Amex Launches ‘Plan It’ Tool To Help Pay For Travel

With more people get vaccinated and travel restrictions loosening up, more people are traveling again. In fact, American Express Travel bookings jumped by 50% in the first quarter compared with the fourth quarter. This month’s Amex Trendex also found that 76% of U.S. consumers surveyed agree they instantly feel happier the moment that they book a trip.

To provide Card Members with more flexibility when paying for travel, starting today, American Express U.S. Consumer Card Members will be able to book flights at AmexTravel.com and pay later using Plan It® at checkout. Integrating Plan It directly into the checkout experience will provide Card Members more payment flexibility with up to three plans to pay for flight purchases of $100 or more in monthly installments with a fixed monthly fee and no interest before they make the purchase.

For now this is an option for flights only. Plan It will be added to hotel purchases on AmexTravel.com later this year.

Amex Trendex New Travel Data

To prepare for upcoming travels, this month’s Amex Trendex detailed how consumers are planning and paying for travel as they plan their first trips since the onset of the pandemic, including:

• Summer of week-long vacations are returning, while outdoor vacations are here to stay
  • Longer trips are making a comeback as 66% of consumers plan to travel for one to two weeks for their next trip
  • Consumers are prioritizing outdoor destinations such as relaxing on the beach (23%) or exploring the great outdoors (21%) and reuniting with friends and family (30%)
  • Nearly half indicate that they will travel on weekends adjacent to upcoming summer holidays such as Memorial Day (46%), Independence Day (41%) and Labor Day (47%) instead of during these weekends to avoid crowds
• Booking a future trip is an instant mood booster
  • The majority compare the feeling of booking travel to securing a hard-to-get dinner reservation (60%), getting a puppy (58%), or earning a promotion (54%)
  • Travel plans can boost productivity as 62% of consumers say that having a vacation to look forward to makes them more motivated at work
  • When looking at travel planning overall, consumers report being happiest after deciding on a location to visit (24%) or clicking purchase or book (23%)
• Seeking out payment flexibility options & offers with plans to spend more on travel
  • Consumers are interested in looking for deals or flexible payment options to pay for their next trip including, travel offers (73%), low prices (69%) or buy now, pay later features (36%)
  • 62% of Millennials are interested in a buy now, pay later offering that comes with their credit card, such as Plan It
  • 46% plan to spend more for their first trip post pandemic than they would spend on an average leisure trip