New research from Finder revealed that millions of Aussies plan on using ‘buy now pay later’ (BNPL) to fund their upcoming international flights.

The survey of 1,015 respondents found nearly 1 in 10 (9 per cent) of Aussies plan to fund their flights overseas using either BNPL services or a personal loan and for Millenials and Zoomers this number is higher at 15 per cent.

The survey also revealed almost 3 in 5 (59 per cent) plan to use their savings, while 24 per cent were unsure.

Credit card expert at Finder, Amy Bradney-George, said at a time when everyone’s itching to travel but don’t want to pay a lump sum all at once, BNPL services are a great alternative.

“Booking travel in such unpredictable and unprecedented times can be challenging, and it’s made even harder during an expensive time of year,” said Bradney-George.

“Having the opportunity to space out repayments can be tempting for people who might not have the cash on hand to pay all at once. For the travel industry, it can also encourage sales after such a tough time.”

A number of airlines are offering their customers the opportunity to BNPL, including Qantas, Virgin Australia, Jetstar, and Cathay Pacific.

Bradney-George also said it’s important to remember that BNPL is still a form of finance, even when it’s interest-free.

“So you do need to keep on top of the payments,” she said.

Other means of funding overseas travel reported by Finder were credit cards (20 per cent), rewards points (18 per cent), borrowing from a friend or family member (3 per cent) and a further 2 per cent plan to use their cryptocurrency.

“BNPL can be a great way of spacing out your cash flow as long as you’re keeping it to one purchase at a time and limiting your accounts to one,” said Bradney-George.

“A dream vacation is on everyone’s minds, but before you commit to a large repayment, think about your current and future financial obligations and whether you can afford it.”

Featured image: Image: iStock/martin-dm