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Pay For Flights With a Deposit

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Pay a Deposit To Secure Your Flight

Pay a small percentage of the price of your flight today to secure it and pay the rest back at a later date. While we don't currently offer a way to pay a deposit on flights in the traditional way (pay a deposit to secure and don't worry about paying the rest if you need to cancel), we do allow you to pay back a small amount of the flight today and pay it back later, in either weekly, fortnightly or monthly instalments.

You can find out more information on how it works on our buy now pay later and financing page.

How Is Buy Now Pay Later Different to a Deposit?

There are some key differences between paying for your flight with a deposit and paying with buy now, pay later. But they're also very similar and serve the same purpose in the fact that they let you secure the cost of your flight for a small fee, without having to pay the total cost upfront.

Save on flights with Buy Now Pay Later

Deposit

A deposit is a small fee (percentage of the flight) that you pay to secure your flight when booking.

Usually, you don't have to pay back the remainder of the flight until the final few weeks leading up to the flight.

In some cases, if you need to cancel your flight, you won't have to pay the remaining balance of your flight. But, you'll lose your deposit.

In most cases, the remaining balance will have to be paid in full and in one go.

Most airlines don't allow you to book flights with a deposit. Some do, but in most cases, only if you book as a package holiday (with a hotel).

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Buy now, pay later

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) lets you split the cost of your flight over time into easy-to-pay instalments.

The length of time that you pay back in can vary from a 6-week period up to an 18-month period.

You also have flexibility in how you pay. We offer lots of different options, including paying back in weekly, fortnightly or monthly instalments.

If you cancel your flight and the ticket is non-refundable, you won't receive a refund on any of the flights.

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FAQs

On which airlines can I put a small fee down to secure the price of my flight?

You can pay a small percentage of your flight to secure it today and pay back the rest at a later date on any airline at Alternative Airlines. We offer buy now pay later on any of the 600+ airlines available on our site, regardless of where you're flying to and where you're flying from.

Can I put down a small fee to secure the price of my flight from any country?

Currently, you can use buy now, pay later and secure you flights without paying the total cost up front if you live in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and several other countries across Europe.

Can I get a refund when I put a deposit down on my flight?

If you choose to buy now, pay later with Alternative Airlines and pay a percentage of the cost of your flight upfront to secure your flight and pay back the rest over time, you'll not be eligible for a refund if you cancel your flight, unless:

  • The flight ticket that you've purchased is refundable
  • You've purchased Cancellation Protection and you meet the criteria for a refund (you can't use your flight for one of the listed unforeseen circumstances in the T&Cs)
Is my booking confirmed once I pay the small fee or do I have to pay off the total cost to confirm?

Yes, your booking is always confirmed at the time of booking, regardless of what you've paid. This means that you can still use your flight even if you haven't paid off the total cost of it when you fly.

When do I need to have paid my flight off by?

When you need to pay off your flight by will depend entirely on the payment plan that you choose at checkout.

Some plans will require you to pay it off over a 6 week period, whereas others will allow you to pay it off over 3, 6, 12 months or longer.

How much will I originally have to put down to secure my flight?

The amount that you pay at the time of booking to secure your flight will depend on which payment provider and plan you choose.

Here are some of the most popular different options that we offer:

  • Pay in 4 fortnightly installments over 6 weeks — pay 25% of your ticket at the time of booking and then pay the remaining cost once every 2 weeks
  • Pay in 3 monthly installments over 3 months — pay 33% of your ticket at the time of booking and then pay the remaining cost once every month
  • Pay in 6 weekly installments over 6 weeks — pay 16% of your ticket at the time of booking and then pay the remaining cost in weekly installments.
  • Pay in 6, 9 or 12 monthly installments — this doesn't require you to pay anything at the time of booking. The cost is divided into equal payments that are dependent on your loan length. You make the payments each month, once a month.

There are more payment plans that allow you to secure your ticket today without paying the total cost upfront. Plans differ by country, so, the best way to check which payment plans are offered to you is to search for flight using our search form at the top of the page and look at our payment options at checkout.