search for your trip. On Book, search for flights to any destination worldwide, one-way or round trip, in Economy, Premium Economy, Business or First. To add a hotel, tap Stays at the top of the search before you start. The calendar starts 22 days from today, and closer dates can't be booked.
- You choose how to pay. Defera Installments, our default plan, starts with a deposit, which is the part of your trip price you pay upfront when you book. Defera Zero has nothing due when you book, and your checkout page offers it when your fare qualifies.
- You review your trip and book. Your checkout page shows what's due today, then your payments and the date of the last one, then your trip total. The Price Breakdown lists every cost. You agree to the acknowledgments with one checkbox, and you can tap Read the full terms to see them in full.
- You get your booking confirmation. We email you the moment you book, and your trip appears in Trips. That's where you'll find your payment schedule and everything else for your trip.
- Your payments are charged automatically. Each weekly or bi-weekly payment is charged on its date to your card on file, which is the debit or credit card saved for your payments. You can pay ahead or pay off early at any time, with no penalty.
- You get your confirmation number. Once your trip is paid in full, our team releases your airline confirmation number, usually within 24 hours on weekdays. It appears on your trip page in Trips, and we email you when it's ready.
- You travel. Use your confirmation number to check in with the airline as usual.
When is my price secured?
Once your booking is approved, your agreed-upon trip price is protected from future airfare increases, as long as you stay in good standing on your payment plan. Good standing means keeping up with your payments.
Until you book, fares can change. Email me this plan, under the pay button, sends you the figures on your screen with a link back to the same checkout. It's handy if you'd like time to think, but it doesn't hold the price. To see what price protection means day to day, read How your trip price is protected.
What can I do while I'm paying?
Your trip page has what you need while you pay. Open Trips and tap your trip. From there, you can:
- Add seats or checked bags at any time, from Flight Options, the menu at the top right of the trip's Flight Details section, with Purchase Seats or Purchase Baggage.
- Pay ahead, or pay off your trip early, with Make a Payment.
- Switch between weekly and bi-weekly payments with Change Schedule, on plans that show this option.
- Change the card your payments are charged to with Update Card.
- Move your flight to different dates or times on the same route, starting from Flight Options.
Booking reference or confirmation number?
Your booking confirmation email shows your Defera booking reference at the top. It's how we find your trip at Defera, but it isn't your airline confirmation number, and the airline can't look it up.
Your confirmation number comes later, once your trip is paid in full. Until then, a trip in Trips with a payment schedule and no confirmation number is completely normal.