Is Buy Now, Pay Later Leading to More Debt?

Expedia, the large online travel booking platform, has partnered with Affirm to introduce buy now, pay later (BNPL) installment options for travel purchases. The new payment choice will be available for certain hotel stays and travel packages, promising more flexibility at checkout. But with many travellers already using rewards and travel credit cards, it’s worth asking whether BNPL is a better option or simply a different form of debt. Below we explain how the integration works, what to watch for, and how to decide whether BNPL makes sense for your next trip.

How Expedia and Affirm will work together

Expedia, founded in the mid-1990s, is a global travel marketplace where users book flights, hotels, vacation packages, cruises, and car rentals. Traditionally, guests pay with a credit card at booking time. Expedia’s announcement with Affirm responds to customer demand for more payment choices and clearer cost breakdowns.

Affirm will be integrated at checkout to give customers the option to split the cost of eligible bookings into monthly payments. Instead of charging a credit card for the full amount, eligible bookings can be financed through Affirm’s installment plans, allowing travellers to spread the cost over time.

The fine print

Not every Expedia listing will qualify for BNPL. In Canada, Affirm’s option applies only to selected hotels and travel packages, and it will also be available for qualifying properties found via Hotels.com and VRBO.

When a booking is eligible, you’ll see Affirm as a payment option and can set the terms of repayment before confirming the reservation. Options include:

• Repayment term (up to 24 months)
• Payment frequency (bi-weekly or monthly)
• Interest rate (ranging from 0% to 32% APR, subject to provincial regulations)

Affirm evaluates applications with an instant soft credit check; that soft inquiry does not affect your credit score.

Is it worth it?

For many travellers, accommodation and package costs are among the largest items in a trip budget. If you don’t have the cash on hand, credit cards are a common way to bridge that gap, allowing you to defer payment and possibly earn travel-related benefits—such as travel insurance, rewards points, airport perks, and other perks offered by travel-focused cards.

Featured travel credit cards

Traditional credit cards commonly charge purchase interest rates in the high teens to mid‑twenties (for example, between about 19.99% and 24.99%), which can make carrying a balance costly. BNPL via Affirm, by contrast, lets you select the repayment length and frequency and shows the interest rate up front. Some Affirm plans carry 0% interest, and the company emphasizes transparency—no hidden fees, no late fees in some plans, and no compound interest charged on the principal.

Note: If you pay with Affirm instead of a credit card, you will not earn any credit card points, travel insurance benefits, or other credit-card-linked perks for that purchase.

The dangers of BNPL

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) warns consumers about potential downsides of BNPL. Chief among them are the risks of over-borrowing and accumulating payments that become difficult to manage.

BNPL can encourage buying behavior by reducing the immediate pain of payment. Research has found that consumers using BNPL often increase their spend—sometimes by double-digit percentages compared with what they otherwise would have spent—which can lead to higher overall debt levels if payments aren’t carefully planned.

BNPL’s lower barriers to entry—like soft credit checks that don’t affect your credit score—mean it may be more accessible to people who are financially vulnerable. That accessibility is a benefit for some, but it also raises the risk that those least able to absorb added debt may take on more than they can comfortably repay.

Booking travel with BNPL

For travellers, BNPL can make trips feel more affordable by breaking large, upfront costs into smaller installments. That psychological effect can be useful when used deliberately, enabling you to spread a known expense across future pay periods without paying compound interest—but it can also blur the true cost and make upgrades and extras feel less significant, encouraging impulsive spending.

If you plan to use Affirm or any BNPL service for travel bookings, treat it like a loan: budget the monthly payments, compare the total cost of financing against other options (such as a low-interest credit card or personal loan), and factor in the loss of rewards or protections you would have received from using a travel card. When used responsibly and deliberately, BNPL can be a convenient financing tool; when used casually, it can increase the likelihood of overspending and post-trip financial strain.