Credit Score Basics > How does Fly Now Pay Later work?

How does Fly Now Pay Later work?

Wollit Team2 minute read · Updated 30th June 2024

Fly Now Pay Later is a payment option that lets you book flights and pay for them in instalments over some time, usually 3-12 months.

This flexible payment plan is meant to make travel more affordable to more people, especially those who may not have the full amount upfront.

However, it does come with some risks.

How can I use Fly Now Pay Later?

To use Fly Now Pay Later, you'll need to book your flights through a travel provider that offers it as an option, like TravelHouseUK or BudgetTravelUK.

At checkout, simply select the "Fly Now Pay Later" option and set up an account by providing some basic information like your name, address, UK mobile number, and UK debit card. The travel provider will then run a credit check to see if you're eligible, what interest rate you should be charged, and what credit limit you can be offered.

If approved, you pay a small deposit or transaction fee upfront, and the remaining balance is divided into equal monthly payments, often with 0% APR.

Do I need a good credit score to use Fly Now Pay Later?

Credit score plays a big role in determining your eligibility for Fly Now Pay Later. This is because Fly Now Pay Later runs a credit check to assess your creditworthiness and decide what interest rates you should be offered.

If you have a good credit score, you will be more likely to be approved for this payment option, plus you may also get better terms.

Can Fly Now Pay Later affect my credit score?

Using Fly Now Pay Later can affect your credit score in several ways:

When you apply for Fly Now Pay Later, they will run a hard credit check, which will show up on your credit report and could lower your credit score for a while.
Each new trip you book using Fly Now Pay Later will trigger a new hard credit inquiry.
If you miss or are late on your monthly payments with Fly Now Pay Later, it could be reported to the credit reference agencies as a “missed payment”, which can cost you as much as 80 points from your credit score (according to Experian). You might also need to pay late fees.
Worse of all, we have read quite a few customer reports that mentioned Fly Now Pay Later being used for credit fraud. Some of them have also seen missed payments from Fly Now Pay Later being reported on their credit files,despite never having used it. Others have even been chased by debt management companies for debts they had no idea about.

Should I use Fly Now Pay Later?

We’re not sure if we can recommend it. The fraud reports, the high APR (if you don’t pay the amount on time), and the hard credit checks involved are not great.

However, the good news is that the company is aware of what’s happening and seems to have taken steps in the right direction.

Its website now reads:

“We are currently making improvements to our business to better serve our customers. As such, we are not currently taking on new customers, or engaging in further lending, while we put these improvements in place.”

Until Fly Now Pay Later resumes operations, and perhaps even afterwards, you should use a credit card with travel rewards instead. These let you collect miles, offer great exchange rates abroad, and even premium airport lounge access.

The downside is that most of them require a good or even excellent credit score to be eligible for one.

To improve your credit score, consider downloading a credit-building app like Wollit.

Wollit is an app that reports a fixed-fee monthly subscription as a loan repayment to all three credit reference agencies, which helps you build your credit history and lets you improve your credit score.

Eventually, this can make you eligible for credit cards with excellent travel rewards and even longer interest-free payment periods than Fly Now Pay Later.