rewrite this title Expedia Taps Upgrade’s FlexPay to Bring Cruise Vacations to Travelers – Finovate

Expedia is partnering with fintech company Upgrade to offer Flex Pay, a BNPL solution that lets travelers pay for cruises in monthly installments, making luxury vacations more accessible.

Flex Pay supports payments across Expedia’s platforms and 750 travel and retail brands.

The partnership will assist travelers in managing their costs and will help cruise operators boost bookings, conversions, and order values.

Online travel booking company Expedia is partnering with mobile banking and lending fintech Upgrade to make its cruise booking services more accessible.

Specifically, Expedia is using Flex Pay, Upgrade’s buy now, pay later (BNPL) solution to enable travelers to pay for their cruise vacations in monthly installments. Consumers in the US and Canada will be able to book cruise experiences on 750 travel and retail brands via Expedia Cruises, Expedia.com, Travelocity.com, Orbitz.com and Cheaptickets.com using Flex Pay.

“We believe travel should be accessible to everyone,” said Expedia Cruises President Matthew Eichhorst. “With the introduction of Flex Pay, we’re not just offering payment options; we’re opening doors to experiences that once may have seemed out of reach. By allowing travelers to spread costs over time, we’re making dream cruises more attainable and enabling the exploration of the world on one’s own terms.”

Formerly known as Uplift, Flex Pay partners with Celtic Bank, Uplift, and Uplift Canada to allow travelers to finance their cruise vacation by spreading their payments over three to 24 months with no interest. While consumers benefit from a more approachable way to pay for their cruise, the cruise brands themselves also benefit. That’s because Flex Pay’s financing has proven to increase booking volume, conversion, and order value by 15% to 25%.

“This partnership builds on the success of our cruise division, which achieved a 23% year-over-year growth in bookings in 2024, driven by both increased volume and order value,” said Flex Pay President Tom Botts. “With products like no-interest loans and on-board financing, we take pride in helping partners like Expedia Group and their cruise lines expand their reach, attract more customers, and boost revenue.”

Founded in 2017, Upgrade is a digital banking platform headquartered in California. The company offers checking and savings accounts, personal loans, credit cards, and rewards programs that focus on low fees and responsible credit usage to help consumers improve their financial lives. Upgrade has served millions of customers and has facilitated over $35 billion in credit with tools such as its Upgrade Card, which encourages customers to pay off balances quickly and avoid revolving debt and build credit responsibly. Upgrade also offers cashback rewards, competitive savings rates, and credit monitoring tools, positioning itself as a customer-friendly alternative to traditional banks.

Upgrade launched the Flex Pay brand in 2024, rebranding it from Uplift. The BNPL tool serves 750 travel and retail brands, helping them to increase their customer engagement, loyalty, and consumer spending by offering more flexible payment options.

The partnership between Expedia and Upgrade is a prime example of how fintechs are expanding beyond traditional banking services into everyday spending categories, providing financial tools at the point of sale rather than only at the point of need.

The news comes at a time when the BNPL market, while not slowing, is experiencing a maturation. Regulators in the UK and Europe are more closely scrutinizing BNPL tools, while BNPL pioneer Klarna is reportedly set to file a $1 billion-plus IPO as early as next week. Despite the signs that BNPL is maturing, however, it does not seem to be slowing down, especially as consumers find themselves cash-strapped and credit-starved.

Photo by Samson Bush

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