- American Express partnered with Delta Air Lines to offer American Express’ buy now, pay later tool, Plan It, as a payment option at checkout.
- Plan It allows users to select from one to three repayment options and charges a fixed monthly fee.
- Plan It will be added as a checkout option on Delta’s mobile app this spring.
American Express and Delta Air Lines partnered this week to offer their shared customers a buy now, pay later (BNPL) option when booking flights on Delta.com’s web interface.
The partnership, which leverages American Express’ Plan It tool, enables American Express U.S. consumer card members to split up purchases of over $100 into equal monthly installments with a fixed fee.
Launched in 2017, Plan It allows customers to select from one to three repayment options, depending on factors such as the purchase amount, the cardholder’s account history, and their creditworthiness. Plan It charges a fixed monthly fee that is disclosed before the transaction.
As an added advantage over other BNPL plans, Plan It is built into the American Express card and does not require users to enroll, plus cardholders earn rewards as they usually do with their card payment. Further, cardholders do not need to keep track of additional payments, since they are included in their monthly statement.
As Anthony Cirri, Executive Vice President for Global Consumer Lending and Cobrand at American Express highlighted, the timing of the partnership is ideal. “It’s the perfect time to bring these together as people are booking long-awaited trips, and our card members can book with confidence knowing they are backed by the strong partnership between Delta and American Express.”
Plan It has benefited from the rising popularity of BNPL and alternative payment options. The volume of new plans originated in the fourth quarter of 2021 was more than double the volume in the fourth quarter of 2020. And 65% of plans originated in the last year were from new users.
Travelers will see Plan It as a checkout option on Delta’s mobile app this spring.
Photo by Miguel Ángel Sanz on Unsplash