Jetstar’s big change to how you book international flights

BEEN dreaming of that getaway to Bali, or Thailand, or America? From tonight, it will be even easier to make it happen.

AUSTRALIA has been asking for it, and it’s finally been delivered.

Passengers booking Jetstar flights to international destinations can now use Afterpay — the book now, pay later option previously only available when buying Jetstar’s domestic airfares.

In an Australian-first partnership, Jetstar teamed up with payments platform Afterpay in September to offer domestic passengers the option of paying off their airfares in small, regular payments.

There were a few restrictions: customers had to spend a minimum of $200 — which funnily enough meant Afterpay didn’t apply to many of Jetstar’s dirt-cheap fares — as well as a maximum spend of $1000.

Now, as well as extending Afterpay to international flights, Jetstar has scrapped the $200 minimum spend and raised the transaction limit to $1200.

And customers can book flights using Afterpay up to two weeks before their flights, rather than four weeks.

Jetstar's customers have been waiting for the Afterpay option to be rolled out to international flights.

More than 50,000 passengers have used Afterpay to pay for flights since the option became available to domestic travellers.

But passengers have been crying out for it to be extended to overseas trips, bombarding Jetstar with questions and pleas on social media.

“Our customers have told us they want the option to use Afterpay to book international flights so we are now making that available,” Jetstar’s chief customer officer Catriona Larritt said.

“This means when booking your next holiday to Bali, Japan, Thailand or Hawaii you can book your flight now and pay later.

“Afterpay gives our customers another payment option when booking their holidays and allows them to get the lowest possible fares.”

A fee of 1.5 per cent of the booking applies to Afterpay payment options, which is available for fares bought on Jetstar’s website. Passengers pay off their airfares with four fortnightly repayments.

Jetstar is the only airline in Australia to offer Afterpay as an option.

Graham Cooke, finder.com.au’s insights manager, said the payment platform had a lot of perks but “should be used wisely”.

The payment option has been a game-changer in how Australians book their holiday flights.

“It can be tough to fork out for an international flight, especially when a great deal pops up and you need to book it in quickly,” he said.

“Many Aussies may not have the disposable cash to secure a holiday, but they’ll be able to pay it off.

“With international flights will come bigger repayments, so make sure you repay the flight within the allocated time frame otherwise you’ll face interest.”

He also warned customers should make sure they had enough money in their account when it was time for another payment.

“The interest-free instalments will debited from your account each fortnight over an eight-week period,” he said. “Ensure you have enough funds sitting in your account so you can dodge the $10 late fee for missed payments.

“It’s worth noting that there are plenty of travel agencies that offer similar lay-by services and price-holding options, but they generally make you pay the balance before you go on holiday. The difference with Jetstar is that you can fly and pay later.”